AGC Submits Testimony to House Panel on Federal Contract Bundling

AGC of America has been working with Congress and federal agencies to help ensure that Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOCs) and Multiple Award Construction Contracts (MACCs) don’t unnecessarily limit competition for federal construction projects.

On Oct. 10 AGC submitted testimony to the House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce which held a hearing on the impact of federal contract bundling on small businesses. While not opposed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) use of MATOCs or the Naval Facilities Engineering Command’s (NAVFAC) use of MACCs AGC noted federal agencies increasing use of these contracting vehicles and those contracts’ ability to shut out many contractors from federal work for long periods of time.

To remedy federal over-reliance on bundled contracts AGC recommended that construction-services contracts be included in the definition of “contract bundling.” As a result federal agencies would be required to economically justify bundling construction contracts. In addition AGC recommended increased oversight of federal-agency utilization of these multiple-award contracting vehicles to help ensure their appropriate use for procuring construction services in the best interest of taxpayers. In its testimony AGC also included a task force report drafted by both small and large construction businesses detailing the association’s positions and recommendations on agency utilization of MATOCs/MACCs.

Also earlier this year AGC of America created a task force of large medium and small federal contractors that produced a formal document stating the association’s official position on federal contracting. This document will be sold to federal agencies and lawmakers in the coming months and years. Loren Pease Pease Construction served on the task force. Click here for a copy of the position paper.