OFCCP Notification to federal contractors to certify through the Contractor Portal by June 29, 2023

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will open its Contractor Portal on March 31, 2023, for existing covered federal contractors to certify compliance with Affirmative Action Program (AAP) requirements for this year. Covered federal contractors and subcontractors must use the Contractor Portal to certify, on an annual basis, whether they have developed and maintained an AAP for each establishment and/or functional/business unit, as applicable. For 2023, existing covered contractors must certify their compliance through the Contractor Portal between March 31 – June 29, 2023. The Contractor Portal’s certification feature has been enhanced and contractors must now provide the start date of their AAP Coverage Period when certifying. Click here to read more. [March 2023]

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Launches Mega Construction Project Program

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) launched its Mega Construction Project (Megaproject) Program, an initiative to promote equitable hiring and fair workplaces by federal contractors in the construction trades on large federally funded projects. The landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is creating new good jobs in communities across the country. OFCCP will designate an initial group of BIL-funded projects from the Department of Transportation and the General Services Administration as Megaprojects. Construction projects eligible for designation as Megaprojects are valued at $35 million or more in funding, some part of which must be federal funding, and are expected to last for at least one year. Click here to read more. [March 2023]

NAVFAC Builds Relationships During SAME Mid-Atlantic Small Business Outreach and Industry Day

Subject matter experts from Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Atlantic and NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic recently participated in the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Mid-Atlantic Small Business Outreach and Industry Day held Feb. 28 thru March 1. During the two-day event organized by the SAME Hampton Roads Post, NAVFAC professionals met with industry partners, delivered briefs, and participated in a Q&A Panel to provide a better understanding of NAVFAC, the contracting process, and the enterprises evolving small business opportunities. To read more, click here. [March 2023]

A Change in SAM.gov will Affect Access for Some Entity Administrators

Beginning March 3, 2023, Entity Administrator roles can only be held by employees, officers, or board members of the organization. A comprehensive role with elevated responsibilities, this change to the Entity Administrator role ensures the entity is in control of and accountable for who can update their registration in SAM.gov, while allowing entities to continue to use service providers to manage their entity registration, if they wish. If you use an outside service to manage your registration, or if you provide registration management services to other organizations, this change to SAM.gov roles may impact you. To read more, click here. [March 2023]

VA Says Its Renewed Infrastructure Review Will Focus on Building First

The Veterans Affairs Department is evaluating its physical footprint after significant controversy forced it to abandon a previous effort, though it has promised to take a vastly different approach this time around. In reviewing the capacity of its health care network, VA will focus all of its initial efforts solely on where it is currently falling short and should therefore build and expand capacity. The 2022 Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, which could bring millions of new veterans into VA’s network of care, provided VA with a slew of new hiring and pay authorities that Elnahal said are vital to meeting its goals. Lawmakers in both parties on the Senate VA Committee put forward a new bill to overhaul the compensation system for VA doctors to boost recruiting and retention efforts. The measure would make their pay more market based and eliminate the current $400,000 pay cap they face. To read more, click here. [January 2023]

Architectural and Engineering (A/E) Services, Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District is seeking System for Award Management (SAM) database registered Small Businesses for a Firm-Fixed-Price Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) type contract for the execution of services primarily consisting of but not limited to: Geotechnical Exploration and Testing, Geotechnical Engineering, Concrete and Asphalt Materials Testing and Evaluation, Environmental Investigative Services, Environmental Engineering, and Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Photographs for civil works projects primarily within the Rock Island District boundaries (Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and Minnesota). Projects outside the primary mission area of responsibility may be added at the Government’s discretion upon agreement of the A/E firm. In accordance with the attachment, A12 – AE Geotech IDIQ Synopsis FY 22.pdf, interested firms’ SF330 submittals must be received no later than 2:00 p.m. Central Time, 23 December 2022. To read more, click here. [November 2022]

FAA: Construction Can Start on New O’Hare Terminals

Construction can begin on new passenger terminals at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport following the completion of an environmental review, the Federal Aviation Administration said. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg met Monday at the airport with local, state and other federal officials and stressed the economic importance of Chicago’s transportation infrastructure. More than $73 million is available to O’Hare through President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law, the FAA said. Another $20 million will go to Midway International Airport in Chicago. To read more, click here. [November 2022]

How Government Might Work Up to 3D-Printed Buildings

Government buildings could one day be 3D printed, according to Beth Killoran, deputy chief information officer at the General Services Administration, who spoke on a panel at the Imagine Nation ELC Conference on Monday. While the government has traditionally turned to industry for a solution, Killoran stated that this is something government can do itself. “They actually take laser printing of those, and they send it out to manufacturers to build them,” Killoran said. “[It] takes a long time, takes a lot of investment. Why don’t we just scan it, put it into our 3D printer and print it ourselves?” To read more, click here. [October 2022]

Federal Government to Prioritize US-made, Lower-Carbon Construction Materials

The U.S. government will for the first time prioritize the use of American-made, lower-carbon construction materials in federal procurement and federally funded projects, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced. To realize this goal, the GSA has issued a request for information about the availability of domestically manufactured, locally sourced “low-embodied-carbon” materials — or those that generate fewer carbon emissions during the process of constructing a building. The move is part of the Biden administration’s Federal Buy Clean Initiative, which aims to stimulate markets for low-carbon products made in the U.S., according to the GSA. Click here to read more. [October 2022]

‘Forever Chemicals’ Destroyed by Simple New Method

Northwestern University chemists have done the seemingly impossible. Using low temperatures and inexpensive, common reagents, the research team developed a process that causes two major classes of PFAS compounds to fall apart — leaving behind only benign end products. William Dichtel, the Robert L. Letsinger Professor of Chemistry in Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, led the study that was also recently published in the journal Science. To read more, please click here. [September 2022]

A $7.3B Pot of Money to Prepare Infrastructure for Climate Change

The Biden administration is providing states with more detail about how they can use money from the federal infrastructure law to protect people and structures from the perils of climate change, a move that’s drawing cheers from both political parties. The infrastructure law provides states with $7.3 billion over five years for resilience-related transportation projects, although states can opt to use up to half of their share for other uses. Click here to read more. [August 2022]

DoD Prioritizes Sustainability Projects to Mitigate Climate Change Impact

The Defense Department is seeing the Biden administration’s green-government goals as an opportunity to improve resilience around critical resources like fuel and electricity. DoD Chief Sustainability Officer Joe Bryan said last week that the department must plan for logistics to be part of a contested environment. Click here to read more. [July 2022]

This Is Where USPS Is Building Out Its First Mega-Centers This Year

The Postal Service will build out 60 new facilities as part of Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan, adding to its overall staff and improving working conditions. USPS will still drastically reduce its overall footprint by closing facilities that it says are redundant and create costly inefficiencies, as part of a plan it announced in May, but will replace them with new and repurposed mega-centers that can process, sort and send out for delivery mail all under one roof. Click here to read more. [July 2022]

Top GSA Buildings Official Talks About the Future of Federal Offices

The federal government’s landlord believes there’s an opportunity to have “fewer and better” buildings as the federal agencies, along with the private sector, are reassessing their work structures after the COVID-19 pandemic. Nina Albert, commissioner of the Public Buildings Service at the General Services Administration, testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management panel on Wednesday morning about the challenges, opportunities and needs for GSA and the federal real estate portfolio. Click here to read more. [June 2022]

Army Corps Seeks Comments on Modernizing Its Civil Works Program

On June 3, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Army, Civil Works, and the Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) published a notice to announce an effort to modernize the Civil Works program of the Army Corps. These modernization efforts include those related to its Tribal consultation policy, potential rulemaking actions regarding the Army Corps’ Regulatory Program’s implementing regulations for the National Historic Preservation Act, and environmental justice. Comments are due August 2, 2022. Please click here to read more. [June 2022]

FY22 USACE LRD Regional Construction Design-Build and Design-Bid-Build Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC)

LRD is preparing for a potential bill that supports the American Jobs Plan.  The potential value of Construction for LRD is between $500M- $800M over approximately five years. These MATOCs will be utilized to support the American Jobs Plan, which is an investment in America that will create millions of jobs, rebuild America’s infrastructure, and position the United States to out-compete China. Please click here to read more. [June 2022]

SAME Chicago Annual Charity Boat Cruise

The Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Chicago and Lake Michigan Posts invite you to our 15th Annual Boat Cruise Fundraiser. The 2- hour evening cruise, with our traditional pre-boarding gathering, is the highlight of our summer programs. Our goal for this year’s event is to raise $10,000 for these and other worthy organizations. Please click here to read more. [June 2022]

Temporary Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Construction Materials

U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) issued a temporary waiver of Buy America requirements for construction materials on May 19, 2022 beginning on May 14, 2022 expiring on November 10, 2022. Please click here to read more. [June 2022]

Navy’s Construction Battalion Celebrates Eight Decades of Services

The Navy builds lots of things that float, but it also needs ports, depots and other constructed facilities. The Naval Construction Battalion Center is celebrating 80 years having been established June 2, 1942. For the latest on the Seabees’ contemporary mission and activities, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to its commander Capt. Jeff Powell. Please click here to read more.

How to Draft Effective Energy-Efficient Building Policies

Many local governments are adopting energy-efficiency requirements for existing commercial and residential buildings, but challenges remain because of the lack of comprehensive data on the costs and benefits associated with these policies, according to a recent report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, an advocacy organization.  Please click here to read more.

Worst-Case Scenario: Almost 13,000 Federal Facilities Could be Harmed by Flooding

Under the worst-case scenario, nearly 13,000 federal facilities may be at risk from rising sea levels due to the climate crisis. 

That is one of several points included in various documents released by the Office of Management and Budget on Monday related to climate risks in the federal budget and federal revenue going forward. This follows an executive order President Biden issued in May 2021 ordering such calculations. Please click here for more information.

Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Needed at Federal Facilities

The federal government is looking for small businesses who can provide general construction with design-build capabilities to support the installation of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment at federal agency locations throughout the U.S. The applicable NAICS code is 236220. Click here to read more. Offers are due: April 20, 1:00 PM Central

Dept. of VA Recommendations for VA Health Care System

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ has made recommendations to the Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission to modernize and realign the VA health care system. To read more about these recommendations, please click here.

GSA Outlines Plan to Spend $3.4 Billion on Infrastructure Upgrades along U.S. Border

Federal News Network – The General Services Administration, as part of the Biden administration’s infrastructure agenda, is moving ahead with a multi-billion-dollar upgrade of its land ports of entry along the country’s northern and southern borders.

GSA plans to spend $3.4 billion to modernize 26 land ports of entry along the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico.

The agency received this funding as part of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure spending plan that President Joe Biden signed into law last November. Click here to read more.

Dept. of Energy Organizational Restructuring to Effectively Implement Clean Energy Investments

The Department of Energy announced an organizational realignment to ensure that the Department has the structure needed to effectively implement the clean energy investments in President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Energy Act of 2020. This includes establishing two new Under Secretaries. To read more, please click here.

United States Army Corps of Engineers FY 22-23 Forecast

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has released their Fiscal Year 2022-2023 forecast. To view, please click here.

EPA $1 Billion Infrastructure Law Will Benefit Wisconsin

Under the new infrastructure law, 22 out of 25 EPA projects on the remaining Great Lakes “Areas of Concern” will be completed by 2030.The bulk of the funding will go to clean up and restore the severely degraded Areas of Concern sites, some of which are in Wisconsin. To read more, please click here.

Nearly 100 Utility Companies Now Participate in Cyber Sensor Initiative

NextGov – The White House effort to secure industrial control systems from cyberattack requires nothing of the private sector. Despite this, about 90 participants are part of a White House pilot program to improve the resilience of systems that control physical processes at electric utilities and other industrial control systems. To read more, please click here. [February 2022]

Biden Administration Outlines Plans for National EV Charging Network

Route Fifty – The Biden administration is using part of the first round of federal infrastructure spending to build electric vehicle charging stations across the country. As part of this effort, the Federal Highway Administration released a 31 page guidance document on February 10. To read more, please click here. [February 2022]

Executive Order on Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects

The Biden Administration has released an executive order designed to make Federal construction projects more efficient and economic. To read more, please click here. [February 2022]

Infrastructure Law Guidebook Released

The Biden administration on Monday released a 465-page guidebook meant to help state, local, and tribal governments navigate programs included in the recently signed $1.2 trillion infrastructure law. Click here to read more. [February 2022]

DoD Should Better Manage Risks Posed by Deferred Facility Maintenance

The DoD has over 550,000 buildings and facilities worldwide, with an estimated value of about $1.3 trillion. These facilities need ongoing maintenance to keep them in good working order. DoD currently has a deferred maintenance backlog of at least $137 billion in FY 2020. To read more, please click here. [February 2022]

Fact Sheet: Public-Private Cybersecurity Partnership to Water Sector

The Biden-Harris Administration recently announced it will extend the Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Cybersecurity Initiative to the water sector. The Water Sector Action plan outlines surge actions that will take place over the next 100 days to improve the cybersecurity of the sector. Click here to read more. [January 2022]

Projects Benefiting Great Lakes Region Receive Multi-Million Dollar Boost from Infrastructure Law

Major projects benefiting the Great Lakes region will receive a large infusion of funding as part of $14 billion awarded through the Biden administration’s bipartisan infrastructure law and other sources, the White House announced on Wednesday. Click here to read more. [January 2022]