Change Order Transparency for Federal Contractors Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BACON. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Chabot for his leadership for the part of our country that is the engine of our economy, small businesses, of which 47 percent of our American workers are a part. So we appreciate his leadership.

I also want to thank the ranking member for her support of this bill. I appreciate the bipartisan effort to get this bill done. In fact, they both summarized the benefits of this bill very well.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4754, the Change Order Transparency for Federal Contractors Act.

This bill is a commonsense, preventative measure designed to protect small businesses from loss by providing them with critical information up front, prior to submitting a bid on a Federal construction project. Ultimately, and this is the bottom line, this legislation is about the Federal Government paying its bills on time.

Currently, small businesses are flying blind. Before they bid, they have no knowledge of an agency's change order process or history of payment. Construction is an inherently complex industry that inevitably requires changes to the original plan. Construction contractors must deal with this inevitability, but without knowledge of their customer's business practices, they cannot formulate accurate offers or sufficiently plan their operations prior to bidding. As a result, they may unknowingly place their business in jeopardy by working with an agency with a poor track record of timely payment.

This is not a hypothetical problem. In our committee, we have heard businesses over and over again go through this problem. We have to address it. Actual businesses should not have to worry about being paid by the Federal Government on time.

While large contractors may have the resources and capital to absorb some of the loss, small businesses struggle to stay afloat as they wait for payment. In addition to financing the cost of the changed work, small businesses are forced to pay their own bills while waiting for the agency to act. This includes payroll, material costs, and even taxes. This problem is compounded and made even worse for small subcontractors, who are often the last in line to receive payment.

H.R. 4754 will provide prospective Federal construction contractors and subcontractors with the information they need prior to submitting a bid. Agencies would be required to publish, as part of their solicitation, detailed information about their change order processes and timely payment data. This information could preserve the role of small contractors as part of our industrial base by making Federal contracts more attractive to small businesses and make the process more competitive. A more competitive bidding process for Federal contractors would benefit both small businesses and taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation.

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