WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Katie Britt (R-AL) led 20 Senate Republican colleagues requesting the Trump administration rescind Biden’s rule mandating Project Labor Agreements for federal construction projects.
“The economic prosperity of American workers relies on free market competitiveness based on merit,” wrote the senators. “The nation’s builders—union and nonunion alike—deserve a level playing field where the American taxpayer gets the best value for their dollar and our workforce is free from unjust mandates.”
On December 22, 2023, the Biden administration published in the Federal Register the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s final rule, Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects. This applies to large-scale federal construction projects valued at $35 million and would severely inhibit merit-based competition and cost taxpayers billions of dollars annually.
Cassidy and Britt were joined by U.S. Senators Jim Banks (R-IN), John Barrasso (R-WY), Ted Budd (R-NC), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Jim Justice (R-WV), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Rick Scott (R-FL), Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Todd Young (R-IN), Tim Scott (R-SC), and John Hoeven (R-ND).
Read the letter to President Trump here or below.
President Trump,
On January 22, 2024, former President Joe Biden implemented a rule requiring all bidders on federal construction projects of at least $35 million to sign pre-hire collective bargaining agreements, also known as “project labor agreements” or PLAs.
As members of Congress representing American construction workers, we respectfully request that you rescind the Biden administration’s Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects final rule. The rulemaking threatens the competitiveness of infrastructure bids, increases construction costs, and delays work on federal construction contracts procured by federal agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the General Services Administration.
While the past class deviations issued by the U.S. Department of Defense and Government Services Administration, and more recent guidance from the White House Office of Management and Budget may seek to reduce the mandate’s harms, we are concerned that the Biden PLA mandate may continue to increase costs, stifle competition, and slow project completion.
The nation’s builders—union and nonunion alike—deserve a level playing field where the American taxpayer gets the best value for their dollar and our workforce is free from unjust mandates. We respectfully request that you reverse this Biden administration policy and restore the long-established government neutrality in federal and federally assisted contracting.
The economic prosperity of American workers relies on free market competitiveness based on merit. We trust in your leadership to safeguard the principles that make our nation strong and look forward to working with you to address these concerns.
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