“I am pleased the House acted unanimously today to compensate these Arizona small businesses for the work they performed for the National Park Service,” said Rep. Renzi.  “We are now closer than ever to reaching a conclusion that will keep these businesspeople whole.  I applaud my colleagues in the House for supporting this legislation, and urge the Senate to act quickly to bring this matter to a vote.”

According to invoices sent to the Park Service, the contractor certified that payments were being sent to subcontractors and suppliers.  However, in January 2004, complaints were received by numerous subcontractors that they had not received payment. In total, the general contractor did not pay $1.3 million to subcontractors who performed the work. In a review of the situation, it was discovered that the National Park Service had failed to ensure that the contractor had obtained the necessary payment and performance bonds required by law.

Renzi’s legislation authorizes the National Park Service to pay the subcontractors who have performed the work at the Grand Canyon National Park and were not paid by the defunct contractor.  This legislation only addresses this situation in the Grand Canyon National Park and the $1.3 million that the Park paid to the defunct contractor for work performed by the subcontractors.

Renzi managed the debate on HR 3961 on the House Floor today, along with a number of other bills under the jurisdiction of the House Resources Committee.