Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce

The Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce met for a hearing entitled Construction Contracting: Barriers to Small Business Participation. The hearing began at 10:00 A.M. on February 9, 2012, in Room 2360 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

TThe hearing specifically addressed the following areas that often limit small businesses’ ability to effectively compete for federal government construction projects: 1) the exclusion of construction from the contract bundling definition; 2) the problems with the sealed bid selection method when awarding construction contracts; 3) the manner in which SBA calculates the prime contractors credit for subcontracting goals; 4) prompt payment of prime and subcontractors on construction contracts; 5) the government’s practice of withholding contract payment on some construction contracts (known as retention); 6) the effectiveness of SBA’s surety bond program; and 7) the desirability of a locality preference for construction contracts.

Opening Statement:

Chairman Mick Mulvaney (R-SC)

Witnesses and Testimony:

Panel 1

Mark McCallum, Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Surety Bond Producers, Washington, D.C.

• Witness Disclosure 
• Testimony 

Rosie Privitera Biondo, President of Women Construction Owners and Executives (WCOE), Mark One Electric Co., Inc., Kansas City, MO

• Witness Disclosure 
• Testimony 

Dirk D. Haire, Partner, Fox Rothschild, Washington, D.C.

• Testifying on behalf of the Associated General Contractors
• Witness Disclosure 
• Testimony 

Miguel Galarza, President, Yerba Buena Engineering & Construction, San Francisco, CA

• Witness Disclosure 
• Disclosure Attachment 
• Testimony 

Panel 2

Jeanne Hulit, Acting Associate Administrator for Capital Access, Small Business Administration, Office of Surety Guarantees, Washington, D.C.

• Testimony 

James C. Dalton, P.E., Chief, Engineering and Construction, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, D.C

• Testimony 

William Guerin, Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Construction Programs, General Service Administration, Public Buildings Service, Washington, D.C.

• Testimony 

Additional Items:

Official Hearing Notice

Official Witness List

Official Hearing Memo

Hearing Video

Press Release