U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy and Katie Britt have led a group of 20 Senate Republicans in urging the Trump administration to overturn President Biden's rule on Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for federal construction projects. The senators argue that the rule, which requires pre-hire collective bargaining agreements for projects over $35 million, undermines free market competitiveness.
"The economic prosperity of American workers relies on free market competitiveness based on merit," stated the senators. They emphasized that both union and nonunion builders deserve equal opportunities without unjust mandates.
The Biden administration's rule was published in December 2023 by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council and applies to large-scale federal construction projects. According to the senators, this rule could limit competition and increase costs for taxpayers.
Joining Cassidy and Britt in this call are Senators Jim Banks, John Barrasso, Ted Budd, Kevin Cramer, Lindsey Graham, Chuck Grassley, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Jim Justice, Cynthia Lummis, Mitch McConnell, Rick Scott, Rand Paul, Mike Rounds, Thom Tillis, Tommy Tuberville, Roger Wicker, Todd Young, Tim Scott, and John Hoeven.
In their letter to President Trump dated January 22nd of last year when Biden implemented the PLA rule they express concerns about its impact on infrastructure bids and project timelines managed by agencies like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
They urge President Trump to reverse this policy citing it as detrimental to cost efficiency competition within federally assisted contracting processes maintaining longstanding government neutrality principles across these domains while safeguarding taxpayer interests alongside worker rights through merit-based approaches instead
For further information from HELP Republicans visit their website or follow them on Twitter at @GOPHELP.
