Repealing The Obama Administration’s Blacklisting Rule

Blacklisting Rule ‘Creates A Host Of Unintended Negative Consequences For Stakeholders In The Federal Contracting Marketplace, Such As Taxpayers, Federal Contractors, Their Employees And The Federal Acquisition Workforce’

Agency’s own estimates indicate this rule would affect more than 24,000 contractors, add over 2 million hours in new annual paperwork burdens, and impose $454 million in first year implementation costs and $260 million in subsequent years.

• FEDERAL REGISTER: “Table 3 – Summary of … estimated cost to the public of reporting burden: Number of respondents: 24,183 … Total hours: 2,166,815.” (81 Fed. Reg. 58637, Table 3)

• FEDERAL REGISTER: “Table 10a – Summary of Total Costs to the Public: … Total Initial Public Costs: $454,644,083; Table 10b – Summary of Total Costs to the Public: … Total Annual Subsequent Public Costs: $260,041,262.” (81 Fed. Reg. 58637, Table 10)

ASSOCIATED BUILDERS & CONTRACTORS: “The Obama administration’s ‘blacklisting’ rule—no matter how well-intentioned—creates a host of unintended negative consequences for stakeholders in the federal contracting marketplace, such as taxpayers, federal contractors, their employees and the federal acquisition workforce.” (Associated Builders And Contractors, Inc., Letter To U.S. Senators, 2/2/17)

• “We urge you to support S.J.Res.12/H.J.Res.37 due to the fact that the Obama administration’s blacklisting rule circumvents congressional authority, harms the economy and efficiency of the federal government’s acquisition process, disrupts fair and open competition in federal contracting, and creates a duplicative and costly bureaucratic structure within the U.S. Department of Labor that undermines longstanding suspension and debarment procedures that already are part of the federal contracting process.” (Associated Builders And Contractors, Inc., Letter To U.S. Senators, 2/2/17)

• “… Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), a national construction industry trade association with 70 chapters representing nearly 21,000 chapter members...” (Associated Builders And Contractors, Inc., Letter To U.S. Senators, 2/2/17)

NINETEEN JOBS GROUPS: “Instead, EO 13673’s blacklisting regulations will needlessly increase costs, add uncertainty and subjectivity to the federal acquisition process and increase the frequency and cost of labor and employment disputes and related bid protests.” (19 Groups, Letter To Congress, 2/1/17)

• “…the Obama administration’s costly and flawed ‘blacklisting’ regulation circumvents congressional authority, harms the economy and efficiency of the federal acquisition system and disrupts fair and open competition in federal contracting. It also creates a duplicative and costly bureaucratic structure within DOL that undermines longstanding suspension and debarment procedures that already are part of the federal contracting process.” (19 Groups, Letter To Congress, 2/1/17)

• “The undersigned associations, representing tens of thousands of federal contractors, strongly support H.J. Res. 37, a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to invalidate the Federal Acquisition Council regulations implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order (EO) 13673 issued by President Obama on July 31, 2014. … Aerospace Industries Association, American Council of Engineering Companies, American Foundry Society, American Hotel & Lodging Association, American Trucking Association, Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Associated General Contractors, College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR), HR Policy Association, Independent Electrical Contractors, Information Technology Alliance for the Public Sector, International Foodservice Distributors Association, National Association of Manufacturers, National Defense Industrial Association, Professional Services Council, Society for Human Resource Management, The Coalition for Government Procurement, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, WorldatWork. (19 Groups, Letter To Congress, 2/1/17)

INTERNATIONAL FOODSERVICE DISTRIBUTORS ASSOCIATION: “The regulation implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order is unfair to federal contractors, will impose additional costs for taxpayers and creates unnecessary new hurdles rather than streamlining the federal acquisition process.  Congress should exercise its right to act under the Congressional Review Act and I urge you to support H.J. Res. 37 to repeal this unnecessary regulation.” (International Foodservice Distributors Association, Letter To U.S. Senators)

• “On behalf of the nation’s foodservice distributors, I urge you to support H.J. Res. 37, the Resolution of Disapproval to invalidate the Federal Acquisition Council regulation implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order.” (International Foodservice Distributors Association, Letter To U.S. Senators)

AMERICAN HOTEL & LODGING ASSOCIATION: “The Obama administration’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, otherwise known as the ‘blacklisting’ rule, would have prohibited qualified contractors - including hoteliers – from providing services to federal agencies based solely upon accusations of wrongdoing under federal law. …the Obama Administration’s ‘blacklisting’ regulation not only circumvents Congressional authority, but also strips businesses of their due-process rights while simultaneously increasing costs to the American taxpayer.” (American Hotel & Lodging Association, Letter To U.S. Senators, 2/3/17)

• “On behalf of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), the sole national association representing all segments of the 8 million jobs the U.S. lodging industry supports, including hotel owners, REITs, chains, franchisees, management companies, independent properties, bed and breakfasts, state hotel associations, and industry suppliers, I urge you to support S.J. Res. 12, a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to invalidate the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council regulations implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order (EO) issued by President Obama on July 13, 2014.” (American Hotel & Lodging Association, Letter To U.S. Senators, 2/3/17)

‘Obama “Blacklisting” Rule—New Leverage For Unions?’

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): “… I would have called it the blackmailing rule. … very real potential of subjecting perfectly innocent contractors to blackmail and extortion tactics during union contract negotiations.” (Sen. Johnson, Press Release, 3/2/17)

TEAMSTERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC UNION: “Using the Order: The Executive Order gives unions unprecedented new leverage against companies and institutions that contract with the federal government. …unions should be able to significantly increase their bargaining power by the simple expedient of filing meritorious charges with the NLRB, OSHA, the EEOC, or the DOL.” (“Obama ‘Blacklisting’ Rule—New Leverage For Unions?” Teamsters For A Democratic Union, 8/22/16)

• “Consider a union that strikes an auto plant for a new contract. Soon after workers hit the bricks, the union president has the following conversation with the general manager: … ‘You say that the NLRB is toothless but you are apparently unaware that the rules of the game have drastically changed. Under a new Order issued by the President, a federal contractor that incurs NLRB or other labor law complaints must report them to federal contracting agencies and face the prospect of losing existing and future contracts. Putting it plainly: unless you settle this strike within the next few days, and the union withdraws its charges, you are likely to be marked as a ‘repeat labor law offender,’ one of the highest categories of wrongdoing under the President’s Order. Check this out with your hotshot legal team. Counting all of its divisions, this corporation has federal contracts in the hundreds of millions. Do you really want to jeopardize this pot of gold to save a few hundred thousand dollars in the union contact?’” (“Obama ‘Blacklisting’ Rule—New Leverage For Unions?” Teamsters For A Democratic Union, 8/22/16)