The act would require companies that bid on federal construction projects of more than $1 million to list the sub-contractors they intend to use on the project. In addition, the bill would establish procedures for contractors who want to substitute a subcontractor listed on the original bid. This legislation would protect subcontractors who perform work in the federal construction market.

The bill is designed to discourage practices known as “bid shopping” or “bid pedaling,” the association said.

Bid shopping occurs when a general contractor who has been awarded a prime contract seeks to obtain lower-priced subcontractors than those upon which the contractor based its bid price, and when a subcontractor who is not selected for a construction project may seek to induce the prime contractor to substitute his or her company for a subcontractor on the original bid by offering to reduce its price.

The alliance also expressed support of the Federal Acquisition Regulations in a recent letter to the Senate. The letter opposed removing the Administration’s regulations as part of H.R. 4871, the “FY 2001 Treasury-Postal Service Appropriations Bill.”

Publication date: 08/28/2000