An amendment which would exempt the Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) from the controversial “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order 13673, proposed rule and guidance, commonly referred to as “blacklisting,” passed the House Armed Services Committee on April 28.

The amendment, which was offered by Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), was added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017 and passed by a vote of 34-28. The NDAA was passed by the committee with a bipartisan vote of 60-2. 

ABC Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck praised the passage of the bill in a news release:

“Associated Builders and Contractors is appreciative of Rep. Kline's leadership in passing this important amendment that will protect contractors, taxpayers and the DoD and NNSA from the consequences of the Obama administration’s flawed ‘blacklisting’ proposal. ABC supports the federal government’s stated effort to make workplaces safer and ensure a level playing field for federal contractors; however, this proposal will threaten federal contractors’ due process rights, add needless and duplicative layers of bureaucracy and inject unwarranted subjectivity into the federal procurement process. We encourage the administration to pursue policies that increase transparency and the coordination of information between agencies, boost small business participation in the procurement process and award contracts based on merit to firms that can deliver the highest quality product at the best price.”

The blacklisting proposal was sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on May 4, 2016 with a final rule likely to be released this summer. ABC has consistently opposed the blacklisting proposal since the White House issued the Fair Pay and Workplaces Executive Order 13673 in July of 2014, for more information visit abc.org/blacklisting.