Congressman Stauber Reintroduces Small Business Payment for Performance Act

Congressman Pete Stauber (R-MN) has reintroduced the Small Business Payment for Performance Act. The legislation addresses change orders on federal construction projects, specifically when the government issues change orders without the contractor’s consent and often fails to comply with change order rules, such as formalizing change orders in writing.

Under the terms of the legislation, the following will occur:

• Small businesses can request an equitable adjustment from the contracting officer if the contracting officer issues a change order without the small business's agreement.
• The federal government must pay at least 50% of the cost of the change order upon receipt of the equitable adjustment.

Stan Kolbe, SMACNA’s Executive Director of Government and Political Affairs, said the following in support of Congressman Stauber’s legislation, “Every SMACNA contractor in Minnesota and across the nation bidding and building federal projects greatly appreciates Rep. Pete Stauber for sponsoring the Small Business Payment for Performance Act. At a time of rising project material costs and frequent change orders, we view Rep. Stauber’s bill as our highest priority. Without passage of the Small Business Payment for Performance legislation, the payment problems for contractors can only grow worse, and the economic health of contractors, small, medium, and large, will suffer greater harm.”

Click here to learn more about the bill and here for a recent article in ACHR about the change order legislation.