America’s Engineers Testify on the Unintended Consequences of the PPP Program: The FAR Credits Clause
Coral Gables, Florida Engineer Carlos Penin To Testify
Washington, DC – On Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at 12:00 pm, the House Small Business Committee’s Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure will hold a hearing titled: “The Interaction Between the Paycheck Protection Program and Federal Acquisition Rules: What it Means for Government Contractors.”
The hearing will explore how the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Credits Clause affects the Paycheck Protection Program and what that means for engineering companies and other professional service providers. This issue is of particular concern for ACEC member firms, most of which do work with the federal agencies and state DOTs which follow the FAR. ACEC Chair-elect Robin Greenleaf and Mr. Carlos A. Penin, PE President of CAP Engineering Coral Gables, FL will testify.
The Issue for America’s Engineering and Design Industry:
The FAR “credits” clause is being interpreted to apply to forgiven PPP loans, which would require a refund or a cost reduction in the amount of the PPP loans that are allocable to contract costs. For most engineering companies, this will result in a reduction in their future billing rates. Depending on how this credit is applied, some firms could actually lose more than the amount of the loan, especially in the case of multi-year contracts.
The impact of this policy will fall heavily on small, minority and women owned firms which sought PPP relief during the pandemic-driven economic shutdown. A continuation of this policy is a disincentive for engineering firms to compete for work with public agencies – depriving government of qualified engineering services while hampering DOT efforts to expand small business and DBE contracting opportunities when it’s needed the most.
Hearing Details:
WHO:
ACEC Chair-elect Ms. Robin Greenleaf, CEO, Architectural Engineers in Boston, MA, and Mr. Carlos A. Penin, PE, President of CAP Engineering in Coral Gables, FL will testify.
WHAT:
Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure hearing titled: “The Interaction Between the Paycheck Protection Program and Federal Acquisition Rules: What it Means for Government Contractors.”
WHEN:
Tuesday, March 23rd at 12:00 pm
WHERE:
Hearing livestream here
ABOUT ACEC: The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of the nation’s engineering industry. Founded in 1906, ACEC is a national federation of 52 state and regional organizations representing more than 5,500 engineering firms and nearly 600,000 engineers, surveyors, architects, and other specialists nationwide. ACEC member firms drive the design of America’s infrastructure and built environment.
