Michael Waltz: “This amendment requires local preferences and State construction licenses for all facility sustainment and military…”

“This amendment requires local preferences and State construction licenses for all facility sustainment and military construction projects. Mr. Speaker, it is notable the opposition to this amendment includes the Chamber of Commerce, the National Defense Industrial Association, the Associated General Contractors of America, the Association of Building Contractors, and the American Council of Engineering Companies. All of them oppose this, and notably, this provision last year was strongly opposed by the Biden Administration. Mr. Speaker, this provision would increase time and money to an already difficult, lengthy, and often slow military construction process. These are facilities that our fighting men and women desperately need. Mr. Speaker, it also impacts the skilled workforce. The local hiring preferences would significantly impact a military construction contractor's workforce by creating scenarios where long-term, highly skilled workers may have to be released and may have to be laid off in order to meet the local hire mandate. Then in order to comply with the requirements, employers would have to bring in unnecessary and unskilled workers to fill these now vacant positions, creating additional costs and creating additional safety concerns. {time} 1630 Local preference requirements falsely assume--and here is the fundamental issue.…”