Sec. 131. Creating a best-value analysis for Federal expenditures on infrastructure, use of U.S. Employment Plans, and preferences for registered apprenticeship programs and neutrality in union organizing
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In this section: The term commitment to high-quality career and business opportunities means participation in a registered apprenticeship program (as defined in section 201(a)(2)). The term U.S. Employment Plan means a plan under which an entity receiving Federal assistance for a project under a covered infrastructure program shall— include in a request for proposal an encouragement for bidders to include, with respect to the project— high-quality wage, benefit, and training commitments by the bidder and the supply chain of the bidder for the project; and a commitment to recruit and hire individuals described in section 111(c) if the project results in the hiring of employees not currently or previously employed by the bidder and the supply chain of the bidder for the project; give preference for the award of the contract to a bidder that includes the commitments described in clauses
(i)and
(ii)of subparagraph (A); and ensure that each bidder that includes the commitments described in clauses
(i)and
(ii)of subparagraph
(A)that is awarded a contract complies with those commitments. To the maximum extent practicable, a recipient of assistance under a covered infrastructure program is encouraged— to ensure that each dollar invested in infrastructure uses a best-value contracting framework to maximize the local value of federally funded contracts by evaluating bids on price and other criteria prioritized in the bid, such as— equity; environmental and climate justice; impact on greenhouse gas emissions; resilience; the results of a 40-year life-cycle analysis; safety; commitment to creating or sustaining high-quality job opportunities affiliated with registered apprenticeship programs (as defined in section 201(a)(2)) for disadvantaged or underrepresented individuals in infrastructure industries in the United States; and access to jobs and essential services by all modes of travel for all users, including disabled individuals (as defined in section 121); in evaluating bids, to give at least equal weight to the criteria described in paragraph
(1)as to past performance; and to ensure community engagement, transparency, and accountability in carrying out each stage of the project. To the maximum extent practicable, a recipient of assistance under a covered infrastructure program, with respect to the project for which the assistance is received, shall give preference to a bidder that demonstrates a commitment to high-quality job opportunities affiliated with registered apprenticeship programs (as defined in section 201(a)(2)). Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the head of each relevant Federal agency, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, shall give preference in providing assistance under a covered infrastructure program to an entity that commits to giving preference in awarding contracts and subcontracts for projects carried out with that assistance to bidders that have an explicit neutrality policy on any issue involving the organization of employees for purposes of collective bargaining. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in carrying out a project under a covered infrastructure program, each entity that receives Federal assistance shall use a U.S. Employment Plan for each contract of $5,000,000 or more for the purchase of manufactured goods or of services, based on an independent cost estimate. Not less frequently than once each fiscal year, the heads of the relevant Federal agencies shall jointly submit to Congress a report describing the implementation of this section. It is the intent of Congress— to encourage recipients of Federal assistance under covered infrastructure programs to use a best-value contracting framework described in subsection (b)(1) for the purchase of goods and services; to encourage recipients of Federal assistance under covered infrastructure programs to use preferences for registered apprenticeship programs and neutrality in union organizing as described in subsections
(c)and
(d)when evaluating bids for projects using that assistance; to require that recipients of Federal assistance under covered infrastructure programs use the U.S. Employment Plan in carrying out the project for which the assistance was provided; and that full and open competition under covered infrastructure programs means a procedural competition that prevents corruption, favoritism, and unfair treatment by recipient agencies. A best-value contracting framework described in subsection (b)(1) is a framework that authorizes a recipient of Federal assistance under a covered infrastructure program, in awarding contracts, to evaluate a range of factors, including price, the quality of products, the quality of services, and commitments to the creation of good jobs for all people in the United States.