I know its hard to believe that one person can have such an outsized impact on the legislative process, but the deference given to committees of jurisdiction and committee leaders of both parties is a traditional courtesy that has existed for many years. Its designed to promote bipartisan cooperation, particularly on legislation drafted and advanced in a bipartisan manner.

We saw this play out during the Senates consideration of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, where the bipartisan group of Senators that cut the deal with the White House resisted all amendments that didnt have support from both sides of the aisle. While this process often leads to strong bipartisan vote margins, it can also occasionally work against you if a leader of a committee of jurisdiction objects.

This is a disappointing outcome, but ACEC continues to attract more lawmakers in support of our PPP fix, which is encouraging. Moving forward, we will pursue a strategy that will both keep them engaged and enable us to enlist new supporters.

BLUF: The advocacy on our efforts for PPP Fairness is not over, but since the NDAA passed in the House on the night of 12/7/21 without the language that we needed, ACEC will be seeking other federal legislative opportunities. See below for the latest from ACEC Nationals Steve Hall.

From Steve: I wish I had better news to report, but it appears that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will be moving forward to final passage without ACECs language to address the PPP/FAR credits clause problem

Despite strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate and various committees of jurisdiction, continued opposition from the senior Republican on the Senate Small Business Committee has prevented the inclusion of ACECs language in the final version of the NDAA. (suite…)