Congressmen Fuel Cycle of PLA Corruption

September 28th 2010 · 0 Comments

Reporters and TheTruthAboutPLAs.com readers often question why anti-competitive and costly project labor agreements (PLAs) are placed on federal construction projects when: (1) they are controversial and have a track record of poor performance; (2) the majority of the construction industry is opposed to government-mandated PLAs; and (3) President Obama’s pro-PLA Executive Order 13502 encourages, but does not require, federal agencies to mandate PLAs on federal construction projects exceeding $25 million in value.

The answer is simple: politics and patronage. We have written about the cycle of corruption surrounding government-mandated PLAs, but here is an actual case study – featuring sitting members of Congress – that illustrates how politicians funnel lucrative federal construction contracts to their Big Labor political patrons through PLA schemes.

Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) and Congressman John Hall (D-N.Y.) have repeatedly urged U.S. Secretary of the Army John McHugh and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers procurement officials to use PLAs for large federal construction projects at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point in New York (see June 21 letter and press release from the offices of Reps. Hinchey and Hall).

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