07/21/2021

PPP/FAR Credits Clause Waiver at Critical Point

ACEC and ACEC Ohio have been working for almost a year on the PPP/FAR credits clause issue.  We are making progress. In the INVEST in America Act passed by the House earlier this month, we had a partial victory, narrowing the applicability of the FAR credits clause to only federally funded projects.  

This is a step forward, but we still believe that the best and fairest solution would be a complete waiver of the FAR credits clause for all forgiven PPP loans for all engineering firms regardless of size or type of project they work on for their public sector clients. 

We are at a critical moment in our campaign to fix the PPP/FAR credits clause, and we need everyone working towards the same goal to achieve success. ACEC National launched a new Action Alert to the employees of all member firms with fewer than 500 employees, urging them to contact their Senators and make a case for a waiver.

Click here to access the Action Alert Center, where you will find additional information as well as an email template to send to both your Senators and your Representative.   Click here to see ACEC Ohio's letter to Senator Rob Portman.

ACEC President Linda Darr stated this week she has heard from a handful of our larger firm members interested in learning why this is so critically important to us and why it has been such a primary focus for our advocacy team. It is an understandable question that she welcomed the opportunity to answer:

"Although many of our larger firms may not be directly affected by this problem, it becomes a large-firm issue if their essential small-firm subcontractors are weakened or forced to take fewer contracts or close their doors outright because of this issue. The FAR credits clause threatens the industry at its roots—our smaller, regional firms that perform essential work for their state DOTs and enable larger engineering firms to compete on projects and deliver for their shareholders. This issue links large firms to small, and its impact won’t be restricted by size or geography."  

Thank you for your advocacy efforts!