By / Stan Kolbe, Executive Director of Legislative and Political affairs, SMACNA
SMACNA Government Affairs was extremely active from January through June 2026. Just a few of its major legislative actions include Davis-Bacon defense in the Senate and expansion of prevailing wage requirements through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA); continued advancement of the Small Business Payment for Performance Act in both chambers, including a full slate of federal regulatory comments and monitoring; coalition coordination on prevailing wage and multiemployer pension issues; and significant executive branch action on energy infrastructure, federal contracting, and trade policy.
Davis-Bacon Defense and Expansion
The primary legislative threat this period is S. 4477, the Davis-Bacon Repeal Act, pending before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. SMACNA opposes this bill because prevailing wage repeal would create a race to the bottom on federal construction projects, undercut local wage standards, and put responsible signatory contractors at a structural disadvantage against those competing on exploited labor.
SMACNA on Offense: The Hill staff has been advocating for a draft NDAA amendment expected from Rep. Don Norcross (D-NJ) to the Defense Community Infrastructure Program statute. Because DCIP distributes federal money as grants to state and local governments rather than through direct federal construction contracts, Davis-Bacon does not attach, leaving workers in 18 states with no federal prevailing wage protection on DCIP-funded projects. The amendment would close that gap by adding standard prevailing wage language as a condition of every DCIP grant award.
Small Business Payment for Performance Act (H.R. 4615)
SMACNA is advancing H.R. 4615, the Small Business Payment for Performance Act, introduced by Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN), which would require the federal government to equitably adjust contracts when directed changes increase a contractor’s costs. The bill has passed the House as a NDAA amendment multiple times and has been stripped in Senate conference each time.
This cycle, Government Affairs is pursuing both a Senate introduction to establish standing in the upper chamber and inclusion in the House-passed FY2027 NDAA. To build the member relationships needed for both outcomes, Government Affairs has conducted direct outreach to approximately 50 congressional offices, focusing on members serving on committees with jurisdiction over the NDAA and federal contracting and those representing districts with significant federal construction activity.
Military Construction and VA Appropriations Act, FY2027 (H.R. 8469)
SMACNA engaged on H.R. 8469 as it moved to the House floor, submitting vote recommendations on two amendments. SMACNA recommended a YES vote on the Rep. Walkinshaw (D-VA) amendment, which would direct GAO review of indoor air quality, ventilation, and HVAC performance standards in military construction and VA-funded buildings, creating a direct policy hook for the kind of work SMACNA contractors perform in federal facilities.
SMACNA recommended a NO vote on the Rep. Ogles (R-GA) amendment, which would prohibit architectural, engineering, and construction design services for administrative facilities falling outside specified DOD property categories, unnecessarily restricting federal construction design and build activity. SMACNA also expressed support for the bill’s overall $157 billion discretionary funding level and urged Congress to fully fund VA construction at the President’s requested level of approximately $3.9 billion, which sustains critical veterans’ healthcare infrastructure projects built by SMACNA contractors under Davis-Bacon prevailing wage standards.
Other Legislative Priorities
SMACNA supports H.R. 7460, the Airborne Act of 2026, introduced by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), which creates a tax credit for indoor air quality assessments and HVAC upgrades at commercial and public properties with apprenticeship utilization requirements that directly benefit SMACNA-SMART contractors, and H.R. 5123, the Indoor Air Quality and Healthy Schools Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by Reps. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), which drives ventilation and filtration work in schools and childcare facilities.
SMACNA supports H.R. 5862, the American Energy Independence and Affordability Act, introduced by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and 128 cosponsors. This bill will be a featured energy efficiency tax incentive bill late this year or early next year if the House flips to Democrats in November, as is widely expected. The Capitol Hill office is also tracking H.R. 4105, the Veterans Energy Transition Act, which provides employer-side reimbursements for hiring veterans in the energy sector and maps to the SMACNA-SMART joint apprenticeship pipeline.
In April 2026, GOP Representatives Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Lawler (R-NY), Max Miller (R-OH), and Carey (R-OH) introduced SMACNA-endorsed H.R. 8477, the American Energy Dominance Act, also backed by North America’s Building Trades Unions, to restore energy tax credits accelerated for phase-out under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including the 179D commercial buildings deduction without expiration, the 45L home credit through 2032, and the 45Y and 48E clean electricity credits that drive energy infrastructure construction. ■
