[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 111 (Friday, June 27, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3579-S3580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I come to the Senate to bring up the 
issue of how the Congress--on a piece of legislation that I am part 
of--and how President Trump can help the economy through helping small 
business.
  President Biden issued an Executive order in February of 2022. That 
Executive order required what is called the project labor agreements, 
or PLAs, on Federal projects over $35 million. Just to be clear, I 
meant that Executive order requires project labor agreements.
  I opposed this Executive order at that time, and I joined a letter 
with my colleagues, telling President Biden what a bad idea that was. I 
believe the Trump administration should deregulate this Biden Executive 
order.
  Project labor agreements are a sort of backdoor way to give unionized 
contractors a leg up on Federal contracts in competition with nonunion 
contractors. Plus, there is too much redtape for a business to comply.
  Public project labor agreements effectively make it impossible for a 
contractor to compete for Federal contracts if its workforce isn't 
unionized. So it is kind of like a union shop outlawed by the Taft-
Hartley Act in right-to-work States. About 27 States have right-to-work 
laws.
  Well, most of the workforce in Iowa isn't unionized. This Executive 
order seems to assume that every workforce should be unionized, and 
Iowa happens to be a right-to-work State.
  It happens that I support the right of workers to organize. I joined 
a union from 1962 to 1971. I was a member of the International 
Association of Machinists. I am proud of my membership in that union 
and the years I spent on the assembly line at Waterloo Register in 
Cedar Falls, IA. It happens that my job was putting screw holes in 
furnace registers. However, I also support the right of workers not to 
join a union.
  Iowa has many companies, small and large, including many family-run 
enterprises, where they care deeply about their employees. So it is 
natural that these companies' employees don't feel a need to unionize.
  The Federal Government should not tip the scales against these great 
but small companies and their workers. Federal contracts should be 
awarded through a fair and competitive bidding process that allows all 
qualified contractors to compete on a level playing field based on 
merit, based on experience, quality, and the safety of their workforce.
  Project labor agreement mandates prevent many small businesses from 
competing for Federal projects and may even lead to increased costs for 
taxpayers.
  I told you I was going to talk about legislation that would do the 
same thing I asked President Biden to do. I am the cosponsor of a bill 
called the Fair and Open Competition Act prohibiting Federal Agencies 
from mandating project labor agreements or using PLA preferences on 
Federal construction contracts.
  I am also joining Senator Britt and a number of my colleagues in 
urging President Trump to revoke the ill-conceived Biden Executive 
order mandating project labor agreements on Federal projects. The Biden 
Executive order should be at the top of the list of a ``deregulation'' 
administration, which this Trump administration is and it proudly 
speaks so.
  I yield the floor.

[[Page S3580]]

  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________