There is legislation before the U.S. House of Representatives that would effectively take all federal public-sector design work away from private firms. Every architect needs to voice his or her opinion to Congress now. (Get contact information from the reference box on the right of the screen.)

The AIA believes that the Truthfulness, Responsibility, and Accountability in Contracting (TRAC) Act is bad law. Under the guise of "saving money," it would block the federal government from hiring private-sector architects. This measure would curtail any further use of private-sector services and resources by federal agencies as well as put a hold on currently contracted activities.

Architects need to persuade their congressional representatives to oppose the TRAC Act (H.R. 721)—and time is of the essence. On June 28, the House Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy will hold a hearing on Outsourcing and Privatization where the TRAC Act will be reviewed and discussed.

This legislation would severely reduce work for architects by freezing all federal government contracts. The federal government currently outsources $2 billion a year in A/E services, which will disappear if the TRAC Act passes. Additionally, the General Accounting Office estimates that there is a $4 billion backlog of needed repair and alteration work on federal buildings. Thus, not only would H.R. 721 cripple many private sector firms that supply these valuable services, it would make it impossible for federal agencies to complete needed repairs to ensure the modernization and safety of federal facilities.

What you can do
In the reference box at right, you will find links to a sample letter urging Congress to oppose the TRAC Act. Use this letter as a model (or you can copy it directly onto your firm's stationery) and email the message to your congressional delegation, as well as to Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), chair of the subcommittee dealing with the TRAC Act. Congressman Davis' email is tom.davis@mail.house.gov. To find the email addresses for your congressional delegation—by name or by ZIP code—visit http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html or call Scott Young, 202-626-7404. (Please copy your letters and emails to AIA Government Affairs at govaff@aia.org or 1735 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20006-5292.)

Copyright 2001 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.