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Jobs to Move America and the UCLA Law School David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law & Policy are excited to invite you to our upcoming panel:

Toward a New Procurement Law: Reclaiming Competition for the Common Good

When:  August 9, 2021 at 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET

Speakers
Scott Cummings, Robert Henigson Professor of Legal Ethics and Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law
Nestor M. Davidson, Albert A. Walsh Chair in Real Estate, Land Use, and Property Law, Fordham University School of Law
Felice Segura, National Legal Director, Jobs to Move America

Moderator
Madeline Janis, Esq. Executive Director, Jobs to Move America

About the panel
Panelists will present a groundbreaking new analysis of federal procurement law to reveal how regulatory changes can transform the U.S. economy by directing federal resources for physical, social and climate-related infrastructure  to rebuild high-road American businesses and create good jobs for all.  Panelists will trace the history of procurement law to expose how the Reagan administration and its free market ideology constrained federal contracting considerations and limited state and local innovation. Speakers will also present the legal analysis that clarifies that procurement law can be a tool to rebuild the American middle class by creating good jobs, advancing climate justice, and breaking down barriers to racial equity.

Background
Every year, federal, state, and local governments spend nearly $2 trillion of our public dollars to purchase services, infrastructure and manufactured equipment—everything from school buses to wind turbines and garbage trucks. This cash can go towards building up our economy with jobs for workers across the country. 

But that’s not the case because legal interpretations made decades ago by the Reagan administration put federal restrictions on hiring from local communities and including social justice considerations when cities and states use federal dollars for infrastructure projects. The restrictions were established on the unfounded basis that local hiring and economic development policies would increase the price of public works projects and reduce the number of companies willing to bid on those projects, i.e. reducing “competition.”  The “competition rule” was made without any evidence, and the local hire ban was adopted without consulting Congress. Instead, this rule supports business interests over the health, safety and economic well-being of communities across the country. 

Register in advance for this webinar. 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. 

Associated Resources

Primer: Green Industrial Strategy for Just Transitions

The Climate + Community Project’s report mentions JMA’s U.S. Employment Plan as model legislation to leverage government purchasing power to support the development of a high-road electric vehicle manufacturing industry.

Resource Types:
  • Reports & Policy Briefs

Local Opportunities Coalition comment in response to Office of Management and Budget’s Request for Information

The Local Opportunities Coalition and supporting partners wrote a comment in response to the Office of Management and Budget’s Request for Information on how the Uniform Guidance can be updated or revised to give state and local recipients of federal financial assistance more tools to create good jobs and promote greater racial and gender equity …

Resource Types:
  • Good Jobs Policies
  • Policy + Programs

Local and Economically-Targeted Hire Brochure

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will bring $1.2 trillion to states and cities over the next 5 years for new and existing infrastructure–a once in a generation opportunity. For the first time, local and economically targeted hire on transportation projects is allowed without prior approval. This printable brochure details how communities can take advantage …

Fact Sheet: Empowering Cities and States: Making Federal Funds Work for Our Communities

Currently, a set of decades-old federal rules (known as the Uniform Guidance) impede cities and states from using innovative programs in the procurement process that can amplify the benefit of federal funds for communities. The procurement process can be a powerful tool to address historic inequities and uplift millions of struggling people—particularly people of color—but …