Blogs

U.S. Rep. Nydia Margarita Velázquez: Giving a Voice to Small Business Owners ​ In the 25 years that U.S. Rep. Nydia Margarita Velázquez (D-NY 7th) has served in Congress, her priority has always been to ensure that small business owners and hardworking Americans have a fair shot at the American Dream. “Every day, I have the privilege of being a voice for New Yorkers from diverse backgrounds,” Velázquez said. “Interacting with constituents and helping them is the most rewarding part of my job.” As a Ranking Member of the House Committee on Small Business, Velázquez’s work involves advocating for America’s 30 million small businesses ...

​ In response to NASBP member requests for information about states prohibiting directed suretyship, NASBP has released its Survey of State Anti-Directed Surety Statutes information map. The map is the latest in a series the Association has produced to provide Members, Affiliates, Associates, and their clients information on local legislative activity, governmental initiatives, and other resources—right at their fingertips. With bond producers often working in multiple states and impacted by various statutes, things can get confusing quickly. “A lot of the work our members do is state-level work, and all the different public ...

U.S. Reps. Richard Hanna (R-NY 22nd) and Reid Ribble (R-WI 8th) are retiring from Congress this year at the end of their terms, but not without working on significant legislation for the surety and construction industries. In recent interviews, they spoke about their accomplishments and challenges in Congress. U.S. REP. RICHARD HANNA Hanna said the most enjoyable part of his six years in Congress has been learning what it takes to make a bill become law, with a “perfect example” being the surety provisions that were included in the fiscal year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which took about four years to accomplish. Hanna ...

SuretyPAC, which has been NASBP's political action committee for more than two decades is a critical means for NASBP to advocate for the Association's federal legislative agenda. “SuretyPAC disbursements provide NASBP Government Relations staff with invaluable face-time to educate legislators in a more focused way on the merits and purpose of the product,” says NASBP Government Relations Committee Chair Kevin Garrity of the NASBP Member firm of Rose and Kiernan in East Greenbush, NY. SuretyPAC Chair Chris Leach of the NASBP Member firm of Arthur J. Gallagher, says the PAC's sole focus on the interests of surety is a crucial reason why key owners or officers ...

A critical component of NASBP's 2016 legislative advocacy will be ensuring that surety bond requirements are included in public-private partnerships, or P3s, that involve federal loans, grants, and resources. NASBP is already focusing on the reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which includes a provision that provides grants and loan guarantees to states and localities for P3 agreements for water infrastructure projects. It is unclear, however, whether bonding provisions apply says Lawrence LeClair, NASBP Director of Government Relations. The bill will likely come up for reauthorization during the spring, he says. In the meantime, ...

One of NASBP's most significant legislative victories of 2015 was the signing of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). See NASBP press release. That's because its amendments include a provision imposing stricter requirements on individual sureties looking to bond federal construction contracts, while another increases the guarantee provided through the Small Business Administration's Surety Bond Guarantee Preferred Program. The individual surety provision–which NASBP has sought for the last five years–limits the types of assets that such a surety can pledge to back a federal project. NASBP CEO Mark McCallum says the assets now must be those the ...

During the second week of May, the U.S. House of Representatives will consider the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), H.R. 1735. During the amendment process, Representative Sam Graves (R-MO-6th) offered H.R. 838 as amendment to H.R. 1735. H.R. 838 includes the individual surety provision and increases the guarantee to sureties who participate in the SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Program from 70% to 90%. With both provisions of H.R. 838 in the 2016 House NDAA it is doubly important that you attend this year’s Fly-in to ask your representatives/senators for their support of these measures in the final version (Senate/House) of the 2016 NDAA. ...