Representatives of federal contractor associations charge that President Obama is requiring their members to comply with social and economic policies that have not been successful in his legislative agenda. These policies include a $10.10 minimum wage, set by executive order this past February, and a ban on discrimination over sexual orientation, per an executive order from July.
The contractors argue that the costs of compliance will mean higher prices for taxpayers and lessened competition in their fields. "[Contractors are] being used as an experiment to implement some of these new policies that they can't get through Congress, and so they're definitely concerned about the effects on their business," said Ben Brubeck of the Associated Builders and Contractors.
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