118 HR 6845 IH: Equitable Contracting and Small Business Advancement Act U.S. House of Representatives 2023-12-15 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I118th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 6845IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESDecember 15, 2023Mr. Thanedar introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed ServicesA BILLTo require officials of the Department of Defense to provide a briefing on the implementation of category management memorandum, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Equitable Contracting and Small Business Advancement Act.

2.

Briefing on the implementation of category management memorandum

(a)

Briefing required

Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and the Director of the Office of Small Business Programs of the Department of Defense shall jointly provide to the appropriate congressional committees a briefing on the implementation of the memorandum by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment entitled Achieving Small Business Goals through Category Management Practices and dated January 27, 2023.(b)

Contents

Each briefing required under subsection (a) shall include the following:(1)The effects of the implementation of the memorandum described in subsection (a) on contracting opportunities for small businesses.(2)The tools and data analysis that are being used to support small business concerns in procurement decisions to increase small business opportunities.(3)The strategic efforts that have been taken to achieve the small business participation goals of the Department of Defense through the use of existing and open market contracts to reach a mix of new entrants, seasoned 8(a) companies, and other small disadvantaged businesses.(4)The opportunities that have been identified to transition from bundled or consolidated contracts without small business participation to contracts with small business participation or to use small business set-aside competition.(5)The metrics the Department of Defense has established to measure the effects of the implementation of the memorandum described in subsection (a) on opportunities for small businesses to contract with the Department.(6)The success stories of small business participation with the Department of Defense that the Department has identified and is sharing in industry engagements.(7)The sufficiency of the educational resources identified in the memorandum described in subsection (a).(8)Any recommendations on additional steps the Department of Defense can take to maximize small business participation with the Department through category management practices.(c)

Appropriate congressional committees defined

In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means—(1)the Committees on Armed Services and Small Business of the House of Representatives; and(2)the Committees on Armed Services and on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate.