3.0.0 1481 2023-01-11T13:28:06Z 2023-01-11T13:28:06Z House HR 2015-03-19 114 [Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 47 (Thursday, March 19, 2015)]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. CHABOT:H.R. 1481.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:The Congress enacts this bill pursuant to Clause 1 ofSection 8 of Article I of the United States Constitution,which provides Congress with the ability to enact legislationnecessary and proper to effectuate its purposes in taxing andspending.[Page H1804]]]> hssm00 Small Business Committee House Standing Reported by 2016-04-19T19:14:00Z Markup by 2015-03-25T17:24:42Z Referred to 2015-03-19T13:09:25Z H. Rept. 114-510 SESO Act 114 1386 HR 2015-03-17 Referred to the House Committee on Small Business. Related bill CRS Small Business Joint Venturing Act of 2015 114 1390 HR 2015-03-17 Referred to the House Committee on Small Business. Related bill CRS To amend the Small Business Act to require the implementation of a data quality improvement plan, and for other purposes. 114 1410 HR 2015-03-17 Referred to the House Committee on Small Business. Related bill CRS Stronger Voice for Small Business Act of 2015 114 1429 HR 2015-03-18 Referred to the House Committee on Small Business. Related bill CRS Commonsense Contracting Act of 2015 114 1444 HR 2015-03-18 Referred to the House Committee on Small Business. Related bill CRS Small Business Fairness Act 114 958 S 2016-06-28 By Senator Vitter from Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship filed written report. Report No. 114-288. Related bill CRS Small Business Contractor's Clarification Act of 2015 114 1583 HR 2015-03-24 Referred to the House Committee on Small Business. Related bill CRS Small Contractors Improve Competition Act of 2015 114 2139 S 2016-12-20 By Senator Vitter from Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship filed written report under authority of the order of the Senate of 12/10/2016. Report No. 114-416. Related bill CRS Related bill House National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 114 1735 HR 2015-10-22 Vetoed by President. Related bill CRS 2016-04-19 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 390. Calendars H12410 2 House floor actions U00390 2016-04-19 Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Small Business. H. Rept. 114-510. Committee H12200 2 House floor actions hssm00 Small Business Committee 2016-04-19 Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Small Business. H. Rept. 114-510. Committee 5000 9 Library of Congress hssm00 Small Business Committee 2015-03-25 hssm00 Small Business Committee 1 House committee actions Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote. Committee 2015-03-25 hssm00 Small Business Committee 1 House committee actions Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held. Committee 2015-03-19 Referred to the House Committee on Small Business. IntroReferral H11100 2 House floor actions hssm00 Small Business Committee 2015-03-19 Introduced in House IntroReferral Intro-H 9 Library of Congress 2015-03-19 Introduced in House IntroReferral 1000 9 Library of Congress C000266 Rep. Chabot, Steve [R-OH-1] STEVE CHABOT R OH 1 N Commerce Administrative remedies Economic development Executive agency funding and structure Federal officials Government lending and loan guarantees Minority and disadvantaged businesses Performance measurement Public contracts and procurement Small Business Administration Small business Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation Women in business Commerce 00 2015-03-19 Introduced in House 2015-05-05T16:23:45Z Small Contractors Improve Competition Act of 2015

This bill amends the Small Business Act to require the government to ensure small business participation in procurement contracts from a wide variety of industries and from a broad spectrum of small businesses within each industry.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 is amended with respect to the requirement that federal agency heads ensure that senior executive personnel responsible for acquisition assume responsibility for that agency's success in achieving small business contracting goals and percentages. Such personnel are also made responsible for the agency's success in achieving small business prime contracting and subcontracting goals and percentages.

The Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) must develop a methodology for calculating a score card to be used to: (1) evaluate the compliance of each federal agency with meeting SBA goals, and (2) develop a scorecard based on it.

By assigning a score to each federal agency, the Administrator shall establish a program to use the developed scorecard to evaluate whether each entity is creating the maximum practicable opportunities for the award of prime contracts and subcontracts to: (1) small businesses in general, (2) those small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, (3) qualified HUBZone small businesses, (4) those owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and (5) those owned and controlled by women.

The Administrator may not award limited SBA guarantee loans for any fiscal year after FY2017 as part of certain SBA-administered pilot programs until this program is established.

Revisions are made to the Administrator's plan to improve the quality of data reported on bundled and consolidated contracts in the federal procurement data system. The Administrator may not award limited SBA guaranteed loans after FY2017 until the plan is implemented.

A small business is permitted to bid on a bundled or consolidated contract that provides for the use of a joint venture of small businesses.

Use of the methods of a reverse auction (an auction between a group of offerors who compete against each other by submitting offers for a contract or task or delivery order with the ability to submit revised offers with lower prices throughout the course of the auction) is prohibited for certain SBA federal procurement contracts for:

  • design and construction services;
  • goods purchased to protect federal employees, members of the Armed Forces, or civilians from bodily harm; or
  • goods or services other than these: (1) to be awarded based on factors other than price and technical responsibility, or (2) if awarding the contract requires the contracting officer to conduct discussions with the offerors about their offer.

The permission to submit an offer for a procurement contract, even though the offeror is not the actual manufacturer or processor of the product in question, is extended to additional kinds of small businesses, including:

  • women-owned small businesses;
  • HUBZone small businesses, and
  • small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans.

The SBA Office of Hearing and Appeals is established.

Exceptions to certification training requirements are revised for SBA procurement center representatives and SBA Business Opportunity Specialists serving on, before, or after January 3, 2013.

Persons may file with the Office of Hearings and Appeals petitions or reconsiderations of a size standard revised, modified, or established by the Administrator.]]>

17 2016-04-19 Reported to House with amendment(s) 2016-05-06T19:45:33Z (Much of H.R. 1481, ordered to be reported on March 25, 2015, but not actually reported till April 19, 2016, was already incorporated in November 2015 into two Public Laws: P. L. 114-88, the Recovery Improvements for Small Entities After Disaster Act of 2015 or the RISE After Disaster Act of 2015; and P.L. 114-92, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016. The following summary reflects changes to the original bill that were ordered to be reported on March 25, 2015.)

Small Contractors Improve Competition Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 to require federal agency heads to ensure that specified executive personnel assume responsibility for the agency's success in achieving small business subcontracting goals and percentages.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) shall study whether the systems of an agency or department accurately record the data necessary for compliance with any requirements related to subcontracting at any tier under the Small Business Act.

In addition, the GAO shall conduct a study to: (1) assess whether federal agencies are accurately identifying the size status of business concerns awarded contracts in the Federal Procurement Data System as small business concerns, and (2) identify the impact of incorrect size status designations on meeting specified requirements related to procurement contracts.

(Sec. 3) The Small Business Administration (SBA) must implement a specified plan for improving the quality of data reported on bundled or consolidated contracts in the federal procurement data system.

The SBA must annually certify to Congress the accuracy and completeness of data reported on bundled and consolidated contracts.

The GAO shall study the effectiveness of the data quality improvement plan to assess whether contracts are accurately labeled as bundled or consolidated.

(Sec. 4) The bill addresses federal agency decisions about consolidation of its contract requirements made with a view to providing small business concerns with appropriate opportunities to participate in agency procurements as prime contractors and subcontractors.

After making a determination that an acquisition strategy involving a consolidation of contract requirements is necessary and justified, the senior procurement executive or Chief Acquisition Officer of an executive agency (other than the Department of Defense) shall publish a notice, with the justification, on a public website that the determination has been made. Any procurement solicitation related to that acquisition strategy may not be published before seven days after the notice is published.

The same notice deadlines shall apply to any solicitation for a procurement involving a substantial bundling of contract requirements. The justification accompanying the solicitation shall, in addition to current criteria, identify any alternative contracting approaches that would involve a lesser degree of bundling of contract requirements.

(Sec. 5) The bill revises requirements for the evaluation of offers for bundled or consolidated contracts involving subcontractor teams or joint ventures.

When evaluating a small business prime contractor's offer that includes a proposed team of small business contractors for any multiple award contract above the federal agency's substantial bundling threshold, the agency shall consider the capabilities and past performance of each first tier subcontractor that is part of the team as the capabilities and past performance of the offeror.

For certain contracts awarded to either a small business team or a joint venture of small business concerns, the contracting officer must certify annually to the SBA that the small business status of each member of the team or joint venture remains unchanged from when the contract was awarded.  This requirement shall not apply, however, with respect to a contract awarded to a joint venture of small business concerns that is a protege under an approved mentor-protege program.

(Sec. 6) The bill prohibits the use of reverse auction methods for covered contracts involving:

  • purchase of office and related supplies;
  • procurements from women-owned small business concerns;
  • goods and services with an anticipated value between $2,500 and $100,000 which are reserved for small business concerns;
  • HUBZone small businesses (which operate in historically underutilized business zones);
  • small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans;

A "reverse auction" is, with respect to procurement, an auction in which offerors compete against each other to submit revised offers with lower prices throughout the course of the auction.

Covered contracts are certain SBA federal procurement contracts for:

  • design and construction services;
  • goods purchased to protect federal employees, members of the Armed Forces, or civilians from bodily harm; or
  • other goods or services if the contract is to be awarded based on factors other than price and technical responsibility, or requires the contracting officer to conduct discussions with the offerors about their offer.

In the case of the award of a contract that is not a covered contract, an agency may use reverse auction methods pursuant to certain limitations.

Only a contracting officer who has received specified training related to reverse auction methods may supervise or use such methods in a procurement for a contract.

(Sec. 7) The permission to submit an offer for a procurement contract, even though the offeror is not the actual manufacturer or processor of the product in question (nonmanufacturer rule), shall be extended to:

  • women-owned small businesses;
  • HUBZone small businesses; and
  • small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans.

This permission shall not apply, however, to a contract that has as its principal purpose the acquisition of services or construction.

Under current law, with respect to a contract for supplies from a regular dealer in such supplies, a covered small business concern is generally required to supply the product of a domestic small business manufacturer or processor. The bill revises this requirement so that it applies only to a contract that is principally for supplies and not principally for services or construction.

The SBA must publish a list of waivers to the nonmanufacturer rule granted for a class of products.

(Sec. 8) The bill revises exceptions to the requirement for Procurement Center Representatives to obtain a Level III Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting. Any person serving in such a position on or before January 3, 2013, may continue to serve for another five years. Andy person hired after that date, however, may take up to one calendar to obtain that certification.

(Sec. 9) The same requirements and exceptions, with respect however to a Level I Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting, shall also apply to Business Opportunity Specialists and Commercial Market Representatives.

]]> Small Contractors Improve Competition Act of 2015 Display Title Small Contractors Improve Competition Act of 2015 Official Title as Introduced To amend the Small Business Act to strengthen the small business industrial base, and for other purposes. Introduced in House IH Short Titles as Introduced Small Contractors Improve Competition Act of 2015 Short Titles as Reported to House Small Contractors Improve Competition Act of 2015 H House Reported in House 2016-04-19T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-114hr1481rh/xml/BILLS-114hr1481rh.xml Introduced in House 2015-03-19T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-114hr1481ih/xml/BILLS-114hr1481ih.xml 2016-04-19 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 390. 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. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.