[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2841 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2841

 To ensure that the business of the Federal Government is conducted in 
     the public interest and in a manner that provides for public 
    accountability, efficient delivery of services, reasonable cost 
  savings, and prevention of unwarranted Government expenses, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 10, 2000

  Mr. Robb (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Sarbanes, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. 
   Akaka, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. Kennedy) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                   Committee on Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To ensure that the business of the Federal Government is conducted in 
     the public interest and in a manner that provides for public 
    accountability, efficient delivery of services, reasonable cost 
  savings, and prevention of unwarranted Government expenses, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Truthfulness, 
Responsibility, and Accountability in Contracting Act of 2000''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Certification of compliance.
Sec. 4. Agency reporting systems and required reports.
Sec. 5. Requirement for public-private competition.
Sec. 6. Review of contractor performance.
Sec. 7. Survey of wages and benefits provided by contractors.
Sec. 8. Comptroller General reports.
Sec. 9. Applicability.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) The term ``employee'' means any individual employed--
                    (A) as a civilian in a military department (as 
                defined in section 102 of title 5, United States Code);
                    (B) in an Executive agency (as defined in section 
                105 of title 5, United States Code), including an 
                employee who is paid from nonappropriated funds;
                    (C) in those units of the legislative and judicial 
                branches of the Federal Government having positions in 
                the competitive service;
                    (D) in the Library of Congress;
                    (E) in the Government Printing Office; or
                    (F) by the Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
            (2) The term ``agency'' means any department, agency, 
        bureau, commission, activity, or organization of the United 
        States, that employs an employee (as defined in paragraph (1)).
            (3) The term ``non-Federal personnel'' means employed 
        individuals who are not employees, as defined in paragraph (1).
            (4) The term ``contractor'' means an individual or entity 
        that performs a function for an agency under a contract with 
        non-Federal personnel.
            (5) The term ``privatization'' means the action by an 
        agency to exit a business line, terminate an activity, or sell 
        Government owned assets or operational capabilities to the non-
        Federal sector.
            (6) The term ``outsourcing'' means the action by an agency 
        to acquire services from external sources, either from a non-
        Federal source or through interservice support agreements, 
        through a contract.
            (7) The term ``contracting out'' means the conversion by an 
        agency of the performance of a function to performance by non-
        Federal personnel under a contract between an agency and an 
        individual or other entity.
            (8) The term ``contracting in'' is the conversion of the 
        performance of a function by non-Federal personnel under a 
        contract between an agency and an individual or other entity to 
        the performance by employees.
            (9) The term ``contracting'' means--
                    (A) the performance of a function by non-Federal 
                personnel under a contract between an agency and an 
                individual or another entity; and
                    (B) includes privatization, outsourcing, 
                contracting out, and contracting in, unless otherwise 
                specifically provided.

SEC. 3. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE.

    (a) Requirements for Heads of Agencies.--(1) The head of each 
agency shall, not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, submit to the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget a certification that--
            (A) the agency has established a centralized reporting 
        system in accordance with section 4;
            (B) in the case of each function of the agency that is 
        being performed under contracting, the contracting function 
        decision was based on a public-private competition described 
        under section 5;
            (C) the agency is not managing Federal employees by any 
        arbitrary limitations in accordance with sections 5 and 6; and
            (D) the agency is reviewing work performed by contractors, 
        recompeting or contracting in work when appropriate, and 
        subjecting to public-private competition an equivalent number 
        of Federal employee and contractor positions in accordance with 
        section 6.
    (2) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall--
            (A) promptly after receiving certifications under paragraph 
        (1)(B), publish in the Federal Register notices of the 
        availability of the certifications to the public, including the 
        names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the officials from 
        whom the certifications can be obtained; and
            (B) ensure that, after the removal of proprietary 
        information, the head of each agency makes the certifications 
        of that agency available to the public--
                    (i) upon request; and
                    (ii) on the World Wide Web.
    (b) Suspension of Contracting for Services Pending Satisfaction of 
Certification Requirement.--(1) Beginning 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the head of an agency may not enter into any 
contract for the performance of services until the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget, after reviewing the certification 
required under subsection (a)(1), determines that the agency is making 
substantial progress toward meeting the requirements under subsection 
(a)(1) (A), (B), (C), and (D).
    (2) If an agency head is prohibited from entering into a contract 
after a determination is made under paragraph (1), that agency head may 
subsequently request another determination from the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget under that paragraph.
    (3) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall--
            (A) promptly after making a determination as to whether an 
        agency is making substantial progress under paragraph (1), 
        publish that determination in the Federal Register; and
            (B) make that determination available to the public--
                    (i) upon request; and
                    (ii) on the World Wide Web.
    (c) Waiver of Suspension.--(1) The Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget may waive the applicability of this section to a 
contract for services if the Director determines that it is necessary 
to do so in the interest of the national security, extraordinary 
economic harm, or patient care.
    (2) After granting any waiver under this subsection, the Director 
of the Office of Management and Budget shall promptly publish a notice 
of that waiver in the Federal Register that--
            (A) identifies the facilities, units, or activities 
        affected;
            (B) explains the justification for the waiver; and
            (C) identifies the duration of the waiver.
    (d) GAO Monitoring.--While an agency is operating under a 
suspension of contracting authority under subsection (b), the 
Comptroller General shall--
            (1) monitor the agency's compliance with the requirements 
        of this Act; and
            (2) submit to Congress, every 60 days, a report on the 
        extent of the agency's compliance with such requirements.

SEC. 4. AGENCY REPORTING SYSTEMS AND REQUIRED REPORTS.

    (a) Centralized Reporting System.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, each agency shall establish a 
centralized reporting system in accordance with guidance promulgated by 
the Office of Management and Budget that allows the agency to generate 
periodic reports on the contracting efforts of the agency. Such 
centralized reporting system shall be designed to enable the agency to 
generate reports on efforts regarding both contracting out and 
contracting in.
    (b) Reports on Contracting Efforts.--(1) Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, every agency shall 
generate and submit to the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget a report on the contracting efforts of the agency undertaken 
during the 2 fiscal years immediately preceding the fiscal year during 
which this Act is enacted. Such report shall comply with the 
requirements in paragraph (3).
    (2) For the current fiscal year and every fiscal year thereafter, 
every agency shall complete and submit to the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget a report on the contracting efforts undertaken by 
the agency during that fiscal year. The report for a fiscal year shall 
comply with the requirements in paragraph (3), and shall be completed 
and submitted not later than the end of the first fiscal quarter of the 
subsequent fiscal year.
    (3) The reports referred to in this subsection shall include the 
following information with regard to each contracting effort undertaken 
by the agency:
            (A) The contract number and the Federal supply class or 
        service code.
            (B) A statement of why the contracting effort was 
        undertaken and an explanation of what alternatives to the 
        contracting effort were considered and why such alternatives 
        were ultimately rejected.
            (C) The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the 
        officials who supervised the contracting effort.
            (D) The competitive process used or the statutory or 
        regulatory authority relied on to enter into the contract 
        without public-private competition.
            (E) The cost of Federal employee performance at the time 
        the work was contracted out (if the work had previously been 
        performed by Federal employees).
            (F) The cost of Federal employee performance under the most 
        efficient organization plan identified for that performance (if 
        the work was contracted out through OMB Circular A-76).
            (G) The anticipated cost of contractor performance, based 
        on the award.
            (H) The current cost of contractor performance.
            (I) The actual savings, expressed both as a dollar amount 
        and as a percentage of the cost of performance by Federal 
        employees, based on the current cost, and an explanation of the 
        difference, if any.
            (J) A description of the quality control process used by 
        the agency in connection with monitoring the contracting 
        effort, identification of the applicable quality control 
        standards, the frequency of the preparation of quality control 
        reports, and an assessment of whether the contractor met, 
        exceeded, or failed to achieve the quality control standards.
            (K) The number of employees performing the contracting 
        effort under the contract and any related subcontracts.
    (c) Report on Contracting in Efforts.--(1) For the current fiscal 
year and every fiscal year thereafter, every agency shall complete and 
submit to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget a report 
on the contracting in efforts undertaken by the agency during that 
fiscal year. The report for a fiscal year shall comply with the 
requirements in paragraph (2), and shall be completed and submitted not 
later than the end of the first fiscal quarter of the subsequent fiscal 
year.
    (2) The reports referred to in paragraph (1) shall include the 
following information for each contracting in effort undertaken by the 
agency:
            (A) A description of the type of work involved.
            (B) A statement of why the contracting in effort was 
        undertaken.
            (C) The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the 
        officials who supervised the contracting in effort.
            (D) The cost of performance at the time the work was 
        contracted in.
            (E) The current cost of performance by Federal employees or 
        military personnel.
    (d) Report on Employee Positions.--Not later than 30 days after the 
end of each fiscal year, every agency shall submit to the Office of 
Management and Budget a report on the number of Federal employee 
positions and positions held by non-Federal employees under a contract 
between the agency and an individual or entity that has been subject to 
public-private competition during that fiscal year.
    (e) Submission of Reports to Congress.--(1) The Office of 
Management and Budget shall compile all reports submitted under this 
section and submit the reports to the committees referred to under 
paragraph (2), not later than 120 days after the end of the applicable 
fiscal year.
    (2) The reports compiled under this subsection shall be submitted 
to the Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives 
and to the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
    (f) Publication.--The Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget shall promptly publish in the Federal Register notices including 
a description of when the reports referred to in this section are 
available to the public and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers 
of the officials from whom the reports may be obtained.
    (g) Availability on Internet.--After the excision of proprietary 
information, the reports referred to in this section shall be made 
available through the Internet.
    (h) Review.--The Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
shall review the reports referred to in this section and consult with 
the head of the agency regarding the content of such reports.

SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT FOR PUBLIC-PRIVATE COMPETITION.

    (a) In General.--(1) After the date of the enactment of this Act 
and in accordance with section 3, any decision by an agency to initiate 
or continue a privatization, outsourcing, contracting in, or 
contracting out (including any continuation by the exercise of an 
option, extension, or renewal) for the performance of a function shall 
be based on the results of a public-private competition process that--
            (A) formally compares the costs of Federal employee 
        performance of the function with the costs of the performance 
        by a contractor;
            (B) employs the most efficient organization process 
        described in OMB Circular A-76; and
            (C) is conducted in consultation or through bargaining with 
        the exclusive representative of the Federal employees 
        performing the function, if applicable.
    (2) This subsection applies only to contracting efforts undertaken 
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Determination of Costs.--(1) An agency shall commence or 
continue the performance of a function by Federal employees if, under a 
cost comparison performed under a public-private competition process 
described in subsection (a), the agency determines that at least a 10-
percent cost savings would not be achieved by performance of the 
function by a contractor.
    (2) During the suspension established in section 3 of this Act, an 
agency may undertake a contracting effort made under the issuance of a 
waiver granted under section 3 for a function that is not currently 
performed by Federal employees if the agency has determined the total 
cost to the agency of performing the function by a contractor and the 
total cost to the agency of having those services performed by Federal 
employees and that the contractor performance costs are less than the 
Federal employee performance costs.
    (c) Inapplicability of Certain Limitation.--Notwithstanding any 
limitation on the number of Federal employees established by law, 
regulation, or policy, an agency may continue to employ, or may hire, 
such Federal employees as are necessary to perform work acquired 
through public-private competition required by this section.

SEC. 6. REVIEW OF CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE.

    (a) In General.--If a report completed under section 4 indicates 
that, for 2 consecutive years, the actual cost of privatization, 
outsourcing, contracting in, or contracting out of a particular 
function exceeds the anticipated cost of contractor performance, based 
on the award (referred to in section 4(b)(3)(G)), or fails to 
substantially meet quality control standards (referred to in section 
4(b)(3)(J)), the agency shall either conduct a new public-private 
competition or convert the function to performance by Federal employees 
not later than the earlier of the date of the expiration of the 
contract or the beginning of the first fiscal year which is not more 
than 12 months after the initial determination that the cost of a 
contracting effort exceeds the anticipated cost of contractor 
performance or that quality standards have not been substantially met. 
Any resulting terminations for convenience may be undertaken without 
cost to the United States Government. This subsection applies only to 
contracting efforts undertaken on or after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
    (b) Public-Private Competition.--For each fiscal year, an agency 
shall subject to public-private competition an equivalent number of 
Federal employee positions and positions held by non-Federal employees 
under a contract between an agency and an individual or entity.
    (c) Inapplicability of Certain Limitation.--Notwithstanding any 
limitation on the number of Federal employees established by law, 
regulation, or policy, an agency may continue to employ or may hire 
such Federal employees as are necessary to perform work acquired 
through public-private competition required by this section.

SEC. 7. SURVEY OF WAGES AND BENEFITS PROVIDED BY CONTRACTORS.

    (a) Requirement To Conduct Survey.--Using information provided by 
agencies, the Secretary of Labor shall conduct a survey of the wages 
and quantifiable benefits provided by contractors to non-Federal 
personnel working in various occupations under contracts between 
agencies and individuals or entities that were entered into during the 
2 fiscal years immediately preceding the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
    (b) Review.--(1) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management 
shall--
            (A) review the analysis prepared by the Secretary of Labor 
        under subsection (a) and determine the extent to which the 
        wages and quantifiable benefits paid by contractors are 
        comparable to the wages and quantifiable benefits earned by 
        Federal employees; and
            (B) issue a report on the findings of the review.
    (2) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the report shall be submitted to the Committee on Government 
Reform of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and published in the Federal 
Register.
    (c) Guidance.--The Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
shall issue guidance to implement this section.

SEC. 8. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS.

    The Comptroller General shall report to the Committee on Government 
Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate every 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act on the compliance by agencies with the 
requirements of this Act.

SEC. 9. APPLICABILITY.

    This Act does not apply with respect to the following:
            (1) The General Accounting Office.
            (2) Depot-level maintenance and repair of the Department of 
        Defense (as defined in section 2460 of title 10, United States 
        Code).
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