[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1348 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1348

 To assure quality and best value with respect to Federal construction 
      projects by prohibiting the practice known as bid shopping.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 19, 2003

Mr. Kanjorski (for himself and Mr. Jefferson) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To assure quality and best value with respect to Federal construction 
      projects by prohibiting the practice known as bid shopping.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

     This Act may be cited as the ``Construction Quality Assurance Act 
of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

     Congress finds the following:
            (1) Certain abhorrent and undesirable practices, known as 
        bid shopping, have arisen from time to time in construction 
        work for the Federal Government.
            (2) Bid shopping threatens the integrity of the procurement 
        of construction services.
            (3) The practice of bid shopping deprives taxpayers of the 
        full benefits of fair competition among contractors and 
        subcontractors, and often results in poor quality of material 
        and workmanship to the detriment of the public.
            (4) When bid shopping occurs, the cost savings gained are 
        not passed on to the Federal Government, but the simultaneous 
        reductions in quality and value are passed on to the Federal 
        Government.
            (5) The procurement practices of the Federal Government 
        should be modified to prohibit bid shopping at any level.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

     In this Act:
            (1) Contract.--The term ``contract'' means any contract 
        with the Federal Government, exceeding $1,000,000 in amount, 
        for the construction, alteration, or repair of any public 
        building or public work of the United States.
            (2) Bid shopping.--The term ``bid shopping'' means the 
        practice of divulging a contractor's or subcontractor's bid or 
        proposal or requiring a contractor or subcontractor to divulge 
        its bid or proposal to another prospective contractor or 
        subcontractor before the award of a contract or subcontract in 
        order to secure a lower bid or proposal.
            (3) Contractor.--The term ``contractor'' means an 
        individual or entity that has been awarded or is seeking to be 
        awarded a construction contract by the Federal Government.
            (4) Subcontractor.--The term ``subcontractor'' means an 
        individual or entity with which an offeror on a contract 
        proposes to enter into a subcontract for manufacturing, 
        supplying, fabricating, installing, or otherwise performing 
        with respect to the contract, whether the work is to be 
        performed by the subcontractor at the construction site or off 
        the site.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION AGAINST BID SHOPPING.

    (a) Prohibition.--Neither the Federal Government, nor a contractor 
or subcontractor, shall participate in the practice of bid shopping 
with respect to a contract.
    (b) Notice Requirement.--Any invitation for bid or request for 
proposal issued by the Federal Government shall include a clause 
explicitly prohibiting the practice of bid shopping and specifying the 
penalties for violating the prohibition against bid shopping.

SEC. 5. PENALTIES.

    (a) In General.--(1) A contract shall provide for termination of 
the contract or the imposition of liquidated damages in the amount 
described in paragraph (2) upon a determination by the contracting 
officer, in accordance with applicable provisions of the Federal 
Acquisition Regulation (including provisions relating to due process), 
that a violation of section 4(a) has occurred.
    (2) The amount of liquidated damages that may be imposed pursuant 
to paragraph (1) is an amount equal to the greater of 3 times--
            (A) the final bid on the contract (before the award of the 
        contract) by either a contractor or subcontractor; or
            (B) the price paid to the contractor or any subcontractor 
        for work performed.
    (b) Grounds for Suspension or Debarment.--The imposition of 
liquidated damages under subsection (a) on a contractor or 
subcontractor with respect to 2 contracts within a 5-year period shall 
be deemed to be adequate evidence of a lack of integrity and business 
ethics that seriously and directly affects the responsibility of a 
Government contractor within the meaning of part 9.4 of the Federal 
Acquisition Regulation (Debarment, Suspension, and Ineligibility) (48 
CFR 9.4).

SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION THROUGH THE FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION.

    Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulation shall be modified to provide 
appropriate solicitation provisions, contract clauses, and 
investigatory procedures to implement this Act.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

     This Act shall apply with respect to contracts awarded on or after 
the date of the beginning of the first fiscal quarter beginning more 
than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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