[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2438 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2438

 To amend title 31, United States Code, to provide Federal Government 
employees with bid protest rights in actions under Office of Management 
           and Budget Circular A-76, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 19, 2004

  Ms. Collins (for herself, Mr. Levin, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. 
 Akaka, Mr. Sarbanes, and Ms. Mikulski) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 31, United States Code, to provide Federal Government 
employees with bid protest rights in actions under Office of Management 
                          and Budget Circular
                     A-76, 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. BID PROTESTS BY FEDERAL EMPLOYEES IN ACTIONS UNDER OFFICE OF 
              MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET CIRCULAR A-76.

    (a) Eligibility To Protest.--(1) Section 3551(2) of title 31, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) The term `interested party'--
                    ``(A) with respect to a contract or a solicitation 
                or other request for offers described in paragraph (1), 
                means an actual or prospective bidder or offeror whose 
                direct economic interest would be affected by the award 
                of the contract or by failure to award the contract; 
                and
                    ``(B) with respect to a public-private competition 
                conducted under Office of Management and Budget 
                Circular A-76 regarding performance of an activity or 
                function of a Federal agency, includes--
                            ``(i) any official who submitted the agency 
                        tender in such competition; and
                            ``(ii) any one person who, for the purpose 
                        of representing them in a protest under this 
                        subchapter that relates to such competition, 
                        has been designated as their agent by a 
                        majority of the employees of such Federal 
                        agency who are engaged in the performance of 
                        such activity or function.''.
    (2)(A) Subchapter V of chapter 35 of such title is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 3557. Expedited action in protests for public-private 
              competitions
    ``For protests in cases of public-private competitions conducted 
under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 regarding 
performance of an activity or function of Federal agencies, the 
Comptroller General shall administer the provisions of this subchapter 
in a manner best suited for expediting final resolution of such 
protests and final action in such competitions.''.
    (B) The chapter analysis at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 3556 the 
following new item:

``3557. Expedited action in protests for public-private 
                            competitions.''.
    (b) Right To Intervene in Civil Action.--Section 1491(b) of title 
28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph:
    ``(5) If a private sector interested party commences an action 
described in paragraph (1) in the case of a public-private competition 
conducted under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 regarding 
performance of an activity or function of a Federal agency, then an 
official or person described in section 3551(2)(B) of title 31 shall be 
entitled to intervene in that action.''.
    (c) Applicability.--Subparagraph (B) of section 3551(2) of title 
31, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), and paragraph (5) 
of section 1491(b) of title 28, United States Code (as added by 
subsection (b)), shall apply to--
            (1) protests and civil actions that challenge final 
        selections of sources of performance of an activity or function 
        of a Federal agency that are made pursuant to studies initiated 
        under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 on or after 
        January 1, 2004; and
            (2) any other protests and civil actions that relate to 
        public-private competitions initiated under Office of 
        Management and Budget Circular A-76 on or after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>