109 HR 5981 IH: Competitiveness in Contracting U.S. House of Representatives 2006-07-28 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.

I 109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5981 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 28, 2006 Mr. Boswell introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform A BILL To limit the noncompetitive award of Federal contracts in response to major disasters and emergencies, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Competitiveness in Contracting Act.

2.

Limitation on noncompetitive award of contracts during major disasters and emergencies

(a)

Limitation

In awarding a contract to procure property or services in connection with a major disaster or emergency, if the head of an executive agency awards the contract using procedures other than competitive procedures pursuant to the exception provided in section 303(c)(2) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253(c)(2)), the contract may be for a period of not greater than 90 days, with an option to extend the contract for 1 additional 90-day period. (b)

Justification for additional extensions

A contract described in subsection (a) may be extended beyond the periods allowed under that subsection if the head of the executive agency concerned submits to Congress in writing a justification explaining the rationale for the extension of the contract. (c)

Encouragement of competition

The head of each executive agency should encourage the use of competitive procedures in the award of contracts in connection with a major disaster or emergency. (d)

Major disaster and emergency

In this section, the terms major disaster and emergency have the meanings provided in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).