[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2608 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2608

  To ensure full partnership of small contractors in Federal disaster 
                        reconstruction efforts.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 7, 2006

 Ms. Snowe (for herself and Mr. Vitter) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business 
                          and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To ensure full partnership of small contractors in Federal disaster 
                        reconstruction efforts.

    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 ``Small Business Partners in 
Reconstruction Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the terms ``Administration'' and ``Administrator'' mean 
        the Small Business Administration and the Administrator 
        thereof, respectively;
            (2) the term ``small business concern'' has the same 
        meaning as in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
        632); and
            (3) the term ``small business concern owned and controlled 
        by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals'' has 
        the same meaning as in section 8 of the Small Business Act (15 
        U.S.C. 637).

SEC. 3. SMALL BUSINESS PROCUREMENT FLEXIBILITIES; GOVERNMENT-WIDE 
              GUIDANCE.

    Section 5 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 634) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Small Business Emergency Procurement Flexibilities; 
Government-Wide Guidance.--
            ``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term 
        `Guidelines' means the guidelines entitled `Emergency 
        Procurement Flexibilities (A Framework for Responsive 
        Contracting & Guidelines for Using Simplified Acquisition 
        Procedures)' issued by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy 
        of the Office of Management and Budget on May 30, 2003, or any 
        successor thereto.
            ``(2) Office of federal procurement policy.--In order to 
        enable the Federal Government to purchase goods and service 
        quickly and efficiently in times of disaster, contingency, or 
        other emergency, while promoting small business concern 
        utilization, the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy 
        shall--
                    ``(A) ensure that the Guidelines continue to 
                strongly encourage that the Federal Government utilize 
                the small business procurement flexibilities in this 
                Act;
                    ``(B) ensure that the Guidelines fully address all 
                available small business procurement flexibilities 
                (including flexibilities authorized for small business 
                concerns owned and controlled by socially and 
                economically disadvantaged individuals under section 
                8(a), HUBZone small business concerns, and small 
                business concerns owned and controlled by service-
                disabled veterans);
                    ``(C) periodically revise, update, or modify the 
                Guidelines;
                    ``(D) publish the Guidelines, as updated to comply 
                with this paragraph, in the Federal Register; and
                    ``(E) consult with the Administrator on any changes 
                to the Guidelines.
            ``(3) Administration.--The Administrator shall, with regard 
        to the Guidelines--
                    ``(A) develop and conduct ongoing government-wide 
                training on small business emergency procurement 
                flexibilities (including flexibilities authorized for 
                small business concerns owned and controlled by 
                socially and economically disadvantaged individuals 
                under section 8(a), HUBZone small business concerns, 
                and small business concerns owned and controlled by 
                service-disabled veterans); and
                    ``(B) designate not fewer than 1 official to 
                provide advice and assistance to the Office of Federal 
                Procurement Policy and other Federal agencies on the 
                use of small business procurement flexibilities in 
                times of disaster, contingency, or other emergency.''.

SEC. 4. PAPERWORK RECIPROCITY FOR SMALL DISASTER CONTRACTORS.

    Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Administrator shall ensure that all eligible small business concerns 
receive the full benefit of reciprocity in certifications between 
Federal and Federally-funded contracting programs for small business 
concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically 
disadvantaged individuals.

SEC. 5. HURRICANE KATRINA AND RITA SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACTING DATA.

    Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy and the Administrator 
shall ensure that the Federal Procurement Data System contains 
comprehensive Government-wide data on small business participation in 
contracting related to Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita of 
2005.

SEC. 6. DISASTER AREA HUBZONES.

    Section 3(p)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(p)(1)) is 
amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``or'';
            (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) any area affected by Hurricane Katrina of 
                2005 or Hurricane Rita of 2005, for such time or in 
                such geographic area as designated by the 
                Administrator.''.

SEC. 7. DISASTER CONTRACTING OUTREACH PROGRAMS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a contracting outreach 
and technical assistance program for small business concerns that--
            (1) had a primary place of business, or other significant 
        presence, in the area affected by Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or 
        Hurricane Rita of 2005, as designated by the Administrator 
        under section 7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act, beginning on 
        the date that is 60 days before the date of that designation by 
        the Administrator; or
            (2) have a primary place of business, or other significant 
        presence, in the area affected by Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or 
        Hurricane Rita of 2005, as designated by the Administrator 
        under section 7(b)(2) of the Small Business Act, during the 
        period beginning on the date of that designation and ending on 
        the date that is 5 years after the date of that designation.
    (b) Administrator Action.--The Administrator may fulfill the 
requirement of subsection (a) by acting through--
            (1) the Administration;
            (2) the Federal agency small business officials designated 
        under section 15(k)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
        644(k)(1)); and
            (3) any Federal, State, or local government entity, higher 
        education institution, Procurement Technical Assistance Center, 
        or private nonprofit organization that the Administrator 
        determines is proper, upon conclusion of a memorandum of 
        understanding or assistance agreement, as appropriate, with the 
        Administrator.

SEC. 8. SMALL BUSINESS BONDING THRESHOLD.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), and 
notwithstanding any other provision of law, for any procurement related 
to Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita of 2005, the 
Administrator may, upon such terms and conditions as the Administrator 
may prescribe, guarantee and enter into commitments to guarantee any 
surety against loss resulting from a breach of the terms of a bid bond, 
payment bond, performance bond, or bonds ancillary thereto, by a 
principal on any total work order or contract amount at the time of 
bond execution that does not exceed $5,000,000.
    (b) Increase of Amount.--Upon request of the head of any Federal 
agency other than the Administration involved in reconstruction efforts 
in response to Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita of 2005, the 
Administrator may guarantee and enter into a commitment to guarantee 
any security against loss under subsection (a) on any total work order 
or contract amount at the time of bond execution that does not exceed 
$10,000,000.

SEC. 9. FAIR SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION.

    In order to facilitate the maximum practicable participation of 
small business concerns in activities related to relief and recovery 
from Hurricane Katrina of 2005 and Hurricane Rita of 2005, the 
Administrator and the head of any Federal agency making procurements 
related to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita 
of 2005, shall set a goal of awarding to small business concerns not 
less than 30 percent of amounts expended for prime contracts and not 
less than 40 percent of amounts expended for subcontracts on 
procurements by such agency related to the aftermath of Hurricane 
Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita of 2005, respectively.

SEC. 10. PROTECTION OF SMALL BUSINESS RESERVATION.

    Section 15(j) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(j)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(4) For any contracts involving the use of the special emergency 
procurement authority under section 32A(c) of the Office of Federal 
Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 428a(c)), the dollar ceiling of the 
small business reservation established in paragraph (1) shall be 
adjusted to match the applicable amount of the simplified acquisition 
threshold.''.

SEC. 11. SMALL BUSINESS MULTIPLE-AWARD DISASTER CONTRACTS.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator and the Administrator for 
Federal Procurement Policy shall ensure that the Federal Government 
establishes and maintains multiple-award contracts with small business 
concerns of all categories on a nationwide and regional basis for the 
purpose of conducting or supporting Federal disaster recovery efforts.
    (b) Report.--At the end of each fiscal year, the Administrator and 
the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy shall submit to 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the 
Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report 
describing the terms, conditions, and status of the contracts described 
in subsection (a) awarded during the preceding fiscal year.

SEC. 12. TRANSPARENCY IN DISASTER SUBCONTRACTING.

    The Administrator and the head of each executive agency awarding 
recovery and reconstruction contracts related to Hurricane Katrina of 
2005 or Hurricane Rita of 2005 shall ensure that each such contract for 
which a small business subcontracting plan is required by law or 
contract terms contains a clause requiring the posting of 
subcontracting opportunities on the SUB-Net database established by the 
Administration under section 8(e) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
637(e)), or any successor thereto.

SEC. 13. PROTECTION OF SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTING.

    Section 8(d)(4)(D) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
637(d)(4)(D)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(D) No contract'' and inserting the 
        following:
                    ``(D) Small business participation.--
                            ``(i) In general.--No contract''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(ii) Emergency procurements.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--For any contract 
                                which otherwise meets the requirements 
                                of this subsection, and which involves 
                                the use of special emergency 
                                procurement authority under section 
                                32A(c) of the Office of Federal 
                                Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 
                                428a(c)), the subcontracting plan 
                                required under this subsection shall be 
                                negotiated as soon as is practicable, 
                                but not later than 30 days after the 
                                date on which the contract is awarded.
                                    ``(II) Payment.--Not greater than 
                                50 percent of the amounts due under any 
                                contract described in subclause (I) may 
                                be paid, unless a subcontracting plan 
                                compliant with this subsection is 
                                negotiated by the contractor.''.

SEC. 14. CONTRACTING PRIORITY FOR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES.

    Section 15(d) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(d)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``(d) For purposes'' and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(d) Contracting Priorities.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Disaster contracting priority in general.--The 
        Administrator shall designate any disaster area as an area of 
        concentrated unemployment or underemployment, or a labor 
        surplus area for purposes of paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Local small businesses.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall give 
                priority in the awarding of contracts and the placement 
                of subcontracts for disaster relief to local small 
                business concerns.
                    ``(B) Other agencies.--The head of each executive 
                agency shall give priority in the awarding of contracts 
                and the placement of subcontracts for disaster relief 
                to local small business concerns, by using, as 
                appropriate--
                            ``(i) preferential factors in evaluations 
                        of contract bids and proposals;
                            ``(ii) competitions restricted to local 
                        small business concerns, where there is a 
                        reasonable expectation of receiving 
                        competitive, reasonably priced bids or 
                        proposals from not fewer than 2 local small 
                        business concerns;
                            ``(iii) requirements of preference for 
                        local small business concerns in subcontracting 
                        plans; and
                            ``(iv) assessments of liquidated damages 
                        and other contractual penalties, including 
                        contract termination.
                    ``(C) Other disaster assistance.--Priority shall be 
                given to local small business concerns in the awarding 
                of contracts and the placement of subcontracts for 
                disaster relief in any Federal procurement and any 
                procurement by a State or local government made with 
                Federal disaster assistance funds.
            ``(4) Definitions.--In this subsection--
                    ``(A) the term `declared disaster' means Hurricane 
                Katrina of 2005, Hurricane Rita of 2005, or any other 
                disaster, as designated by the Administrator;
                    ``(B) the term `disaster area' means any State or 
                area affected by a declared disaster, as determined by 
                the Administrator;
                    ``(C) the term `executive agency' has the same 
                meaning as in section 105 of title 5, United States 
                Code; and
                    ``(D) the term `local small business concern' means 
                a small business concern that--
                            ``(i) on the date immediately preceding the 
                        date on which a declared disaster occurred--
                                    ``(I) had a principal office in the 
                                disaster area for such declared 
                                disaster; and
                                    ``(II) employed a majority of the 
                                workforce of such small business 
                                concern in the disaster area for such 
                                declared disaster; and
                            ``(ii) is capable of performing a 
                        substantial proportion of any contract or 
                        subcontract for disaster relief within the 
                        disaster area for such declared disaster, as 
                        determined by the Administrator.''.

SEC. 15. RELIEF FROM TEST PROGRAM.

    Section 711(d) of the Small Business Competitive Demonstration 
Program Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 644 note) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Program'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        Program''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Exception.--The Program shall not apply to any 
        contract related to relief or reconstruction from Hurricane 
        Katrina of 2005 or Hurricane Rita of 2005.''.
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