110 HR 803 IH: Department of Homeland Security U.S. House of Representatives 2007-02-05 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 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 803 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 5, 2007 Mr. Carney (for himself, Mr. Rogers of Alabama, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. King of New York, Mr. Dicks, Mr. Shays, Ms. Harman, Mr. Souder, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. McCaul of Texas, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Etheridge, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Cuellar, and Mr. Al Green of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security A BILL To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance the procurement-related activities of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Department of Homeland Security Procurement Improvement Act of 2007.

2.

Homeland security procurement training

(a)

In general

Subtitle D of title VIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

836.

Homeland security procurement training

(a)

Establishment

The Chief Procurement Officer shall provide homeland security procurement training to acquisition employees. (b)

Responsibilities of Chief Procurement Officer

The Chief Procurement Officer shall carry out the following responsibilities: (1)Establish objectives to achieve the efficient and effective use of available acquisition resources by coordinating the acquisition education and training programs of the Department and tailoring them to support the careers of acquisition employees. (2)Develop, in consultation with the Council on Procurement Training established under subsection (d), the curriculum of the homeland security procurement training to be provided. (3)Establish, in consultation with the Council on Procurement Training, training standards, requirements, and courses to be required for acquisition employees. (4)Establish an appropriate centralized mechanism to control the allocation of resources for conducting such required courses and other training and education. (5)Select course providers and certify courses to ensure that the procurement training curriculum supports a coherent framework for the educational development of acquisition employees, including the provision of basic, intermediate, and advanced courses, as well as training on the SAFETY Act (6 U.S.C. 441). (6)Publish an annual catalog that includes a list of the acquisition education and training courses. (7)Develop a system of maintaining records of student enrollment, and other data related to students and courses conducted pursuant to this section. (c)

Provision of instruction

The Chief Procurement Officer shall provide procurement training to acquisition employees of any agency under subsection (d)(3). The appropriate member of the Council on Procurement Training may direct such an employee to receive procurement training. (d)

Council on Procurement Training

(1)

Establishment

The Secretary shall establish a Council on Procurement Training to advise and make policy and curriculum recommendations to the Chief Procurement Officer. (2)

Chair of Council

The chair of the Council on Procurement Training shall be the Deputy Chief Procurement Officer. (3)

Members

The members of the Council on Procurement Training are the chief procurement officers of each of the following: (A)United States Customs and Border Protection. (B)The Transportation Security Administration. (C)The Office of Procurement Operations. (D)The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (E)The Federal Emergency Management Agency. (F)The Coast Guard. (G)The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. (H)The United States Secret Service. (I)Such other entity as the Secretary determines is appropriate. (e)

Acquisition employee defined

For purposes of this section, the term acquisition employee means an employee serving under a career or career-conditional appointment in the competitive service or appointment of equivalent tenure in the excepted service of the Federal Government, at least 50 percent of whose assigned duties include acquisitions, procurement-related program management, or procurement-related oversight functions. (f)

Report required

Not later than March 1 of each year, the Chief Procurement Officer shall submit to the Secretary a report on the procurement training provided under this section, which shall include information about student enrollment, students who enroll but do not attend courses, graduates, certifications, and other relevant information.

. (b)

Clerical amendment

The table of contents in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to such subtitle the following: Sec. 836. Homeland security procurement training. .

3.

Contracting requirements

(a)

In general

Such subtitle is further amended by adding at the end the following:

837.

Contracting requirements

(a)

Attestation required

The Secretary shall require any offeror for any contract to provide goods or services to the Department to submit as part of the offeror’s bid for such contract an attestation that affirmatively discloses any substantial role the offeror, the employees of the offeror, or any corporate parent or subsidiary of the offeror may have played in creating a solicitation, request for proposal, statement of work, or statement of objectives (as those terms are defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation) for the Department. (b)

Additional requirements for certain offerors

If an offeror submits an attestation under subparagraph (a) that discloses that the offeror, the employees of the offeror, or any corporate parent or subsidiary of the offeror played a substantial role in creating a solicitation, request for proposal, statement of work, or statement of objectives for the Department, the Secretary shall require the offeror to submit to the Secretary a description of the safeguards used to ensure that precautions were in place to prevent the offeror from receiving information through such role that could be used to provide the offeror an undue advantage in submitting an offer for a contract. (c)

Certification requirements

(1)

In general

The Secretary shall require any offeror for any contract to provide goods or services to the Department to submit to the Secretary as part of the offeror’s bid for such contract a certification in writing whether, as of the date on which the certification is submitted, the offeror— (A)is in default on any payment of any tax to the Federal Government; or (B)owes the Federal Government for any payment of any delinquent tax. (2)

Failure of Certification

Nothing in this section shall prevent the Department from awarding a contract to an offeror based solely on the offeror’s certification.

. (b)

Clerical amendment

The table of contents in section 1(b) of such Act is further amended by adding at the end of the items relating to such subtitle the following: Sec. 837. Contracting requirements. .

4.

Additional requirements to review past performance of contractors

(a)

In general

Such subtitle is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:

838.

Review of contractor past performance

(a)

Consideration of contractor past performance

In awarding a contract to a contractor, the Secretary shall consider the past performance of that contractor based on the review conducted under subsection (b). (b)

Review required

Before awarding to a contractor (including a contractor that has previously provided goods or services to the Department) a contract to provide goods or services to the Department, the Secretary, acting through the appropriate contracting officer of the Department, shall require the contractor to submit information regarding the contractor’s performance of Federal, State, and local government and private sector contracts. (c)

Contact of relevant officials

As part of any review of a contractor conducted under subsection (b), the Secretary, acting through an appropriate contracting officer of the Department, shall contact the relevant official who administered or oversaw each contract performed by that contractor during the five-year period preceding the date on which the review begins.

. (b)

Clerical amendment

The table of contents in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to such subtitle the following: Sec. 838. Review of contractor past performance. .

5.

Purchase cards

(a)

Review required

Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— (1)review and strengthen the policy governing the use of purchase cards that the Department provides to employees of the Department for use in conducting official business; and (2)issue Department-wide guidance on such policy. (b)

Distribution of policy

The Secretary shall distribute the policy or guidance developed under subsection (a) to each employee who possesses or is entitled to possess a purchase card provided by the Department. (c)

Requirement to inform employees

Upon distribution of the policy or guidance under subsection (b), the Secretary shall ensure that all employees of the Department who are entitled to possess a purchase card issued by the Department have reviewed the policy or guidance.

6.

Comptroller General report on Department of Homeland Security Contracting

Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report on the contracting processes of the Department of Homeland Security. The report shall contain the findings of the Comptroller General with respect to any improvements in such processes that could be made through the use of new technologies.