[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 958 Reported in Senate (RS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 106
114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 958

 To amend the Small Business Act to provide for team and joint venture 
                     offers for certain contracts.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 15, 2015

  Mr. Enzi (for himself and Mr. Casey) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business 
                          and Entrepreneurship

                             June 10, 2015

               Reported by Mr. Vitter, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Small Business Act to provide for team and joint venture 
                     offers for certain contracts.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Fairness 
Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. JOINT VENTURING AND TEAMING.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Joint Venture Offers for Bundled or Consolidated 
Contracts.--Section 15(e)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
644(e)(4)) is amended to read as follows:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Contract teaming.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--In the case of a 
                solicitation of offers for a bundled or consolidated 
                contract that is issued by the head of an agency, a 
                small business concern may submit an offer that 
                provides for use of a particular team of subcontractors 
                or a joint venture of small business concerns for the 
                performance of the contract.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Evaluation of offers.--The head of 
                an agency shall evaluate the offer of a team or a joint 
                venture of small business concerns submitted under 
                subparagraph (A) in the same manner as other offers, 
                with due consideration to the capabilities of all of 
                the proposed subcontractors or members of the joint 
                venture.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) Teams.--When evaluating an 
                        offer of a small business prime contractor that 
                        includes a proposed team of subcontractors, the 
                        head of the agency shall consider the 
                        capabilities and past performance of each first 
                        tier subcontractor that is part of the team as 
                        the capabilities and past performance of the 
                        team.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) Joint ventures.--When 
                        evaluating an offer of a joint venture of small 
                        business concerns, if the joint venture does 
                        not have sufficient capabilities or past 
                        performance to be considered for award of a 
                        contract opportunity, the head of the agency 
                        shall consider the capabilities and past 
                        performance of each member of the joint venture 
                        as the capabilities and past performance of the 
                        joint venture.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) Status as a small business 
                concern.--Participation of a small business concern in 
                a team or a joint venture under this paragraph shall 
                not affect the status of that concern as a small 
                business concern with respect to the performance of a 
                contract described in subparagraph (A).''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Team and Joint Venture Offers for Multiple Award 
Contracts.--Section 15(q)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
644(q)(1)) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in the heading, by inserting ``and joint 
        venture'' before ``requirements'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by striking ``Each Federal agency'' and 
        inserting the following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--Each Federal agency''; 
                and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Teams.--When evaluating an offer of 
                a small business prime contractor that includes a 
                proposed team of subcontractors for any multiple award 
                contract above the substantial bundling threshold of 
                the Federal agency, the head of the Federal agency 
                shall consider the capabilities and past performance of 
                each first tier subcontractor that is part of the team 
                as the capabilities and past performance of the 
                offeror.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) Joint ventures.--When evaluating an 
                offer of a joint venture of small business concerns for 
                any multiple award contract above the substantial 
                bundling threshold of the Federal agency, if the joint 
                venture does not have sufficient capabilities or past 
                performance to be considered for award of a contract 
                opportunity, the head of the Federal agency shall 
                consider the capabilities and past performance of each 
                member of the joint venture as the capabilities and 
                past performance of the joint venture.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) Use of small business teams or joint 
                ventures.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) In general.--For contracts 
                        awarded under section 8(a), 8(m), 15(a), 15(j), 
                        31, or 36 to a team of small business prime 
                        contractors and subcontractors or a joint 
                        venture of small business concerns, the 
                        contracting officer shall certify annually to 
                        the Administration, for each year the contract 
                        is in effect, that each small business concern 
                        member of the team or joint venture has the 
                        same status of a small business concern, small 
                        business concern owned and controlled by 
                        service-disabled veterans, qualified HUBZone 
                        small business concern, small business concern 
                        owned and controlled by socially and 
                        economically disadvantaged individuals, or 
                        small business concern owned and controlled by 
                        women, as applicable, that such concern had at 
                        the time the contract was awarded.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) Exception.--The 
                        requirements of clause (i) shall not apply to a 
                        contract awarded to a joint venture of small 
                        business concerns that is a protege under a 
                        mentor-protege program approved pursuant to 
                        section 45.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Rulemaking.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration shall issue any regulations necessary to carry out the 
amendments made by this section.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Fairness Act''.

SEC. 2. JOINT VENTURING AND TEAMING.

    (a) Joint Venture Offers for Bundled or Consolidated Contracts.--
Section 15(e)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(e)(4)) is 
amended to read as follows:
            ``(4) Contract teaming.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In the case of a solicitation of 
                offers for a bundled or consolidated contract that is 
                issued by the head of an agency, a small business 
                concern may submit an offer that provides for use of a 
                particular team of subcontractors or a joint venture of 
                small business concerns for the performance of the 
                contract.
                    ``(B) Evaluation of offers.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The head of an agency 
                        shall evaluate the offer of a team or a joint 
                        venture of small business concerns submitted 
                        under subparagraph (A) in the same manner as 
                        other offers, with due consideration to the 
                        capabilities of all of the proposed 
                        subcontractors or members of the joint venture.
                            ``(ii) Teams.--When evaluating an offer of 
                        a small business prime contractor that includes 
                        a proposed team of subcontractors, the head of 
                        the agency shall consider the capabilities, 
                        prior experience, and past performance of the 
                        prime contractor and each first tier 
                        subcontractor that is part of the team as the 
                        capabilities, prior experience, and past 
                        performance of the team.
                            ``(iii) Joint ventures.--When evaluating an 
                        offer of a joint venture of small business 
                        concerns, if the joint venture does not have 
                        sufficient capabilities, prior experience, or 
                        past performance to be considered for award of 
                        a contract opportunity, the head of the agency 
                        shall consider the capabilities, prior 
                        experience, and past performance of each member 
                        of the joint venture as the capabilities, prior 
                        experience, and past performance of the joint 
                        venture.
                    ``(C) Status as a small business concern.--
                Participation of a small business concern in a team or 
                a joint venture under this paragraph shall not affect 
                the status of that concern as a small business concern 
                with respect to the performance of a contract described 
                in subparagraph (A).''.
    (b) Team and Joint Venture Offers for Multiple Award Contracts.--
Section 15(q)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(q)(1)) is 
amended--
            (1) in the heading, by inserting ``and joint venture'' 
        before ``requirements'';
            (2) by striking ``Each Federal agency'' and inserting the 
        following:
                    ``(A) In general.--Each Federal agency''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Teams.--When evaluating an offer of a small 
                business prime contractor that includes a proposed team 
                of subcontractors for any multiple award contract above 
                the substantial bundling threshold of the Federal 
                agency, the head of the Federal agency shall consider 
                the capabilities, prior experience, and past 
                performance of the prime contractor and each first tier 
                subcontractor that is part of the team as the 
                capabilities, prior experience, and past performance of 
                the team.
                    ``(C) Joint ventures.--When evaluating an offer of 
                a joint venture of small business concerns for any 
                multiple award contract above the substantial bundling 
                threshold of the Federal agency, if the joint venture 
                does not have sufficient capabilities, prior 
                experience, or past performance to be considered for 
                award of a contract opportunity, the head of the 
                Federal agency shall consider the capabilities, prior 
                experience, and past performance of each member of the 
                joint venture as the capabilities, prior experience, 
                and past performance of the joint venture.
                    ``(D) Use of small business teams or joint 
                ventures.--
                            ``(i) In general.--For contracts awarded 
                        under section 8(a), 8(m), 15(a), 15(j), 31, or 
                        36 to a team of small business prime 
                        contractors and subcontractors or a joint 
                        venture of small business concerns, the 
                        contracting officer shall certify annually to 
                        the Administration, for each year the contract 
                        is in effect, that each small business concern 
                        member of the team or joint venture has the 
                        same status of a small business concern, small 
                        business concern owned and controlled by 
                        service-disabled veterans, qualified HUBZone 
                        small business concern, small business concern 
                        owned and controlled by socially and 
                        economically disadvantaged individuals, or 
                        small business concern owned and controlled by 
                        women, as applicable, that such concern had at 
                        the time the contract was awarded.
                            ``(ii) Exception.--The requirements of 
                        clause (i) shall not apply to a contract 
                        awarded to a joint venture of small business 
                        concerns that is a protege under a mentor-
                        protege program approved pursuant to section 
                        45.''.
    (c) Rulemaking.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration 
shall issue any regulations necessary to carry out the amendments made 
by this section.
                                                       Calendar No. 106

114th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                 S. 958

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To amend the Small Business Act to provide for team and joint venture 
                     offers for certain contracts.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             June 10, 2015

                       Reported with an amendment