[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4920 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.4920

                     One Hundred Sixteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and twenty


                                 An Act


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for an exception to 
   certain small business contracting requirements applicable to the 
Department of Veterans Affairs procurement of certain goods and services 
     covered under the Ability One program, 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. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Department of Veterans Affairs 
Contracting Preference Consistency Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. EXCEPTION TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SMALL BUSINESS 
CONTRACTING REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN GOODS AND SERVICES COVERED UNDER 
ABILITY ONE PROGRAM.
    (a) In General.--Subsection (d) of section 8127 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended--
        (1) by striking ``Except'' and inserting ``(1) Except'';
        (2) by inserting ``in paragraph (2) and'' before ``in 
    subsections (b) and (c)''; and
        (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(2)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) and except as provided by 
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, with respect to the procurement of 
a covered product or service, a contracting officer of the Department 
shall procure such product or service from a source designated under 
chapter 85 of title 41, and in accordance with the regulations 
prescribed under such chapter.
    ``(B)(i) Subject to clause (ii), subparagraph (A) shall not apply 
in the case of a covered product or service for which a contract was--
        ``(I) awarded under paragraph (1) after December 22, 2006; and
        ``(II) in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of 
    the Department of Veterans Affairs Contracting Preference 
    Consistency Act of 2020.
    ``(ii) Clause (i) shall cease to apply to a covered product or 
service described in such clause upon a determination of the Secretary 
that when the current contract for the covered product or service is 
terminated or expires there is no reasonable expectation that--
        ``(I) two or more small business concerns owned and controlled 
    by veterans will submit offers as described in paragraph (1); and
        ``(II) the award can be made at a fair and reasonable price 
    that offers best value to the United States.
    ``(C) In this paragraph, the term `covered product or service' 
means--
        ``(i) a product or service that--
            ``(I) is included on the procurement list under section 
        8503(a) of title 41; and
            ``(II) was included on such procurement list on or before 
        December 22, 2006; or
        ``(ii) a product or service that--
            ``(I) is a replacement for a product or service described 
        under clause (i);
            ``(II) is essentially the same and meeting the same 
        requirement as the product or service being replaced; and
            ``(III) a contracting officer determines meets the quality 
        standards and delivery schedule of the Department.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Such section is further amended in each 
of subsections (b) and (c), by striking ``For'' and inserting ``Except 
as provided in subsection (d)(2), for''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to a contract entered into on or after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.