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<dc:title>117 S4066 RS: Federal Improvement in Technology Procurement Act</dc:title>
<dc:publisher>U.S. Senate</dc:publisher>
<dc:date>2024-12-09</dc:date>
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<distribution-code display="yes">II</distribution-code><calendar>Calendar No. 679</calendar><congress>118th CONGRESS</congress><session>2d Session</session><legis-num>S. 4066</legis-num><associated-doc role="report">[Report No. 118–276]</associated-doc><current-chamber>IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES</current-chamber><action><action-date date="20240322">March 22, 2024</action-date><action-desc><sponsor name-id="S380">Mr. Peters</sponsor> (for himself and <cosponsor name-id="S355">Mr. Cruz</cosponsor>) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the <committee-name committee-id="SSGA00" added-display-style="italic" deleted-display-style="strikethrough">Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs</committee-name></action-desc></action><action stage="Reported-in-Senate"><action-date date="20241209">December 9, 2024</action-date><action-desc>Reported by <sponsor name-id="S380">Mr. Peters</sponsor>, with an amendment</action-desc><action-instruction>Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic</action-instruction></action><legis-type>A BILL</legis-type><official-title>To improve Federal technology procurement, and for other purposes.</official-title></form><legis-body><section id="S1" section-type="section-one" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>1.</enum><header>Short title</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">This Act may be cited as the <quote><short-title>Federal Improvement in Technology Procurement Act</short-title></quote> or the <quote><short-title>FIT Procurement Act</short-title></quote>.</text></section><section id="idc39c2c5cd2064ccea0cc2412462a7e19" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>2.</enum><header>Findings</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">Congress makes the following findings:</text><paragraph id="id62f8305177c44ffcb62045d9aa2cefc1"><enum>(1)</enum><text>The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has conducted a trend analysis of Government-wide contracting for each of the last several fiscal years. These analyses show that the Federal dollars obligated through contracts has been steadily increasing.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idb640adf3e59f440aa0f3a8c6ed771f96"><enum>(2)</enum><text>Contract spending accounts for more than 80 percent of the Federal information technology budget.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idfb0724812514462d9303b11cc58efc44"><enum>(3)</enum><text>Spending on information security, software, cloud computing, data center solutions and services, software as a service, and artificial intelligence technologies is projected to grow significantly.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id3849a554287d40c7ba0163c09f109fbb"><enum>(4)</enum><text>Rapid technological developments and increased Government demand create a need for a Federal acquisition workforce with an understanding of technology and related procurement considerations.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id4a31dded1c724899826ee96e4ee66c8d"><enum>(5)</enum><text>Federal agencies are challenged to shorten the procurement cycle to meet agency technology requirements. Technology acquired through procurements that take years from requirements development to implementation may be obsolete by the time it is fielded.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id515ba881d2b04d30b63c7eacda6573f5"><enum>(6)</enum><text>While Federal contracting dollars are increasing year over year, and the number of new business applications filed is at an all-time high, the number of Federal contractors receiving contract awards is shrinking. This trend could impair the Federal Government’s access to innovative commercial technologies.</text></paragraph></section><section id="ideb103a6fcc75420ea81c88e3a4e27cfa" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>3.</enum><header>Definitions</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">In this Act:</text><paragraph id="id22f773c4d0674823905cbb3919727964"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Acquisition workforce</header><text>The term <term>acquisition workforce</term> means employees of an executive agency who are responsible for procurement, contracting, program or project management that involves the performance of acquisition-related functions, or others as designated by the Chief Acquisition Officer, senior procurement executive, or head of the contracting activity.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id1568b01805f64d0aab193cf3775943f3"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Administrator</header><text>The term <term>Administrator</term> means the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id8faf60b07d50467f9850ed411d28359c"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Cross-functional</header><text>The term <term>cross-functional</term> means a structure in which individuals with different functional expertise or from different areas of an organization work together as a team.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idc4fb29bc0f0248f0bdfbc90289fb7328"><enum>(4)</enum><header>Executive agency</header><text>The term <term>executive agency</term> has the meaning given the term in section 133 of title 41, United States Code.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id48007bc1cae945ca8423fc1eb5397b10"><enum>(5)</enum><header>Experiential learning</header><text>The term <term>experiential learning</term> means on-the-job experiences or simulations that serve to enhance workforce professional skills.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id3cf6c9694ff9485bb478c275e57d8ce9"><enum>(6)</enum><header>Information and communications technology</header><text>The term <term>information and communications technology</term>—</text><subparagraph id="idd5f44e048ee2451488c199b47fa716c7"><enum>(A)</enum><text>has the meaning given the term in section 4713 of title 41, United States Code; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id38fd3f5ec916408497bdb59dc2e2379a"><enum>(B)</enum><text>includes information and communications technologies covered by definitions contained in the Federal Acquisition Regulation, including definitions added after the date of the enactment of this Act by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council pursuant to notice and comment.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id13eb19381d22495985b80383e3b86dc8"><enum>(7)</enum><header>Relevant committees of Congress</header><text>The term <term>relevant committees of Congress</term> means the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives.</text></paragraph></section><section id="id92d42d32f75a47d2a3521d6d1407aeec" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>4.</enum><header>Acquisition workforce</header><subsection id="idcdc8911295d24023b439e0e69caf3dc2"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Experiential learning</header><text>Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Institute shall incorporate experiential learning into the Federal Credentials Program, the Federal Acquisition Certification-Contracting Officer’s Representative (FAC-COR) Program, and the Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers (FAC-P/PM) Program, or any successor programs.</text></subsection><subsection id="ida7f93fff1e5042c3bb2a8864e8efa372"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Training on information and communications technology acquisition</header><paragraph id="id5e0891f92d3e4f1f81cd1d5e1dbab691"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text>Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Institute, in coordination with the Administrator, the Administrator of General Services, the Federal Chief Information Officer, the Chief Information Officers Council, and the United States Digital Service, and in consultation with others as determined to be appropriate by the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute, shall develop and implement or otherwise provide a cross-functional information and communications technology acquisition training program for acquisition workforce members involved in acquiring information and communications technology. The training shall—</text><subparagraph id="id081ccb35627b44729e1fd62b47cc3674"><enum>(A)</enum><text>include learning objectives related to market research, communicating with industry and industry perspectives on the procurement process, including how investment decisions are impacted by Government communication and engagement, developing requirements, acquisition planning, best practices for developing and executing outcome-based contracts, and source selection strategy, evaluating proposals, and awarding and administering contracts for information and communications technology;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id8d22be839c8245ef9b2bc86381f8ea7a"><enum>(B)</enum><text>include learning objectives that provide a basic understanding of key technologies Federal agencies need, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence-enabled applications, and cybersecurity solutions;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id33fb55d792104c228629bf3b720361da"><enum>(C)</enum><text>include learning objectives that encourage the use of commercial or commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies to the greatest extent practicable;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id82cdcfc82505417393af98e5039e499f"><enum>(D)</enum><text>include case studies of lessons learned from Federal information and communications technology procurements and contracts, and related matters as deemed relevant by the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id0679b2cc1b2143999e8c051fc317fc7d"><enum>(E)</enum><text>include experiential learning opportunities, and opportunities to practice acquisition teaming involving collaboration of team members with varied relevant domain expertise to complete acquisition-related tasks, including tasks with accelerated timelines;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="ide8ba16a293f14cb7a5f466ddf452f001"><enum>(F)</enum><text>include continuous learning recommendations and resources to keep the skills of acquisition workforce members current, including tools that help adopt or adapt the use of innovative acquisition practices or other flexible business practices commonly used in commercial buys;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="ida16a7819904d4f688072ea9eba370840"><enum>(G)</enum><text>be made available to acquisition workforce members designated by a Chief Acquisition Officer, senior procurement executive, or head of the contracting activity to participate in the training program; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idf9da7da4045b4f96b1c094276d6fd8a2"><enum>(H)</enum><text>inform executive agencies about streamlined and alternative procurement methods for procurement of information and communications technology, including—</text><clause id="id391196ddbdb34ea7abf43d8cf9a9e15f"><enum>(i)</enum><text>simplified procedures for certain commercial products and commercial services in accordance with subpart 13.5 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, prize competitions under the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (<external-xref legal-doc="public-law" parsable-cite="pl/111/358">Public Law 111–358</external-xref>), commercial solutions opening authorities as provided in section 5 of this Act or under separate authority, competitive programs that encourage businesses to engage in Federal research or research and development with the potential for commercialization, and joint venture partnerships;</text></clause><clause id="id8d04f4251f99411885e5c0ee9ba6c253"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>innovative procurement techniques designed to streamline the procurement process and lower barriers to entry, such as use of oral presentations and product demonstrations instead of lengthy written proposals, appropriately leveraging performance and outcomes-based contracting, and other techniques discussed on the Periodic Table of Acquisition Innovations or other similar successor knowledge management portals; and</text></clause><clause id="idccfa72e6f23047c997f18b3755dba6aa"><enum>(iii)</enum><text>information on appropriate use, examples and templates, and any other information determined relevant by the Administrator to assist contracting officers and other members of the acquisition workforce in using the procedures described in clauses (i) and (ii).</text></clause></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id5c1463fd92a14e0bb54887ad76546511"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Report</header><text>Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute shall provide to the relevant committees of Congress, the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, and the Chief Information Officers Council—</text><subparagraph id="id5fd556ab15d044b0b656358fff26b6a7"><enum>(A)</enum><text>a report on the Director’s progress in developing and implementing or otherwise providing the information and communications technology acquisition training described in paragraph (1); and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id0dc3932d82a940c58fa3dc55acc36fcc"><enum>(B)</enum><text>a list of any congressionally mandated acquisition training that the Director determines to be outdated or no longer necessary for other reasons.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id1537855762914ecfa23429ddbd9914d6"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Duration</header><text>The training program shall be updated as appropriate as technology advances, but at least every 2 years after implementation, and offered for a minimum of 7 years following the date of implementation of the training program.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="iddd3a55d97fed4cd0a2f3c33ada8660d5"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Acquisition Workforce Training Fund</header><paragraph id="id3435478a16f04114a3f0054dc0a1e2db"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Finding</header><text>Congress finds that the Acquisition Workforce Training Fund should be utilized in order to ensure that the Federal acquisition workforce—</text><subparagraph id="id14dda8b6e45f468dab1814407081c1f1"><enum>(A)</enum><text>continues to adapt to fundamental changes in Federal Government acquisition of property and services; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id47950ebaa5654fb48487bcd3b791b47b"><enum>(B)</enum><text>acquires new skills and knowledge to enable it to contribute effectively in the changing environment of the 21st century.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id534a4fb14c344974800cbffba8f55766"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Increased credits to fund</header><text>Section 1703(i)(3) of title 41, United States Code, is amended by striking <quote>Five percent</quote> and inserting <quote>Seven and a half percent</quote>.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id3a295094a0a14fac85f234a81b5c2a7e"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Harmonization of acquisition workforce training requirements</header><text>The responsibility for the requirement in subsection (b)(1) of section 2 of the AI Training Act (<external-xref legal-doc="public-law" parsable-cite="pl/117/207">Public Law 117–207</external-xref>; <external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/41/1703">41 U.S.C. 1703</external-xref> note) is reassigned from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to the Administrator of General Services. </text></subsection></section><section id="id2a51a5838e564545a0291bc3a9531023" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>5.</enum><header>Innovative procurement methods</header><subsection id="id86c9b47b6cb24ff08117639356080342"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Expansion of commercial solutions opening authority</header><text>Section 880 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (<external-xref legal-doc="public-law" parsable-cite="pl/114/328">Public Law 114–328</external-xref>; <external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/41/3301">41 U.S.C. 3301</external-xref> note) is amended—</text><paragraph id="idd43843a609294df6a586c25aafcb9053"><enum>(1)</enum><text>in the section heading, by striking <quote><header-in-text style="OLC" level="section">pilot programs for authority to acquire innovative commercial products</header-in-text></quote> and inserting <quote><header-in-text style="OLC" level="section">programs for authority to acquire innovative commercial products and commercial services</header-in-text></quote>;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idc2dc0d40793144ab9e7526be1c10cb6a"><enum>(2)</enum><text>in subsection (a)—</text><subparagraph id="id3eff95dfe93a4baca229b803ccbc5f4c"><enum>(A)</enum><text>in paragraph (1), by inserting <quote>and commercial services</quote> after <quote>commercial products</quote>;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id74e9907a2d27409eb3345def9698dbb7"><enum>(B)</enum><text>in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id8b9868ecfa0f47dd9d05d3726d7441a5" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><subparagraph id="id6744e66d07084f958da6780a2ab610e0"><enum>(C)</enum><text>The head of an executive agency approved for the program, on a temporary or permanent basis, by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.</text></subparagraph><after-quoted-block>; and</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idac5005257afb490b811fb4c9ce0e9b09"><enum>(C)</enum><text>in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idfefdcbf3d4ad4b6f9f96440e44e3bec3" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><subparagraph id="id73be1a30092442a8879062bea02b6e61"><enum>(C)</enum><text>An executive agency approved for the program by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.</text></subparagraph><after-quoted-block>;</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="idc24b26fbca6141e18b43d6b637792448"><enum>(3)</enum><text>by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id8c405c7a00834851a33f9a334e0a781e" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><subsection id="id4a8c1e225ca04b2596af0452df330f07"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Guidance</header><text>The head of an agency shall issue guidance for the implementation of the program under this section within that agency. Such guidance shall be issued in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget and shall be posted for access by the public. The guidance shall also include requirements for each general solicitation to be posted publicly through a means that provides access to the notice of general solicitation through the System for Award Management or subsequent Government-wide point of entry, with classified solicitations posted to the appropriate Government portal.</text></subsection><after-quoted-block>;</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></paragraph><paragraph id="id21b6075c484848369a5cf7809dbe6897"><enum>(4)</enum><text>by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id84b4b17c0a964fee98a5cf5fad4fcf44" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><subsection id="idcaf366eca8b3432fb05423d8077b60df"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Reporting and data collection</header><text>The head of an agency shall report information on contracts made using procedures under this section to the Office of Management and Budget as determined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. The Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy shall collect and analyze data on the use of the authority under this section for the purposes of—</text><paragraph id="id76ef9e16bb2c4b4da31dace1b427ab3c"><enum>(1)</enum><text>developing and sharing best practices;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id92fbbbca03454013a5b85f5a9a9c6c39"><enum>(2)</enum><text>gathering information on the implementation of the authority and related policy issues; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="ida29be0fb39b647b2ab434558fe4ed07d"><enum>(3)</enum><text>informing the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives on the use of the authority.</text></paragraph></subsection><after-quoted-block>;</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></paragraph><paragraph id="id65504f2ac0444b53b79d0061693d47cd"><enum>(5)</enum><text>in subsection (f)—</text><subparagraph id="id8fe16d119fba4af093a18a443ad17ad0"><enum>(A)</enum><text>in paragraph (1)(B), by striking <quote>; and</quote> and inserting a semicolon;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id201eb2abf71e4fe3b0a0aeaa14bdca2f"><enum>(B)</enum><text>by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idf7fb22d037634367bd13858354af56d7"><enum>(C)</enum><text>by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idc6f60bad29ad46c18342021ba4a1a5eb" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><paragraph id="id75a59ff92a6b4b0ebcfe26cd917dd4ef"><enum>(2)</enum><text>the term <term>executive agency</term> has the meaning given the term in section 133 of title 41, United States Code; and</text></paragraph><after-quoted-block>;</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="ideda38334ccbd4cf0baecda6dad943860"><enum>(6)</enum><text>by striking subsection (g); and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id783a45e507ed446c9cf07a38428ad490"><enum>(7)</enum><text>by striking <quote>pilot</quote> each place it appears.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id1ad01332360847cfbe09cf95b81c240d"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Clerical amendment</header><text>The table of contents in section 2(b) of such Act and the table of contents preceding subtitle A of title VIII of such Act are each amended by striking the item relating to section 880 and inserting the following new item:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" id="id574e2669-a9db-42e3-b6c4-543d940b60cd" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><toc changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><toc-entry level="section">Sec. 880. Programs for authority to acquire innovative commercial products, commercial technologies, and commercial services using general solicitation competitive procedures.</toc-entry></toc><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></subsection><subsection id="id86e6c6778de04999a4b88dc14c242ef6"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Increase in simplified acquisition threshold</header><paragraph id="ide556305d93184f4e8944449e835e7105"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Finding</header><text>Congress finds that the threshold under which agencies may use simplified acquisition procedures to reduce costs, improve opportunities for qualified businesses, promote efficiency and economy, and avoid unnecessary burdens for agencies and their contractors should be updated.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idaedd606e48fe4cfb86ebe89170c3b0a0"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Amendment</header><subparagraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="ide797bd15dc714d1492ba6a07b837bf8e"><enum>(A)</enum><header display-inline="yes-display-inline">In general</header><text>Section 134 of title 41, United States Code, is amended by striking <quote>$250,000</quote> and inserting <quote>$500,000</quote>.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id5a05fa9814854f668e8031464d777101"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Authority to apply provisions below the threshold</header><text>The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council may apply a provision that would not otherwise be applicable below the threshold as amended by subparagraph (A) upon a written determination that it would not be in the best interest of the Federal Government to exempt contracts and subcontracts in amounts not greater than such amended threshold from such provision, such as for national security reasons.</text></subparagraph></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="ida40cd50d28484878ab2d260a06dd1401"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Multiple award schedule program competitive procedures</header><paragraph id="id9e4e482085b341de881c49d16a5c4b08"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Finding</header><text>Congress finds that the competition standard established by the Administrator of General Services for the multiple award schedule program of the General Services Administration should be updated and made consistent with the competition standard for other procurement methods, such as simplified acquisitions and negotiated procurements. The term <term>best value</term> is defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation as meaning the expected outcome of an acquisition that, in the Government’s estimation, provides the greatest overall benefit in response to the requirement.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="iddb9601fd964b49f89f7d57b8d6063040"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Amendments</header><subparagraph id="id8f18299ef4714b6fa77058cf11361c13"><enum>(A)</enum><header>Civilian contracts</header><text>Section 152(3)(B) of title 41, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idfcc58baff830414f894827b913812ac2" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><subparagraph id="id763bca4cd09f49e3bd26548c4e5d0332"><enum>(B)</enum><text>contracts and orders under such program result in the award of best value products and services for the Federal Government;</text></subparagraph><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id6b841a6518944137871030c6f1704277"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Defense contracts</header><text>Section 3012(3)(B) of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idbbd019b635284acba20d693b0bf02121" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><subparagraph id="id0bd03ed9e6f54ae28501b0178bf7bcc1"><enum>(B)</enum><text>contracts and orders under such program result in the award of best value products and services for the Federal Government;</text></subparagraph><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id8b65d9293dd34916b78ad1d411b6f580"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Guidance</header><text>The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council shall provide guidance to Federal agencies on appropriate use of the best value competition standard for the multiple award schedule program as part of the implementing regulations promulgated in connection with the amendments made by paragraph (2).</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id5b4960ec9d4a4eb5a3f5a5d34a8956b0"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Advances for commercial technology subscriptions and tenancy</header><paragraph id="id88d3cbf773a84089b13b7b56ba74fc04"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Finding</header><text>Congress finds that the authority to make advance payments should be updated for purposes of enabling the most cost-effective acquisition of cloud computing, data center solutions and services, and other information and communications technology acquired on a subscription, reservation, or tenancy basis.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id8f23f0ae636c42a290e8797977b6f7d9"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Authority to pay advances</header><text>Section 3324(d) of title 31, United States Code, is amended—</text><subparagraph id="id2e7905e862ce496fa36ac10ffeb35354"><enum>(A)</enum><text>in paragraph (1)(C), by striking <quote>; and</quote> and inserting a semicolon;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idf492f074bb2741b794ee3d5a32ac224a"><enum>(B)</enum><text>in paragraph (2)—</text><clause id="id639c7dfdefa1479bbf2be5d7fabf06be"><enum>(i)</enum><text>by inserting <quote>or commercially available content</quote> after <quote>publication</quote>; and</text></clause><clause id="idb75f6f2a2cd049f5834d327abfd41850"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>by striking the period at the end and inserting <quote>; and</quote>; and</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="ideeb69546726447918cab4cdc6718d839"><enum>(C)</enum><text>by adding at the end the following new paragraph:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id5645cba69f644edab5360b763cfd9a3b" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><paragraph id="idaf6a6c65dd854068ae7290caa9a7e3f6"><enum>(3)</enum><text>charges for information and communications technology subscriptions, reservations, or tenancy, which means the sharing of computing resources in a private or public environment, including cloud environments, for which the ordering agency defines appropriate access and security standards.</text></paragraph><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></subparagraph></paragraph></subsection></section><section id="id1ac843f0116e48db9075963be2ce45b2" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>6.</enum><header>Increasing competition in Federal contracting</header><subsection id="id2ff59e287b10407d8473acfcc72551b3"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Use of past performance</header><text>Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall issue guidance, including examples and templates where appropriate, on—</text><paragraph id="idb3b94fc13119419983172f00756c6761"><enum>(1)</enum><text>when a wider range of projects, such as commercial or non-government, as well as Government projects, should be accepted as relevant past performance, in order to have increased competition among eligible firms with capability to perform a requirement, such as a requirement without much precedent; </text></paragraph><paragraph id="idd24b376ff31140579ec7a0cc9bf33158"><enum>(2)</enum><text>a means by which an agency may validate non-government past performance references, such as by requiring an official of an entity providing past performance references to attest to their authenticity and by providing verifiable contact information for the references; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id9d0281638fef4251b0f35392e4e90b12"><enum>(3)</enum><text>use of alternative evaluation methods other than past performance that may be appropriate for a requirement without much precedent, such as demonstrations and testing of technologies as part of the proposal process.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id0823e96ef27f47d28ac082b7110e1fb9"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Ensuring a capable Federal vendor base</header><paragraph id="id9cc48d3cefa6455f8c9e03b565f1506a"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Working group</header><text>Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall convene a working group or an appropriate existing body (in this section referred to as the <quote>working group</quote>), to make recommendations to address the Federal Government’s shrinking vendor base and related matters. </text></paragraph><paragraph id="id483d1640fa0f4b4c9d49cc97aa9bbe64"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Membership</header><text>The working group convened under paragraph (1) shall be chaired by the Administrator or a designee of the Administrator and include, at a minimum, representatives from the following departments and agencies:</text><subparagraph id="idf2a98352d0414eb2a9550a54e51be166"><enum>(A)</enum><text>The General Services Administration.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idcd43ac952453457daa9a62109e031101"><enum>(B)</enum><text>The Department of Homeland Security.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idc4f5da3b9e1f4165ad5641e89b9edd54"><enum>(C)</enum><text>The Department of Commerce.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id4c54e9f0c789411fb0af3e41c676652a"><enum>(D)</enum><text>The Department of Defense.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id378862290b2b4a7e9c9addebe33b751c"><enum>(E)</enum><text>The Department of Health and Human Services.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idd1637702d1ef47bbbc2a62b86a765c0d"><enum>(F)</enum><text>The Small Business Administration.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idf5b525fe689b46c7917211b8d8410807"><enum>(G)</enum><text>Any other agencies or organizations as determined appropriate by the Administrator.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id6d6c38d4d888470085cea6c6bb852602"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Consultation</header><text>The working group shall obtain input from the public, including from the APEX Accelerators program (formerly known as Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) network) and other contractor representatives, to identify Federal procurement policies and regulations that are obsolete, overly burdensome or restrictive, not adequately harmonized, or otherwise serve to create barriers to participation in Federal contracting or unnecessarily increase bid and proposal costs.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idbd84b1694f29418fbb6064847228c0d3"><enum>(4)</enum><header>Examination of actions</header><text>The working group shall consider the input obtained under paragraph (3) and any other information determined to be relevant by the working group to identify legislative, regulatory, and other actions to remove barriers to qualified vendors in the procurement process, in order to build the Federal vendor base, increase competition, and address related matters.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id039cc576368e4e94a63d1daa85fd6f52"><enum>(5)</enum><header>Implementation</header><text>Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall, in consultation with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, the working group, and other agencies as appropriate, implement the regulatory and other non-legislative actions identified under paragraph (4), as determined necessary by the Administrator, to remove barriers to entry for those seeking to participate in Federal Government procurement. </text></paragraph><paragraph id="id1d9e9115a71d4f60b62a064873c0fa56"><enum>(6)</enum><header>Briefing</header><text>Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall brief the relevant committees of Congress on the legislative actions identified under paragraph (4), and the actions implemented under paragraph (5).</text></paragraph></subsection></section><section id="id0d5e0d108c48412dbf63bc1d955e1794" changed="deleted" reported-display-style="strikethrough" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>7.</enum><header>Incentivizing employee stock ownership plans for business growth</header><subsection id="idc5c3b833a7a340449e348aa538570fd5"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Pilot program To use noncompetitive procedures for certain follow-On contracts to qualified businesses wholly-Owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)</header><paragraph id="id14134e51675642a0846784a78a1b7d07"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Establishment</header><text>The Administrator may expand the pilot program authorized by section 874 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (<external-xref legal-doc="public-law" parsable-cite="pl/117/81">Public Law 117–81</external-xref>; <external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/10/3204">10 U.S.C. 3204</external-xref> note) for Government-wide use, including by coordinating as necessary with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to make related amendments to the Federal Acquisition Regulation.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id91c326bc08d148d48facc0e7ec24d220"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Follow-on contracts</header><text>Notwithstanding the requirements of section 3301 of title 41, United States Code, for purposes of carrying out a Government-wide ESOP pilot program established under paragraph (1), the products or services to be procured by an executive agency under a follow-on contract with a qualified business wholly-owned through an ESOP for the continued development, production, or provision of products or services that are the same as or substantially similar to the products or services procured under a prior contract may be procured through procedures other than competitive procedures if the performance of the qualified business on the prior contract was rated as satisfactory (or the equivalent) or better.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id734634da82154edab636d676029e25d5"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Limitation</header><text>A qualified business wholly-owned through an ESOP may have a single opportunity for award of a sole-source follow-on contract under this subsection, unless the senior procurement executive of the executive agency awarding the contract approves a waiver of such limitation.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="idd87dc0e2a00b4abc9874345e8cb07b52"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Verification and reporting of qualified businesses wholly-Owned through an employee stock ownership plan</header><text>Under a pilot program established under this section, the Administrator shall establish procedures—</text><paragraph id="id909afc70ff10477bab9bf7c28775a9a5"><enum>(1)</enum><text>for businesses to verify status as a qualified business wholly-owned through an ESOP for the purposes of this section by using existing Federal reporting mechanisms;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id74208b820b0646d3b20e54fdafa24665"><enum>(2)</enum><text>for a qualified businesses wholly-owned through an ESOP to certify that not more than 50 percent of the amount paid under the contract will be expended on subcontracts, including similarly situated ESOPs if determined appropriate by the Administrator, subject to such necessary and reasonable waivers as the implementing guidance or regulations may prescribe; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id645c7a92c6ea49cb92010700ca3affa3"><enum>(3)</enum><text>to record and provide to relevant committees of Congress upon request information on each follow-on contract awarded under authority of this subsection, including details relevant to the nature of such contract and the qualified business wholly-owned through an ESOP that received the contract.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id7ef0d1a2f886446498e38fa9023e4e6c"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Sunset</header><text>A pilot program established under this section shall expire on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.</text></subsection></section></legis-body><legis-body display-enacting-clause="no-display-enacting-clause"><section id="idaf1a31d9-be0c-4db4-b3f2-23a364e520ec" section-type="section-one" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>1.</enum><header>Short title</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">This Act may be cited as the <quote><short-title>Federal Improvement in Technology Procurement Act</short-title></quote> or the <quote><short-title>FIT Procurement Act</short-title></quote>.</text></section><section id="idcf2f8a58-ab37-412c-86bf-f7a09e297dba" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>2.</enum><header>Definitions</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">In this Act:</text><paragraph id="ideb8950b8-bda9-4aff-89f1-499b502fbfb4"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Acquisition workforce</header><text>The term <term>acquisition workforce</term> means employees of an executive agency who are responsible for procurement, contracting, program or project management that involves the performance of acquisition-related functions, or others as designated by the Chief Acquisition Officer, senior procurement executive, or head of the contracting activity.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="ide10960b9-2ff7-4b79-88fd-8fa4fe610c7a"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Administrator</header><text>The term <term>Administrator</term> means the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id858160b7-7e40-4a27-aceb-ba9ffa3afbda"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Cross-functional</header><text>The term <term>cross-functional</term> means a structure in which individuals with different functional expertise or from different areas of an organization work together as a team.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="iddfe04dee-b0ab-4eb9-9b56-c92d8b315701"><enum>(4)</enum><header>Executive agency</header><text>The term <term>executive agency</term> has the meaning given the term in section 133 of title 41, United States Code.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id3406e6f3-001f-42d6-8d71-7b254212a26b"><enum>(5)</enum><header>Experiential learning</header><text>The term <term>experiential learning</term> means on-the-job experiences or simulations that serve to enhance workforce professional skills.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id24e62ad7-0c33-4dfb-8990-b67ff16b906c"><enum>(6)</enum><header>Information and communications technology</header><text>The term <term>information and communications technology</term>—</text><subparagraph id="id144d9a10-048b-4647-bd83-5597a75db570"><enum>(A)</enum><text>has the meaning given the term in section 4713 of title 41, United States Code; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idd48aa689-3510-4a87-99c8-7a6e5cb58054"><enum>(B)</enum><text>includes information and communications technologies covered by definitions contained in the Federal Acquisition Regulation, including definitions added after the date of the enactment of this Act by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council pursuant to notice and comment.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="ida345bece-d53b-4e4e-a849-2cca0f8d70e6"><enum>(7)</enum><header>Relevant committees of Congress</header><text>The term <term>relevant committees of Congress</term> means the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives.</text></paragraph><paragraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id22e20cc6d900427583412fb9070b35f5"><enum>(8)</enum><header>Small business</header><text>The term <term>small business</term> has the meaning given the term <term>small business concern</term> in section 3 of the Small Business Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/15/632">15 U.S.C. 632</external-xref>).</text></paragraph></section><section id="id9bb18f96-2400-4f9d-abdb-87d90f51cf84" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>3.</enum><header>Acquisition workforce</header><subsection id="id8ea303e4c8594219a4d1521a7605205e"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Experiential learning</header><text>Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Institute shall establish a pilot program to consider the incorporation of experiential learning into the Federal Credentials Program, the Federal Acquisition Certification-Contracting Officer’s Representative (FAC-COR) Program, and the Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers (FAC-P/PM) Program, or any successor programs.</text></subsection><subsection id="id3987fa7d-d207-4e02-a6b4-d8a20ec8657f"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Training on information and communications technology acquisition</header><paragraph id="id2c337c9c-8061-4762-9b2b-3276e18e2ada"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text>Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Institute, in coordination with the Administrator, the Administrator of General Services, the Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government, the Chief Information Officers Council, and the United States Digital Service, and in consultation with others as determined to be appropriate by the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute, shall develop and implement or otherwise provide a cross-functional information and communications technology acquisition training program for acquisition workforce members involved in acquiring information and communications technology. The training shall—</text><subparagraph id="id97558ddc-422e-47da-be59-d582ba57f6c2"><enum>(A)</enum><text>include learning objectives related to market research, communicating with industry and industry perspectives on the procurement process, including how investment decisions are impacted by Government communication and engagement, developing requirements, acquisition planning, best practices for developing and executing outcome-based contracts, and source selection strategy, evaluating proposals, and awarding and administering contracts for information and communications technology;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id0cc872dc-f1a8-46f9-8064-83405762aa07"><enum>(B)</enum><text>include learning objectives that provide a basic understanding of key technologies Federal agencies need, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence-enabled applications, and cybersecurity solutions;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id1666c3d7-694b-4e94-ba57-070bfc512a5a"><enum>(C)</enum><text>include learning objectives that encourage the use of commercial or commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies to the greatest extent practicable;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id4d239d16-da06-4396-829c-101adfa9ef28"><enum>(D)</enum><text>include case studies of lessons learned from Federal information and communications technology procurements and contracts, and related matters as deemed relevant by the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id389342c5-eef9-401f-8abc-f347841f4543"><enum>(E)</enum><text>include experiential learning opportunities, and opportunities to practice acquisition teaming involving collaboration of team members with varied relevant domain expertise to complete acquisition-related tasks, including tasks with accelerated timelines;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idd2d355c5-d5c6-4fb1-a8b9-0a8af3f0639f"><enum>(F)</enum><text>include continuous learning recommendations and resources to keep the skills of acquisition workforce members current, including tools that help adopt or adapt the use of innovative acquisition practices or other flexible business practices commonly used in commercial buys;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id50066e10-7420-4749-b38d-349877bd721d"><enum>(G)</enum><text>be made available to acquisition workforce members designated by a Chief Acquisition Officer, senior procurement executive, or head of the contracting activity to participate in the training program; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id62570dc7-6c1a-4469-bce2-a362d938a6a9"><enum>(H)</enum><text>inform executive agencies about streamlined and alternative procurement methods for procurement of information and communications technology, including—</text><clause id="id37516c38-b820-4b31-b5cb-dd602b532cee"><enum>(i)</enum><text>simplified procedures for certain commercial products and commercial services in accordance with subpart 13.5 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, prize competitions under the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (<external-xref legal-doc="public-law" parsable-cite="pl/111/358">Public Law 111–358</external-xref>), competitive programs that encourage businesses to engage in Federal research or research and development with the potential for commercialization, and joint venture partnerships;</text></clause><clause id="id1739abe8-13d5-49c0-9de9-cdef68094ed8"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>innovative procurement techniques designed to streamline the procurement process and lower barriers to entry, such as use of oral presentations and product demonstrations instead of lengthy written proposals, appropriately leveraging performance and outcomes-based contracting, and other techniques discussed on the Periodic Table of Acquisition Innovations or other similar successor knowledge management portals; and</text></clause><clause id="id348b4928-f678-4dc6-906a-89bb4e3033a8"><enum>(iii)</enum><text>information on appropriate use, examples and templates, and any other information determined relevant by the Administrator to assist contracting officers and other members of the acquisition workforce in using the procedures described in clauses (i) and (ii).</text></clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id95ea1eb97bd3466a8b08129985a16450"><enum>(I)</enum><text>includes ethical procurement practices as a core component of trainings and provides a mechanism for feedback from program participants to ensure trainings cover ethical procurement practices that are aligned with the evolving landscape of technology and procurement;</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id7e5cb422890e437c845b5ae739c48fb4"><enum>(J)</enum><text>incorporates learning objectives for workforce members to identify and mitigate wasteful practices and unethical behaviors in procurement processes, with a focus on practical applications rather than theoretical knowledge; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id1a0e550ceb4e4c8680d13ae691bc51e2"><enum>(K)</enum><text>incorporates learning objectives on privacy protection and civil liberties safeguards, ensuring that all acquisition workforce members understand the importance of integrating these considerations into the procurement process. </text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id7428cf5e-98ac-4272-9b67-e2a92a825751"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Report</header><text>Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute shall provide to the relevant committees of Congress, the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, and the Chief Information Officers Council—</text><subparagraph id="idad4abef9-3b57-43d0-be07-6215bda471fe"><enum>(A)</enum><text>a report on the Director’s progress in developing and implementing or otherwise providing the information and communications technology acquisition training described in paragraph (1); and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idba5e504e-717b-4bc2-a54a-cb192ac3a169"><enum>(B)</enum><text>a list of any acquisition training that the Director determines to be outdated or no longer necessary for other reasons.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id5764473f-dec1-4d80-b710-e93367ac3cc4"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Duration</header><text>The training program shall be updated as appropriate as technology advances, but at least every 2 years after implementation, and offered for a minimum of 5 years following the date of implementation of the training program.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="ida83e5c14-4e20-4bde-b20d-377a112899bc"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Acquisition Workforce Training Fund</header><text>Section 1703(i)(3) of title 41, United States Code, is amended by striking <quote>Five percent</quote> and inserting <quote>Seven and a half percent</quote>.</text></subsection><subsection id="id95500edd-ac8a-4ddb-b29e-bacb9af928d6"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Harmonization of acquisition workforce training requirements</header><text>The responsibility for the requirement in subsection (b)(1) of section 2 of the AI Training Act (<external-xref legal-doc="public-law" parsable-cite="pl/117/207">Public Law 117–207</external-xref>; <external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/41/1703">41 U.S.C. 1703</external-xref> note) is reassigned from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to the Administrator of General Services. </text></subsection></section><section id="id0c3e0f26-fe93-4127-95a9-e1b0916c873c" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>4.</enum><header>Innovative procurement methods</header><subsection id="id95b64abd-9cbb-4529-86f7-ff744d2f5ff7"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Increase in simplified acquisition threshold</header><text>Section 134 of title 41, United States Code, is amended by striking <quote>$250,000</quote> and inserting <quote>$500,000</quote>.</text></subsection><subsection id="id06c6dbbd-6899-41b1-be20-8aaa275a9790"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Advances for commercial technology subscriptions and tenancy</header><text>Section 3324(d) of title 31, United States Code, is amended—</text><paragraph id="id574fd65a-a7ad-4f1d-b5d9-d6fcce2a38ab"><enum>(1)</enum><text>in paragraph (1)(C), by striking <quote>; and</quote> and inserting a semicolon;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idcb965886-0df9-49f5-a443-1b371f5b0b33"><enum>(2)</enum><text>in paragraph (2)—</text><subparagraph id="id15df4d61-279d-47e5-969f-47cf461374be"><enum>(A)</enum><text>by inserting <quote>or commercially available content</quote> after <quote>publication</quote>; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id101e26e1-a6f9-4d32-8f1c-330417839fd5"><enum>(B)</enum><text>by striking the period at the end and inserting <quote>; and</quote>; and</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id618b119d-3f45-4352-bd6b-4ee03e1567aa"><enum>(3)</enum><text>by adding at the end the following new paragraph:</text><quoted-block style="OLC" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id96f18359-97c1-4c69-96d1-209003930998" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSGA00"><paragraph id="id5dc3dd92-1ad3-4368-8bb0-c903194fdde1"><enum>(3)</enum><text>charges for information and communications technology subscriptions, reservations, or tenancy, which means the sharing of computing resources in a private or public environment, including cloud environments, for which the ordering agency defines appropriate access and security standards.</text></paragraph><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></paragraph></subsection></section><section id="idff9cc2fd-3b01-47ba-a780-ae3316cd41d0" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>5.</enum><header>Increasing competition in Federal contracting</header><subsection id="ideca56976-b4ce-492e-81db-a0bb305460be"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Use of past performance</header><paragraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="ide99aeae3c55c4ef193625d8997a1b4b0"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall issue guidance, including examples and templates where appropriate, on—</text><subparagraph id="id74b58b9c-722a-4760-89eb-435ea80e7a6d"><enum>(A)</enum><text>when a wider range of projects, such as commercial or non-government, as well as Government projects, should be accepted as relevant past performance, in order to have increased competition among eligible firms with capability to perform a requirement, such as a requirement without much precedent; </text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idae6b5cbf-e1a4-4ebb-a043-392bdb1092e4"><enum>(B)</enum><text>a means by which an agency may validate non-government past performance references, such as by requiring an official of an entity providing past performance references to attest to their authenticity and by providing verifiable contact information for the references; and</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="id5d66c6ca-d31b-4df4-9c49-881777edc263"><enum>(C)</enum><text>use of alternative evaluation methods other than past performance that may be appropriate for a requirement without much precedent, such as demonstrations and testing of technologies as part of the proposal process.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idf27617ac5c7744dfbcb0c38c10837af5"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Supplement not supplant</header><text>The guidance issued under paragraph (1) shall supplement, not replace, existing Federal and agency policy and procedures for consideration of past performance and other evaluation factors and methods. </text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id12675d3a-76b2-4258-8356-333eaeb62952"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Enhancing competition in Federal procurement</header><paragraph id="iddafe35c0788c4d6286e242df4e5ebde6"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Council recommendations</header><text>Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall convene the Chief Acquisition Officers’ Council (in this section referred to as the <quote>Council</quote>), to make recommendations to identify and eliminate specific, unnecessary procedural barriers that disproportionately affect the ability of small businesses to compete for Federal contracts, with a focus on streamlining documentation and qualification requirements unrelated to the protection of privacy and civil liberties, and related matters. </text></paragraph><paragraph id="id78ffa438-9aea-456c-b0f1-ab1dd6650c89"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Consultation</header><text>The Council shall obtain input from the public, including from the APEX Accelerators program (formerly known as Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) network) and other contractor representatives, to identify Federal procurement policies and regulations that are obsolete, overly burdensome or restrictive, not adequately harmonized, or otherwise serve to create barriers to small business participation in Federal contracting or unnecessarily increase bid and proposal costs.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id21b43721474943278911350a1e5a567d"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Examination of actions</header><text>The Council shall consider the input obtained under paragraph (3) and any other information determined to be relevant by the Council to identify legislative, regulatory, and other actions to increase competition and remove barriers to small business participation in the procurement process.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="idbc8208e45d1b4d969aeedbabe377664c"><enum>(4)</enum><header>Implementation</header><text>Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall, in consultation with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, and other agencies as appropriate, implement the regulatory and other non-legislative actions identified under paragraph (4), as determined necessary by the Administrator, to remove barriers to entry for small businesses seeking to participate in Federal Government procurement. </text></paragraph><paragraph id="id1b7ad18a-c433-4911-b941-accad72086e4"><enum>(5)</enum><header>Briefing</header><text>Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall brief the relevant committees of Congress on the legislative actions identified under paragraph (4), and the actions implemented under paragraph (5).</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idfc203f86a666471380fa06112ca2b8bf"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Consideration of cost-efficiency and quality</header><text>The Administrator shall advocate for and prioritize contracting policies that ensure that cost-efficiency and quality of goods and services are key determining factors in awarding Federal contracts.</text></subsection></section><section id="idca5534c1b01d4c4abc18f2cc024d69bf" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>6.</enum><header>Comptroller General assessment of small business participation in Federal procurement</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress and make publicly available a report that—</text><paragraph id="idf331636e0f8549c587e28ca2ccb90fd0"><enum>(1)</enum><text>assesses the current level of small business participation in Federal procurement, identifying barriers, opportunities, and the impact of existing policies on the ability of small businesses to compete in Federal procurement;</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id5bee0dbcafe4468f9ef73e3f97c3327c"><enum>(2)</enum><text>catalogs and evaluates the effectiveness of programs intended to support small business participation in Federal procurement; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id50433856e18b49cb89e518386a1a8ee2"><enum>(3)</enum><text>analyzes trends in small business involvement in Federal technology projects, including data on contract awards, the diversity of sectors represented, and the geographic distribution of small business contractors.</text></paragraph></section><section id="id176f78b129dc4a31950eec49cdedb467" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>7.</enum><header>Conflict of interest procedures</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council and the Administrator shall update the Federal Acquisition Regulation as necessary to provide additional guidance to Federal agencies to address personal and organizational conflicts of interest involving members of the acquisition workforce. </text></section><section id="id38c20f0f0b1f4088a031d0b2baf0b70e" changed="added" reported-display-style="italic" committee-id="SSGA00"><enum>8.</enum><header>No additional funding</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of carrying out this Act. </text></section></legis-body><endorsement><action-date date="20241209">December 9, 2024</action-date><action-desc>Reported with an amendment</action-desc></endorsement></bill> 

