[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 60 (Tuesday, April 19, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H1834-H1835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UNIFYING SMALL BUSINESS TERMINOLOGY ACT OF 2016
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4325) to amend the Small Business Act to modify the
anticipated value of certain contracts reserved exclusively for small
business concerns.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4325
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 ``Unifying Small Business
Terminology Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF THE ANTICIPATED VALUE OF CERTAIN
CONTRACTS RESERVED EXCLUSIVELY FOR SMALL
BUSINESS CONCERNS.
(a) In General.--Section 15(j)(1) of the Small Business Act
(15 U.S.C. 644(j)(1)) is amended by striking ``greater than
$2,500 but not greater than $100,000'' and inserting
``greater than the micro-purchase threshold defined in
section 1902(a) of title 41, United States Code, but not
greater than the simplified acquisition threshold''.
(b) Technical Amendment.--Section 3(m) of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(m)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(m) Simplified Acquisition Threshold.--In this Act, the
term `simplified acquisition threshold' has the meaning given
such term in section 134 of title 41, United States Code.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Chabot) and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.
General Leave
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Ohio?
There was no objection.
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, many of the contracting provisions in the Small Business
Act were written in the 1960s and 1970s. As such, they predate the
government's move to a set of standardized contracting terms in 1984.
In reality, this means that the Small Business Act uses outdated
terms that make it hard to read in conjunction with other laws. Even
the SBA has adopted the new terminology in their regulations, given
that over 30 years have passed since it was first adopted.
[[Page H1835]]
My colleague and the ranking member of the Small Business Committee,
Ms. Velazquez of New York, introduced H.R. 4325 to update the Small
Business Act. Thanks to her efforts, we will no longer use different
terms for micropurchase or simplified acquisition than the rest of the
government. This will make it easier for small businesses to understand
the law and for contracting officers to implement the law.
This legislation was included as part of a larger bill that passed
the Small Business Committee in January, and it received bipartisan
support.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support and pass H.R. 4325.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4325, the Unifying Small
Business Terminology Act of 2016. There are many places in which the
statutes and regulations small businesses must understand are overly
complex.
This problem is compounded by inconsistencies in the language. For
example, there are entire sections of the Small Business Act that are
one long sentence with multiple commas and clauses.
The act also predates many other statutes and regulations that we now
use to govern how agencies purchase goods and services.
As such, the act uses outdated terminology when discussing Federal
contracting. Additionally, there are places in which the definitions
vary between the act and the corresponding regulations.
One such case is when a contract must be reserved for award to small
businesses. While the act indicates that contracts valued over $2,000
and below $100,000 are to be reserved for small businesses, other
statutes and even SBA's own regulations point to different values or
use the terms the values are supposed to represent.
This causes confusion not only among small businesses, but also to
contracting officers as they are left to determine which values to use.
That is why I introduced H.R. 4325, the Unifying Small Business
Terminology Act of 2016. The bill amends the Small Business Act so that
it has the same terms that are used in titles 10 and 41 of the United
States Code and in SBA's own regulation when referring to procurement
rules.
This will ensure that there is no confusion among contracting
personnel as to which opportunities should be set aside for small
businesses.
Mr. Speaker, our committee hears from small businesses almost daily
about how difficult it is to navigate the Federal marketplace.
With businesses having to be familiar with small-business
regulations, the Federal Acquisition Regulations, and each agency's own
FAR supplement, as well as other statutes, the very least we can do is
to make sure that all the terminology is consistent.
The changes made in H.R. 4325 will unify the terminology, providing
much-needed certainty to both contracting officers and small
businesses.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, in closing, the gentlewoman's bill is simply
good government. We shouldn't have different terms and different laws
if we are talking about the same thing.
Federal contracting is confusing enough for small businesses without
the use of arcane terminology. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to vote
to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 4325.
I would like to thank the gentlewoman, the ranking member, Ms.
Velazquez, for her leadership in this matter.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 4325.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________