[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 124 (Monday, July 24, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H6174-H6175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VA PROCUREMENT EFFICIENCY AND TRANSPARENCY ACT
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 2006) to amend title 38, United States Code, to
improve the procurement practices of the Department of Veterans
Affairs, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2006
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 ``VA Procurement Efficiency
and Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. INFORMATION ON COST OR PRICE SAVINGS FROM
COMPETITION.
(a) In General.--Chapter 81 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended by inserting after section 8128 the
following new section:
``Sec. 8129. Information on cost or price savings from
competition
``(a) Recording of Information.--With respect to any
contract awarded by the Secretary that is reported in the
Federal Procurement Data System described in section
1122(a)(4)(A) of title 41, United States Code, or any
successor system, the Secretary shall record information on
the amount of any cost or price savings realized by using
competitive procedures in awarding such contract.
``(b) Placement of Records.--The Secretary shall place
recorded information under subsection (a) as follows:
``(1) With respect to contracts recorded in the Electronic
Contract Management System, or any successor system, in such
system.
``(2) With respect to contracts not covered by paragraph
(1), in a location determined appropriate by the Secretary.
``(c) Calculation of Cost Savings.--(1) In carrying out
subsection (a), the Secretary shall calculate the amount of
cost or price savings realized by using competitive
procedures in awarding a contract by--
``(A) subtracting the total value of the selected offer or
quote from the average of the total values of all offers or
quotes evaluated; or
``(B) subtracting the total value of the selected offer or
quote from the total value of the median offer or quote
evaluated.
``(2) If the difference calculated pursuant to paragraph
(1) is negative, the Secretary shall record such difference
as zero.
``(3) The Secretary shall make calculations under paragraph
(1) with respect to a contract--
``(A) at the time at which the Secretary obligates amounts
under such contract; or
``(B) if such contract contains options, at the time at
which the option is exercised.''.
[[Page H6175]]
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the
item relating to section 8128 the following new item:
``8129. Information on cost or price savings from competition.''.
SEC. 3. USE OF STANDARDIZED PROCUREMENT TEMPLATES.
To the extent practicable, the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall make available and use on a Department-wide
basis the standardized procurement templates used by the
Central Office of the Department, the Veterans Health
Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the
National Cemetery Administration. In carrying out this
section, the Secretary may customize such templates to
address particular procurement situations.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Roe) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.
General Leave
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Tennessee?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2005, the VA Procurement
Efficiency and Transparency Act.
H.R. 2006 is commonsense contracting, transparency, and efficiency
legislation sponsored by my friend, Representative Mike Coffman, an
esteemed member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee.
This bill will make clear how much money the VA is saving by
competing contracts and direct the VA to organize its contracting
documents. Procurement difficulties seem to happen year after year, and
I thank Representative Coffman and other Members with reform bills
under consideration today for their work on this issue.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support H.R. 2006, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I feel so strongly about this, I am going to support it
again today. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2006, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from Colorado (Mr. Coffman), a senior member of the Veterans' Affairs
Committee, a veteran of both the Marine Corps and the U.S. Army, and a
great friend.
Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, one of the VA's top procurement goals is to
achieve savings through competition. However, there is no uniformity in
how the savings are calculated or if they are recorded at all.
This is why I introduced H.R. 2006, the VA Procurement Efficiency and
Transparency Act. My bill will create a consistent method for the VA to
measure and record the cost savings generated by competing contracts
from its $20 billion procurement budget.
H.R. 2006 also directs the VA to organize its document templates,
which are the building blocks for every contract, and make them
accessible in a central place.
Mr. Speaker, too often, the VA reports flawed or incomplete data to
Congress and to the public. While the VA's current leadership is
working to correct years of transparency problems, the legislation
gives that effort a much-needed push in the right direction.
Mr. Speaker, the VA's contracting will benefit by adopting these best
practices, and I encourage my colleagues to support this commonsense
measure.
Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this piece of legislation,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to support
this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 2006.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
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