[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2646]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 508. Ms. ERNST submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
her to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
       At the end of subtitle D of title VIII of division A, add 
     the following:

     SEC. 849. PAYMENT OF SUBCONTRACTORS.

       Section 8(d)(13) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
     637(d)(13)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking ``90 days'' and 
     inserting ``30 days'';
       (2) in subparagraph (C)--
       (A) by striking ``contractor shall'' and inserting 
     ``contractor--
       ``(i) shall'';
       (B) in clause (i), as so designated, by striking the period 
     at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(i) may enter or modify past performance information of 
     the prime contractor in connection with the unjustified 
     failure to make a full or timely payment to a subcontractor 
     subject to this paragraph before or after close-out of the 
     covered contract.''.
       (3) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``subparagraph (E)'' 
     and inserting ``subparagraph (F)'';
       (4) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (F); 
     and
       (5) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following":
       ``(E) Cooperation.--
       ``(i) In general.--Once a contracting officer determines, 
     with respect to the past performance of a prime contractor, 
     that there was an unjustified failure by the prime contractor 
     on a covered contract to make a full or timely payment to a 
     subcontractor covered by subparagraph (B) or (C), the prime 
     contractor is required to cooperate with the contracting 
     officer, who shall consult with the Director of Small 
     Business Programs or the Director of Small and Disadvantaged 
     Business Utilization acting pursuant to section 15(k)(6) and 
     other representatives of the Government, regarding correcting 
     and mitigating the unjustified failure to make a full or 
     timely payment to a subcontractor.
       ``(ii) Duration.--The duty of cooperation under this 
     subparagraph for a prime contractor described in clause (i) 
     continues until the subcontractor is made whole or the 
     determination of the contracting officer determination is no 
     longer effective, and regardless of performance or close-out 
     status of the covered contract.''.
                                 ______