[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8577-8578]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           TEXT OF AMENDMENTS

  SA 4679. Mr. CARPER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 2943, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2017 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:

       Strike section 812 and insert the following:

     SEC. 812. MICRO-PURCHASE THRESHOLD APPLICABLE TO GOVERNMENT 
                   PROCUREMENTS.

       (a) Department of Defense Procurements.--
       (1) Increased micro-purchase threshold.--
       (A) In general.--Chapter 137 of title 10, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     section:

     ``Sec. 2338. Micro-purchase threshold

       ``Notwithstanding subsection (a) of section 1902 of title 
     41, the micro-purchase threshold for the Department of 
     Defense for purposes of such section is $5,000.''.
       (B) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new item:

``2338. Micro-purchase threshold.''.

       (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 1902(a) of title 41, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``For purposes'' 
     and inserting ``Except as provided in section 2338 of title 
     10, for purposes''.
       (b) Other Procurements.--
       (1) Increase in threshold.--Section 1902 of title 41, 
     United States Code, is amended--
       (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``$3,000'' and inserting 
     ``$10,000''; and
       (B) in subsections (d) and (e), by striking ``not greater 
     than $3,000'' and inserting ``with a price not greater than 
     the micro-purchase threshold''.
       (c) OMB Guidance.--The Director of the Office of Management 
     and Budget shall update the guidance in Circular A-123, 
     Appendix B, as appropriate, to ensure that agencies--
       (1) follow sound acquisition practices when making 
     purchases using the Government purchase card; and
       (2) maintain internal controls that reduce the risk of 
     fraud, waste, and abuse in Government charge card programs.
       (d) Convenience Checks.--A convenience check may not be 
     used for an amount in excess of one half of the micro-
     purchase threshold under section 1902(a) of title 41, United 
     States Code, or a lower amount set by the head of the agency, 
     and use of convenience checks shall comply with controls 
     prescribed in OMB Circular A-123, Appendix B.
       At the end of subtitle B of title VIII, add the following:

     SEC. 829K. PILOT PROGRAMS FOR AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE INNOVATIVE 
                   COMMERCIAL ITEMS USING GENERAL SOLICITATION 
                   COMPETITIVE PROCEDURES.

       (a) Authority.--
       (1) In general.--The head of an agency may carry out a 
     pilot program, to be known as a ``commercial solutions 
     opening pilot program'', under which innovative commercial 
     items may be acquired through a competitive selection of 
     proposals resulting from a general solicitation and the peer 
     review of such proposals.
       (2) Head of an agency.--In this section, the term ``head of 
     an agency'' means the following:
       (A) The Secretary of Homeland Security.
       (B) The Administrator of General Services.
       (3) Applicability of section.--This section applies to the 
     following agencies:
       (A) The Department of Homeland Security.
       (B) The General Services Administration.
       (b) Treatment as Competitive Procedures.--Use of general 
     solicitation competitive procedures for the pilot program 
     under subsection (a) shall be considered, in the case of the 
     Department of Homeland Security and the General Services 
     Administration, to be use of competitive procedures for 
     purposes division C of title 41, United States Code (as 
     defined in section 152 of such title).
       (c) Limitation.--The head of an agency may not enter into a 
     contract under the pilot program for an amount in excess of 
     $10,000,000.
       (d) Guidance.--The head of an agency shall issue guidance 
     for the implementation of the pilot 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.
       (e) Report Required.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than three years after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the head of an agency shall 
     submit to the congressional committees specified in paragraph 
     (3) a report on the activities the agency carried out under 
     the pilot program.
       (2) Elements of report.--Each report under this subsection 
     shall include the following:
       (A) An assessment of the impact of the pilot program on 
     competition.
       (B) A comparison of acquisition timelines for--
       (i) procurements made using the pilot program; and
       (ii) procurements made using other competitive procedures 
     that do not use general solicitations.
       (C) A recommendation on whether the authority for the pilot 
     program should be made permanent.
       (3) Specified congressional committees.--The congressional 
     committees specified in this paragraph are the Committee on 
     Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and 
     the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 
     of Representatives.
       (f) Innovative Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``innovative'' means--
       (1) any new technology, process, or method, including 
     research and development; or
       (2) any new application of an existing technology, process, 
     or method.
       (g) Termination.--The authority to enter into a contract 
     under a pilot program under this section terminates on 
     September 30, 2022.

     SEC. 829L. INNOVATION SET ASIDE PILOT PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--The Director of the Office of Management 
     and Budget may, in consultation with the Administrator of the 
     Small Business Administration, conduct a pilot program to 
     increase the participation of new, innovative entities in 
     Federal contracting through the use of innovation set-asides.
       (b) Authority.--(1) Notwithstanding the competition 
     requirements in chapter 33 of title 41, United States Code, 
     and the set-aside requirements in section 15 of the Small 
     Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644), a Federal agency other than the 
     Department of Defense, with the concurrence of the Director, 
     may set aside a contract award to one or more new entrant 
     contractors. The Director shall consult with the 
     Administrator prior to providing concurrence.
       (2) Notwithstanding any law addressing compliance 
     requirements for Federal contracts--
       (A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), a contract 
     award to a new entrant contractor under the pilot program 
     shall be subject to the same relief afforded under section 
     1905 of title 41, United States Code, to contracts the value 
     of which is not greater than the simplified acquisition 
     threshold; and
       (B) for up to five pilots, the Director may authorize an 
     agency to make an award to a new entrant contractor subject 
     to the same compliance requirements that apply to a 
     contractor receiving an award from the Secretary of Defense 
     under section 2371 of title 10 United States Code.
       (c) Conditions for Use.--The authority provided in 
     subsection (b) may be used under the following conditions:
       (1)(A) The agency has a requirement for new methods, 
     processes, or technologies, which may include research and 
     development, or new applications of existing methods, 
     processes or technologies, to improve quality, reduce costs, 
     or both; or
       (B) Based on market research, the agency has determined 
     that the requirement cannot be easily provided through an 
     existing Federal contract;
       (2) The agency intends either to make an award to a small 
     business concern or to give special consideration to a small 
     business concern before making an award to other than a small 
     business; and
       (3) The length of the resulting contract will not exceed 2 
     years.
       (d) Number of Pilots.--The Director may authorize the use 
     of up to 25 innovation set-asides acquisitions.
       (e) Award Amount.--
       (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the amount of an 
     award under the pilot program under this section may not 
     exceed $2,000,000 (including any options).
       (2) The Director may authorize not more than 5 set-asides 
     with an award amount greater than $2,000,000 but not greater 
     than $5,000,000 (including any options).

[[Page 8578]]

       (f) Guidance and Reporting.--
       (1) The Director shall issue guidance, as necessary, to 
     implement the pilot program under this section.
       (2) Within 3 years after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act, the Director, in consultation with the Administrator 
     shall submit to Congress a report on the pilot program under 
     this section. The report shall include the following:
       (A) The number of awards (or orders under the Schedule) 
     made under the authority of this section.
       (B) For each award (or order)--
       (i) the agency that made the award (or order);
       (ii) the amount of the award (or order); and
       (iii) a brief description of the award (or order), 
     including the nature of the requirement and the innovation 
     produced from the award (or expected if contract performance 
     is not completed).
       (g) Sunset.--The authority to award an innovation set-aside 
     under this section shall terminate on December 31, 2020.
       (h) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
     ``new entrant contractor'', with respect to any contract 
     under the program, means an entity that has not been awarded 
     a Federal contract within the 5-year period ending on the 
     date on which a solicitation for that contract is issued 
     under the program.

     SEC. 829M. OTHER TRANSACTION AUTHORITY FOR DEPARTMENT OF 
                   HOMELAND SECURITY.

       Section 831 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
     391) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``Until September 30, 
     2016,'' and inserting ``Until September 30, 2021,''; and
       (2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``September 30, 
     2016,'' and inserting ``September 30, 2021,''.

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