[House Report 110-137]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    110-137

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PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 1873) TO REAUTHORIZE THE 
 PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION RELATING 
                 TO PROCUREMENT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

 May 8, 2007.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Cardoza, from the Committee on Rules, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                       [To accompany H. Res. 383]

    The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration 
House Resolution 383, by a vote of 8 to 4, report the same to 
the House with the recommendation that the resolution be 
adopted.

                SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION

    The resolution provides for consideration of the bill (H.R. 
1873) to reauthorize the programs and activities of the Small 
Business Administration relating to procurement, and for other 
purposes, under a structured rule. The rule provides one hour 
of general debate equally divided and controlled by the 
chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Small 
Business. The rule waives all points of order against 
consideration of the bill except clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI. 
The rule provides that the amendment in the nature of a 
substitute recommended by the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform now printed in the bill shall be considered 
as an original bill for the purpose of amendment and shall be 
considered as read. All points of order against the committee 
amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived except 
clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI.
    The rule makes in order only those amendments printed in 
this report. The amendments made in order may be offered only 
in the order printed in this report, may be offered only by a 
Member designated in this report, shall be considered as read, 
shall be debatable for the time specified in this report 
equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an 
opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be 
subject to a demand for a division of the question in the House 
or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of order against 
the amendments except for clauses 9 and 10 of Rule XXI are 
waived. The rule provides one motion to recommit with or 
without instructions. The rule provides that, notwithstanding 
the operation of the previous question, the Chair may postpone 
further consideration of the bill to a time designated by the 
Speaker.

                         EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS

    The waiver of all points of order against consideration of 
the bill (except for clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI), includes 
the following: a waiver of Rule XIII, clause 4(a), requiring a 
three-day layover of the committee report; a waiver of rule 
XIII, clause 3(c)(4), requiring the inclusion in the report of 
certain oversight, budget and performance goal information; and 
a waiver of clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII, requiring the 
inclusion of an estimate by the committee of the costs that 
would be incurred in carrying out the bill or joint resolution 
in the fiscal year in which it is reported and in each of the 
five fiscal years following that fiscal year. The Committee is 
not aware of any points of order against the committee 
substitute therefore the waiver of all points of order against 
the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute is 
prophylactic in nature.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    The results of each record vote on an amendment or motion 
to report, together with the names of those voting for and 
against, are printed below:

Rules Committee record vote No. 176

    Date: May 8, 2007.
    Measure: H.R. 1873.
    Motion by: Mr. Diaz-Balart.
    Summary of motion: To grant an open rule.
    Results: Defeated 4-8.
    Vote by Members: McGovern--Nay; Matsui--Nay; Cardoza--Nay; 
Welch--Nay; Castor--Nay; Arcuri--Nay; Sutton--Nay; Dreier--Yea; 
Diaz-Balart--Yea; Hastings (WA)--Yea; Sessions--Yea; 
Slaughter--Nay.

Rules Committee record vote No. 177

    Date: May 8, 2007.
    Measure: H.R. 1873.
    Motion by: Mr. Diaz-Balart.
    Summary of motion: To make in order and provide appropriate 
waivers for an amendment by Reps. Cuellar (TX) and Chabot (OH), 
#15, to authorize the Administrator of the Office of Federal 
Procurement Policy within the Office of Management and Budget 
to decide bundling matters. Where the SBA Administrator and the 
contracting agency fail to agree on mitigation strategies for a 
particular bundled contract, the Administrator of OFPP will 
have ten days to issue his decision.
    Results: Defeated 4-8.
    Vote by Members: McGovern--Nay; Matsui--Nay; Cardoza--Nay; 
Welch--Nay; Castor--Nay; Arcuri--Nay; Sutton--Nay; Dreier--Yea; 
Diaz-Balart--Yea; Hastings (WA)--Yea; Sessions--Yea; 
Slaughter--Nay.

Rules Committee record vote No. 178

    Date: May 8, 2007.
    Measure: H.R. 1873.
    Motion by: Mr. Diaz-Balart.
    Summary of motion: To make in order and provide appropriate 
waivers for an amendment by Rep. Chabot (OH), #5, to strike 
section 211 relating to limiting the value of sole source 
contracts awarded to certain entities.
    Results: Defeated 4-8.
    Vote by Members: McGovern--Nay; Matsui--Nay; Cardoza--Nay; 
Welch--Nay; Castor--Nay; Arcuri--Nay; Sutton--Nay; Dreier--Yea; 
Diaz-Balart--Yea; Hastings (WA)--Yea; Sessions--Yea; 
Slaughter--Nay.

Rules Committee record vote No. 179

    Date: May 8, 2007.
    Measure: H.R. 1873.
    Motion by: Mr. Hastings (WA).
    Summary of motion: To make in order and provide appropriate 
waivers for an amendment by Rep. Price, Tom (GA), #6, to 
require that spending in this legislation be offset by 
reductions in spending elsewhere.
    Results: Defeated 4-8.
    Vote by Members: McGovern--Nay; Matsui--Nay; Cardoza--Nay; 
Welch--Nay; Castor--Nay; Arcuri--Nay; Sutton--Nay; Dreier--Yea; 
Diaz-Balart--Yea; Hastings (WA)--Yea; Sessions--Yea; 
Slaughter--Nay.

Rules Committee record vote No. 180

    Date: May 8, 2007.
    Measure: H.R. 1873.
    Motion by: Mr. Sessions.
    Summary of motion: To make in order and provide appropriate 
waivers for an amendment by Rep. Sessions (TX), #4, to strike 
section 303 relating to recertification of size standards.
    Results: Defeated 4-8.
    Vote by Members: McGovern--Nay; Matsui--Nay; Cardoza--Nay; 
Welch--Nay; Castor--Nay; Arcuri--Nay; Sutton--Nay; Dreier--Yea; 
Diaz-Balart--Yea; Hastings (WA)--Yea; Sessions--Yea; 
Slaughter--Nay.

Rules Committee record vote No. 181

    Date: May 8, 2007.
    Measure: H.R. 1873.
    Motion by: Mr. McGovern.
    Summary of motion: To report the rule.
    Results: Adopted 8-4.
    Vote by Members: McGovern--Yea; Matsui--Yea; Cardoza--Yea; 
Welch--Yea; Castor--Yea; Arcuri--Yea; Sutton--Yea; Dreier--Nay; 
Diaz-Balart--Nay; Hastings (WA)--Nay; Sessions--Nay; 
Slaughter--Yea.

                  SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

    1. Reyes (TX): The amendment would aid small businesses 
that have been included in the Small Business Subcontracting 
Plans of prime contractors that obtain federal contracts. (10 
minutes)
    2. Shuler (NC)/Chabot (OH): The amendment extends small 
business contracting goals to overseas contracts. (10 minutes)
    3. Bean (IL)/Chabot (OH): The amendment would raise the 
government-wide small business procurement goal from 25 percent 
to 30 percent. (10 minutes)
    4. Sestak (PA)/Chabot (OH): The amendment closes a loophole 
in the current bill that allows agencies to avoid doing small 
business impact studies by designating contracts as 
``transformed''. It also lowers the new dollar threshold 
established to $1.5 million to ensure a greater portion of 
contracts are reviewed for their impact on small business as 
well as taxpayer savings. (10 minutes)
    5. Welch (VT)/Inslee (WA)/Blumenauer (OR): The amendment 
sets a 5% procurement goal for the Federal government to 
contract with ``green'' small businesses. (10 minutes)
    6. Wynn (MD): The amendment commissions the Small Business 
Administration to complete a study on the feasibility and 
desirability of providing financial incentives to federal prime 
contractors who meet the goals set forth in their 
subcontracting plan of utilizing small business concerns owned 
by economically or socially disadvantaged individuals. (10 
minutes)
    7. Jackson-Lee (TX): The amendment provides that, whenever 
the SBA and the contracting procurement agency fail to agree 
and the Administrator decides to take action to further the 
interests of a small business concern, the SBA is required to 
make available on their website any action taken and result 
achieved by the Administrator. (10 minutes)
    8. Jackson-Lee (TX): The amendment requires that, when the 
SBA and the contracting procurement agency fail to agree and 
the Administrator submits the matter to the head of the agency 
for a determination, a copy of the written response to the 
Administrator be sent to the Committee of the House and Senate 
that has jurisdiction over the agency concerned, in addition to 
the Committees on Small Business and Oversight & Government 
Reform. (10 minutes)

                    TEXT OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Reyes of Texas, or His 
                   Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Strike section 209 and insert the following:

SEC. 209. REVIEW OF SUBCONTRACTING PLANS.

  (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the General Services Administration 
shall, after an opportunity for notice and comment, begin to 
make modifications, if necessary, to the Electronic 
Subcontracting Reporting System (ESRS) for the purpose of 
tracking companies' compliance with small business 
subcontracting plans included in successful contract bids. ESRS 
shall be further developed, if necessary, in such a way that it 
allows agencies to track whether or not the prime contractor 
actually subcontracted work out to the subcontracting firms 
described in the Small Business Subcontracting Plan. Further, 
ESRS shall be modified, if necessary, so that it facilitates 
review of a company's record of compliance with small business 
subcontracting plans.
  (b) Periodic Reports.--Prime contractors shall be required to 
submit Small Business Subcontracting Plans to ESRS and submit 
subsequent periodic reports to ESRS describing the extent to 
which the prime contractor complied with small business 
subcontracting plans submitted as part of the company's 
successful contract proposal. Each such report shall include a 
specific accounting of compliance with subcontracting goals 
described in the prime contractor's Small Business 
Subcontracting Plans related to Small Disadvantaged Businesses 
Concerns, Women-Owned Small Business Concerns, Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions, 
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concerns, and 
HUBZone Small Business Concerns. Each such accounting of 
compliance shall also be included in ESRS.
  (c) Inclusion in ESRS.--The ``percentage of the total dollar 
amount of the contract award'' that is paid to small business, 
as referred to in paragraph (12) of section 8(d) of the Small 
Business Act (as added by section 206 of this Act) shall also 
be included in ESRS.
  (d) Availability of ESRS.--ESRS and the information therein 
shall be made available to agency officials and Source 
Selection Evaluation Boards (as referred to in Federal 
Acquisition Regulations 3.104-1) that are charged with 
evaluating contract proposals, and, when evaluating contract 
proposals, agencies shall take into consideration the 
compliance with small business subcontracting plans of 
companies competing for Federal contracts, and within one year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act such consideration 
shall be reflected in the Federal Acquisition Regulations.
  (e) Further Modifications Required.--ESRS shall be modified 
in such a way that it can generate comparable reports on 
individual companies' compliance records to be used in the 
contract proposal evaluation processes of agencies.
                              ----------                              


   2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Schuler of North 
          Carolina, or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  After section 201 insert the following (and redesignate 
succeeding sections accordingly):

SEC. 202. INCLUDE OVERSEAS CONTRACTS IN SMALL BUSINESS GOAL.

  Section 15(g) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
  ``(3) The procurement goals required by this subsection apply 
to all procurement contracts, without regard to whether the 
contract is for work within or outside the United States.''.
                              ----------                              


 3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Bean of Illinois, or 
                 Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Section 201(a), strike ``25 percent'' and insert ``30 
percent''.
                              ----------                              


4. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Sestak of Pennsylvania, 
               or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Strike section 101 and insert the following:

SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS OF BUNDLING OF CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS AND RELATED 
                    TERMS.

  Section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632) is 
amended by amending subsection (o) to read as follows:
  ``(o) Definitions of Bundling of Contract Requirements and 
Related Terms.--For purposes of this Act:
          ``(1) Bundled contract.--
                  ``(A) In general.--The term `bundled 
                contract' means a contract or order that is 
                entered into to meet procurement requirements 
                that are consolidated in a bundling of contract 
                requirements, without regard to its designation 
                by the procuring agency or whether a study of 
                the effects of the solicitation on civilian or 
                military personnel has been made.
                  ``(B) Exceptions.--The term does not 
                include--
                          ``(i) a contract or order with an 
                        aggregate dollar value below the dollar 
                        threshold specified in paragraph (4); 
                        or
                          ``(ii) a contract or order that is 
                        entered into to meet procurement 
                        requirements, all of which are exempted 
                        requirements under paragraph (5).
          ``(2) Bundling of contract requirements.--
                  ``(A) In general.--The term `bundling of 
                contract requirements' means the use of any 
                bundling methodology to satisfy 2 or more 
                procurement requirements for goods or services 
                previously supplied or performed under separate 
                smaller contracts or orders, or to satisfy 2 or 
                more procurement requirements for construction 
                services of a type historically performed under 
                separate smaller contracts or orders, that is 
                likely to be unsuitable for award to a small 
                business concern due to--
                          ``(i) the diversity, size, or 
                        specialized nature of the elements of 
                        the performance specified;
                          ``(ii) the aggregate dollar value of 
                        the anticipated award;
                          ``(iii) the geographical dispersion 
                        of the contract or order performance 
                        sites; or
                          ``(iv) any combination of the factors 
                        described in clauses (i), (ii), and 
                        (iii).
                  ``(B) Inclusion of new features or 
                functions.--A combination of contract 
                requirements that would meet the definition of 
                a bundling of contract requirements but for the 
                addition of a procurement requirement with at 
                least one new good or service shall be 
                considered to be a bundling of contract 
                requirements unless the new features or 
                functions substantially transform the goods or 
                services and for which measurably substantial 
                benefits to the government in terms of quality 
                or price are identified.
                  ``(C) Exceptions.--The term does not 
                include--
                          ``(i) the use of a bundling 
                        methodology for an anticipated award 
                        with an aggregate dollar value below 
                        the dollar threshold specified in 
                        paragraph (5); or
                          ``(ii) the use of a bundling 
                        methodology to meet procurement 
                        requirements, all of which are exempted 
                        requirements under paragraph (6).
          ``(3) Bundling methodology.--The term `bundling 
        methodology' means--
                  ``(A) a solicitation to obtain offers for a 
                single contract or order, or a multiple award 
                contract or order; or
                  ``(B) a solicitation of offers for the 
                issuance of a task or a delivery order under an 
                existing single or multiple award contract or 
                order.
          ``(4) Separate smaller contract.--The term `separate 
        smaller contract', with respect to bundling of contract 
        requirements, means a contract or order that has been 
        performed by 1 or more small business concerns or was 
        suitable for award to 1 or more small business 
        concerns.
          ``(5) Dollar threshold.--The term `dollar threshold' 
        means $65,000,000, if solely for construction services.
          ``(6) Exempted requirements.--The term `exempted 
        requirement' means a procurement requirement solely for 
        items that are not commercial items (as the term 
        `commercial item' is defined in section 4(12) of the 
        Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 
        403(12)).
          ``(7) Procurement requirement.--The term `procurement 
        requirement' means a determination by an agency that a 
        specified good or service is needed to satisfy the 
        mission of the agency.''.
                              ----------                              


 5. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Welch of Vermont, or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  At the end of title II, insert the following:

SEC. 212. SMALL BUSINESS GOALS FOR GREEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS.

  (a) In General.--Section 15(g) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 644(g)) is amended--
          (1) in paragraph (1)--
                  (A) by striking ``and small business concerns 
                owned and controlled by women'' both places 
                such term appears and inserting ``small 
                business concerns owned and controlled by 
                women, and green small business concerns''; and
                  (B) by inserting before ``Notwithstanding the 
                Government-wide goal'' the following: ``The 
                Government-wide goal for participation by green 
                small business concerns shall be established at 
                not less than 5 percent of the total value of 
                all prime contract and subcontract awards for 
                each fiscal year.''; and
          (2) in paragraph (2)--
                  (A) by striking ``and by small business 
                concerns owned and controlled by women'' both 
                places such term appears and inserting ``by 
                small business concerns owned and controlled by 
                women, and by green small business concerns''; 
                and
                  (B) by striking ``and small business concerns 
                owned and controlled by women'' and inserting 
                ``small business concerns owned and controlled 
                by women, and green small business concerns''.
  (b) Conforming Amendments.--
          (1) Definition.--Section 3 of that Act (15 U.S.C. 
        632) is amended by adding at the end the following:
  ``(s) Definitions Relating to Green Small Business 
Concerns.--In this Act, the term `green small business concern' 
means a small business concern that carries out its activities 
in an environmentally sound manner. The Administrator shall, in 
consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
General Services Administration, and other appropriate 
agencies, specify detailed definitions or standards by which a 
small business concern may be determined to be a green small 
business concern for the purposes of this Act.''.
          (2) Policy.--Section 8(d) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 
        637(d)) is amended--
                  (A) in paragraph (1) (in both places such 
                term appears), paragraph (3)(A) (in both places 
                such term appears), paragraph (4)(D), paragraph 
                (6)(A), paragraph (6)(C), paragraph (6)(F), and 
                paragraph (10)(B) by striking ``and small 
                business concerns owned and controlled by 
                women'' and inserting ``small business concerns 
                owned and controlled by women, and green small 
                business concerns'';
                  (B) in paragraph (3)(F) by striking ``or a 
                small business concern owned and controlled by 
                women'' and inserting ``a small business 
                concern owned and controlled by women, or a 
                green small business concern''; and
                  (C) in paragraph (4)(E) by striking ``and for 
                small business concerns owned and controlled by 
                women'' and inserting ``for small business 
                concerns owned and controlled by women, and for 
                green small business concerns''.
          (3) Reports on goals.--Section 15(h) of that Act (15 
        U.S.C. 644(h)) is amended, in each of paragraphs (1), 
        (2)(A), (2)(D), and (2)(E) by striking ``and small 
        business concerns owned and controlled by women'' and 
        inserting ``small business concerns owned and 
        controlled by women, and green small business 
        concerns''.
          (4) Penalties.--Section 16 of that Act (15 U.S.C. 
        645) is amended in each of subsections (d)(1) and (e) 
        by striking ``or a `small business concern owned and 
        controlled by women' '' and inserting ``a `small 
        business concern owned and controlled by women', or a 
        `green small business concern' ''.
                              ----------                              


 6. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Wynn of Maryland, or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  At the end of title II, add the following:

SEC. 2__. STUDY ON PROVIDING FINANCIAL INCENTIVES TO CONTRACTORS THAT 
                    MEET MINORITY AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE 
                    GOALS.

  The Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall 
carry out a study on the feasibility and desirability of 
providing financial incentives to contractors operating under 
contracts from a federal agency that achieve the percentage 
goals set forth in said contracts' subcontracting plans for the 
utilization of small business concerns owned and controlled by 
socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. The 
Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on the results 
of the study, together with any findings, conclusions, and 
recommendations that the Administrator considers appropriate.
                              ----------                              


 7. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Jackson-Lee of Texas, 
               or Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Section 103, strike ``concern.'' and insert ``concern, and 
shall make available to the public on the website of the 
Administration the action taken and the result achieved.''.
                              ----------                              


 8. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Jackson-Lee of Texas, 
               or Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Section 104, strike ``Senate.'' and insert ``Senate, and any 
other committee of the House and Senate that has jurisdiction 
over the agency concerned.''.

                                  
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