[House Report 110-49]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     110-49

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PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1362--ACCOUNTABILITY IN CONTRACTING 
                                  ACT

                                _______
                                

   March 14, 2007.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

    Ms. Castor, from the Committee on Rules, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                       [To accompany H. Res. 242]

    The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration 
House Resolution 242, by a non-record vote, 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 H.R. 1362 the 
Accountability in Contracting Act under a structured rule. The 
rule provides 60 minutes of general debate equally divided and 
controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and 20 minutes of 
general debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman 
and ranking minority member of the Committee on Armed Services.
    The rule waives all points of order against consideration 
of the bill except clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI. The rule 
provides that in lieu of the amendments recommended by the 
Committee on Oversight & Government Reform and the Committee on 
Armed Services now printed in the bill, the amendment in the 
nature of a substitute printed in Part A of this report shall 
be considered as an original bill for the purpose of amendment. 
All points of order except clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI are 
waived against the substitute and the substitute shall be 
considered as read.
    The rule makes in order only those amendments printed in 
Part B of this report accompanying the resolution. The 
amendments made in order may be offered only in the order 
printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member 
designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be 
debatable for the time specified in the 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. Finally, the rule 
provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

                         EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS

    The waiver of all points of order against consideration of 
the bill includes a waiver of clause 4(a) of rule XIII 
(requiring a three-day layover of the committee report). The 
waiver is necessary because the Committee on Armed Services 
filed its report (H. Rept. 110-47, Part 2) with the House on 
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 and the bill may be considered by the 
House as early as Thursday, March 15, 2007.

                            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. 67

    Date: March 14, 2007.
    Measure: H.R. 1362.
    Motion by: Mr. Dreier.
    Summary of motion: To report an open rule.
    Results: Defeated 2-8.
    Vote by Members: McGovern--Nay; Hastings (FL)--Nay; 
Cardoza--Nay; Welch--Nay; Castor--Nay; Arcuri--Nay; Sutton--
Nay; Dreier--Yea; Sessions--Yea; Slaughter--Nay.

  SUMMARY OF AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE CONSIDERED AS AN 
                             ORIGINAL BILL

    The amendment in the nature of a substitute is identical to 
the text, as amended, of H.R. 1362 as ordered reported by the 
Committee on Armed Services on March 13, 2007, with the 
following exceptions:
    Adds a provision to sec. 102 to clarify that statutory 
preferences for contracts to disadvantaged minority contractors 
and service disabled veterans, and in HUBZones, will not be 
covered in the plan to reduce sole-source contracts.
    Adds senior level personnel who participate personally and 
substantially in a decision to award a contract to the current 
revolving door restrictions for acquisition personnel.
    Prevents such senior level personnel who enter government 
service from the private sector from administering a contract 
awarded to their former employer.

                    SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS MADE ORDER

    1. Matheson (UT): This amendment would provide Congress 
with prior notice of any sole source contract expected to be 
awarded to a foreign-owned company that is based in or has 
majority operations in a country known to sponsor terrorist 
activity, with the intent of allowing Congress to review and 
comment on the proposed contract. (10 minutes)
    2. Castle (DE): This amendment would require the Office of 
Government Ethics to submit recommendations on requiring 
government contractors and federally funded research and 
development centers that advise the government to comply with 
personal financial interest restrictions. (10 minutes)

     PART A--TEXT OF AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE TO BE 
                     CONSIDERED AS AN ORIGINAL BILL

  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

  (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the 
``Accountability in Contracting Act''.
  (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is 
as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

               TITLE I--IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF CONTRACTS

Sec. 101. Limitation on length of noncompetitive contracts.
Sec. 102. Minimizing sole-source contracts.
Sec. 103. Maximizing fixed-price procurement contracts.

                 TITLE II--INCREASING CONTRACT OVERSIGHT

Sec. 201. Public disclosure of justification and approval documents for 
          noncompetitive contracts.
Sec. 202. Disclosure of Government contractor audit findings.
Sec. 203. Study of acquisition workforce.
Sec. 204. Repeal of sunset of training fund.

              TITLE III--PROMOTING INTEGRITY IN CONTRACTING

Sec. 301. Additional provisions relating to procurement officials.

              TITLE I--IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF CONTRACTS

SEC. 101. LIMITATION ON LENGTH OF NONCOMPETITIVE CONTRACTS.

  (a) Revision of FAR.--Not later than one year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition 
Regulation shall be revised to restrict the contract period of 
any contract described in subsection (c) to the minimum 
contract period necessary--
          (1) to meet the urgent and compelling requirements of 
        the work to be performed under the contract; and
          (2) to enter into another contract for the required 
        goods or services through the use of competitive 
        procedures.
  (b) Contract Period.--The regulations promulgated under 
subsection (a) shall require the contract period to not exceed 
one year, unless the head of the executive agency concerned 
determines that the Government would be seriously injured by 
the limitation on the contract period.
  (c) Covered Contracts.--This section applies to any contract 
in an amount greater than $1,000,000 entered into by an 
executive agency using procedures other than competitive 
procedures pursuant to the exception provided in section 
303(c)(2) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services 
Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253(c)(2)) or section 2304(c)(2) of 
title 10, United States Code.
  (d) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) The term ``executive agency'' has the meaning 
        provided in section 4(1) of the Office of Federal 
        Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(1)).
          (2) The term ``head of the executive agency'' means 
        the head of an executive agency except that, in the 
        case of the Department of Defense, the term means--
                  (A) in the case of a military department, the 
                Secretary of the military department;
                  (B) in the case of a Defense Agency, the head 
                of the Defense Agency; and
                  (C) in the case of any part of the Department 
                of Defense other than a military department or 
                Defense Agency, the Under Secretary of Defense 
                for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

SEC. 102. MINIMIZING SOLE-SOURCE CONTRACTS.

  (a) Plans Required.--Subject to subsection (c), the head of 
each executive agency covered by title III of the Federal 
Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251 
et seq.) or, in the case of the Department of Defense, the 
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and 
Logistics, shall develop and implement a plan to minimize, to 
the maximum extent practicable, the use of contracts entered 
into using procedures other than competitive procedures by the 
agency or department concerned. The plan shall contain 
measurable goals and shall be completed and submitted to the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Committees on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate 
and, in the case of the Department of Defense and the 
Department of Energy, the Committees on Armed Services of the 
Senate and the House of Representatives, with a copy provided 
to the Comptroller General, not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
  (b) Comptroller General Review.--The Comptroller General 
shall review the plans provided under subsection (a) and submit 
a report to Congress on the plans not later than 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
  (c) Requirement Limited to Certain Agencies.--The requirement 
of subsection (a) shall apply only to those agencies that 
awarded contracts in a total amount of at least $1,000,000,000 
in the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which the 
report is submitted.
  (d) Certain Contracts Excluded.--The following contracts 
shall not be included in the plans developed and implemented 
under subsection (a):
          (1) Contracts entered into under section 8(a) of the 
        Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)), in amounts less 
        than the amounts listed in paragraph (1)(D)(i)(II) of 
        that section.
          (2) Contracts entered into under section 31 (15 
        U.S.C. 657a) of such Act, in amounts less than the 
        amounts listed in subsection (b)(2)(A)(ii) of that 
        section.
          (3) Contracts entered into under section 36 of such 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 657f), in amounts less than the amounts 
        listed in subsection (a)(2) of that section.

SEC. 103. MAXIMIZING FIXED-PRICE PROCUREMENT CONTRACTS.

  (a) Plans Required.--Subject to subsection (c), the head of 
each executive agency covered by title III of the Federal 
Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251 
et seq.) or, in the case of the Department of Defense, the 
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and 
Logistics, shall develop and implement a plan to maximize, to 
the fullest extent practicable, the use of fixed-price type 
contracts for the procurement of goods and services by the 
agency or department concerned. The plan shall contain 
measurable goals and shall be completed and submitted to the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Committees on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate 
and, in the case of the Department of Defense and the 
Department of Energy, the Committees on Armed Services of the 
Senate and the House of Representatives, with a copy provided 
to the Comptroller General, not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
  (b) Comptroller General Review.--The Comptroller General 
shall review the plans provided under subsection (a) and submit 
a report to Congress on the plans not later than 18 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
  (c) Requirement Limited to Certain Agencies.--The requirement 
of subsection (a) shall apply only to those agencies that 
awarded contracts in a total amount of at least $1,000,000,000 
in the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which the 
report is submitted.

                TITLE II--INCREASING CONTRACT OVERSIGHT

SEC. 201. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL DOCUMENTS FOR 
                    NONCOMPETITIVE CONTRACTS.

  (a) Civilian Agency Contracts.--
          (1) In general.--Section 303 of the Federal Property 
        and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253) 
        is amended by adding at the end the following new 
        subsection:
  ``(j)(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), in the 
case of a procurement permitted by subsection (c), the head of 
an executive agency shall make publicly available, within 14 
days after the award of the contract, the documents containing 
the justification and approval required by subsection (f)(1) 
with respect to the procurement.
  ``(B) In the case of a procurement permitted by subsection 
(c)(2), subparagraph (A) shall be applied by substituting `30 
days' for `14 days'.
  ``(2) The documents shall be made available on the website of 
the agency and through the Federal Procurement Data System.
  ``(3) This subsection does not require the public 
availability of information that is exempt from public 
disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5, United States 
Code.''.
          (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 303(f) of such Act 
        is amended--
                  (A) by striking paragraph (4); and
                  (B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 
                paragraph (4).
  (b) Defense Agency Contracts.--
          (1) In general.--Section 2304 of title 10, United 
        States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new subsection:
  ``(l)(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), in the 
case of a procurement permitted by subsection (c), the head of 
an agency shall make publicly available, within 14 days after 
the award of the contract, the documents containing the 
justification and approval required by subsection (f)(1) with 
respect to the procurement.
  ``(B) In the case of a procurement permitted by subsection 
(c)(2), subparagraph (A) shall be applied by substituting `30 
days' for `14 days'.
  ``(2) The documents shall be made available on the website of 
the agency and through the Federal Procurement Data System.
  ``(3) This subsection does not require the public 
availability of information that is exempt from public 
disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5.''.
          (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 2304(f) of such 
        title is amended--
                  (A) by striking paragraph (4); and
                  (B) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) 
                as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively.

SEC. 202. DISCLOSURE OF GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR AUDIT FINDINGS.

  (a) Quarterly Report to Congress.--
          (1) The head of each Federal agency or department or, 
        in the case of the Department of Defense, the Under 
        Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and 
        Logistics, shall submit to the chairman and ranking 
        member of each committee specified in paragraph (2) on 
        a quarterly basis a report that includes the following:
                  (A) A list of completed audits performed by 
                such agency or department issued during the 
                applicable quarter that describe contractor 
                costs in excess of $10,000,000 that have been 
                identified as unjustified, unsupported, 
                questioned, or unreasonable under any contract, 
                task or delivery order, or subcontract.
                  (B) The specific amounts of costs identified 
                as unjustified, unsupported, questioned, or 
                unreasonable and the percentage of their total 
                value of the contract, task or delivery order, 
                or subcontract.
                  (C) A list of completed audits performed by 
                such agency or department issued during the 
                applicable quarter that identify material 
                deficiencies in the performance of any 
                contractor or in any business system of any 
                contractor under any contract, task or delivery 
                order, or subcontract.
          (2) The report described in paragraph (1) shall be 
        submitted to--
                  (A) the Committee on Oversight and Government 
                Reform of the House of Representatives;
                  (B) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
                  (C) the Committees on Appropriations of the 
                House of Representatives and the Senate;
                  (D) in the case of reports from the 
                Department of Defense or the Department of 
                Energy, the Committees on Armed Services of the 
                Senate and the House of Representatives; and
                  (E) the committees of primary jurisdiction 
                over the agency or department submitting the 
                report.
          (3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an agency or 
        department with respect to a calendar quarter if no 
        audits described in paragraph (1) were issued during 
        that quarter.
  (b) Submission of Individual Audits.--
          (1) The head of each Federal agency or department 
        shall provide, within 14 days after a request in 
        writing by the chairman or ranking member of any 
        committee listed in paragraph (2), a full and 
        unredacted copy of any audit described in subsection 
        (a)(1). Such copy shall include an identification of 
        information in the audit exempt from public disclosure 
        under section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code.
          (2) The committees listed in this paragraph are the 
        following:
                  (A) The Committee on Oversight and Government 
                Reform of the House of Representatives.
                  (B) The Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
                  (C) The Committees on Appropriations of the 
                House of Representatives and the Senate.
                  (D) In the case of the Department of Defense 
                or the Department of Energy, the Committees on 
                Armed Services of the Senate and House of 
                Representatives.
                  (E) The committees of primary jurisdiction 
                over the agency or department to which the 
                request is made.

SEC. 203. STUDY OF ACQUISITION WORKFORCE.

  (a) Requirement for Study.--The Administrator for Federal 
Procurement Policy shall conduct a study of the composition, 
scope, and functions of the Government-wide acquisition 
workforce and develop a comprehensive definition of, and method 
of measuring the size of, such workforce.
  (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the 
relevant congressional committees a report on the results of 
the study required by subsection (a), with such findings and 
recommendations as the Administrator determines appropriate.

SEC. 204. REPEAL OF SUNSET OF TRAINING FUND.

  Subparagraph (H) of section 37(h)(3) of the Office of Federal 
Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 433(h)(3)) is repealed.

             TITLE III--PROMOTING INTEGRITY IN CONTRACTING

SEC. 301. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO PROCUREMENT OFFICIALS.

  (a) Elimination of Loopholes That Allow Former Federal 
Officials to Accept Compensation From Contractors or Related 
Entities.--Section 27(d) of the Office of Federal Procurement 
Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 423(d)) is amended--
          (1) in paragraph (1)--
                  (A) by striking ``or consultant'' and 
                inserting ``consultant, lawyer, or lobbyist''; 
                and
                  (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
                ``Federal 
                agency--'' and inserting ``Federal agency or 
                partici- 
                pated personally and substantially at a senior 
                personnel level in--''
          (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
  ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not prohibit a former official of a 
Federal agency from accepting compensation from any division or 
affiliate of a contractor that does not produce the same or 
similar products or services as the entity of the contractor 
that is responsible for the contract referred to in 
subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of such paragraph if the agency's 
designated ethics officer determines that the former official's 
acceptance of compensation would not damage public confidence 
in the integrity of the procurement process.''.
  (b) Requirement for Federal Procurement Officers to Disclose 
Job Offers Made on Behalf of Relatives.--Section 27(c)(1) of 
such Act (41 U.S.C. 423(c)(1)) is amended by inserting after 
``that official'' the following: ``or for a relative of that 
official (as defined in section 3110 of title 5, United States 
Code)''.
  (c) Requirement on Award of Government Contracts to Former 
Employers.--Section 27 of such Act (41 U.S.C. 423) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
  ``(i) Prohibition on Involvement by Certain Former Contractor 
Employees in Procurements.--An employee of the Federal 
Government who is a former employee of a contractor with the 
Federal Government shall not be personally and substantially 
involved with any award of a contract to the employee's former 
employer, or in the administration of such contract at a senior 
personnel level, for the one-year period beginning on the date 
on which the employee leaves the employment of the contractor 
unless the employee has received a waiver from the agency's 
designated ethics officer. In determining whether to issue a 
waiver, the designated ethics officer shall take into account 
the agency's need for the involvement of the employee and the 
impact a waiver would have on public confidence in the 
integrity of the procurement process.''.
  (d) Regulations.--Section 27 of such Act (41 U.S.C. 423) is 
further amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
  ``(j) Regulations.--The Administrator, in consultation with 
the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, shall--
          ``(1) promulgate regulations to carry out and ensure 
        the enforcement of this section; and
          ``(2) monitor and investigate individual and agency 
        compliance with this section.''.
  (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

        PART B--TEXT OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER UNDER THE RULE


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

    At the end of title II, add the following new section:

SEC. 2----. NOTICE TO CONGRESS OF NONCOMPETITIVE CONTRACTS AWARDED TO 
                    FOREIGN-OWNED COMPANIES IN COUNTRIES SPONSORING 
                    TERRORISM.

    (a) Notice to Congress Required.--If a contract is expected 
to be awarded by a department or agency of the Federal 
Government without the use of competitive procedures to a 
foreign-owned company that is based or has majority operations 
in a country described in subsection (b), the department or 
agency shall notify the appropriate congressional committees at 
least 30 days before awarding the contract, for purposes of 
providing Congress time to review the proposed contract and 
provide comments to the department or agency.
    (b) Foreign Countries Described.--A country described in 
this subsection is a country the government of which the 
Secretary of State has determined, for purposes of section 6(j) 
of Export Administration Act of 1979, section 620A of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, section 40 of the Arms Export 
Control Act, or any other provision of law, is a government 
that has repeatedly provided support for acts of international 
terrorism.
                              ----------                              


2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Castle of Delaware, or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Add at the end of title III the following:

SEC. 302. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

  (a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Government 
Ethics shall submit a report to Congress that contains the 
Director's recommendations on requiring Government contractors 
that advise one or more Federal agencies on procurement policy, 
and requiring federally funded research and development 
centers, to comply with restrictions relating to personal 
financial interests, such as those that apply to Federal 
employees.
  (b) Definition.--In this section--
          (1) The term ``Government contractor'' means any 
        person (other than a Federal agency) with which a 
        Federal agency has entered into a contract to acquire 
        goods or services.
          (2) The term ``Federal agency'' means--
                  (A) any executive department or independent 
                establishment in the executive branch of the 
                Government, including any wholly owned 
                Government corporation; and
                  (B) any establishment in the legislative or 
                judicial branch of the Government (except the 
                Senate, the House of Representatives, and the 
                Architect of the Capitol and any activities 
                under the Architect's direction).
          (3) The term ``federally funded research and 
        development center'' means a federally funded research 
        and development center as identified by the National 
        Science Foundation in accordance with the Federal 
        Acquisition Regulation.

                                  
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