[Senate Report 115-166]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 235
115th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-166
_______________________________________________________________________
PROCUREMENT FRAUD PREVENTION ACT
__________
R E P O R T
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
TO ACCOMPANY
S. 938
TO REQUIRE NOTICE OF COST-FREE FEDERAL PROCUREMENT
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN CONNECTION WITH REGISTRATION
OF SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
October 5, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2017
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
RAND PAUL, Kentucky JON TESTER, Montana
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
STEVE DAINES, Montana KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
Christopher R. Hixon, Staff Director
Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Chief Counsel
Patrick J. Bailey, Chief Counsel for Governmental Affairs
Margaret E. Daum, Minority Staff Director
Stacia M. Cardille, Minority Chief Counsel
Charles A. Moskowitz, Minority Senior Legislative Counsel
Katherine C. Sybenga, Minority Counsel
Daniel J. Webb, Minority U.S. Government Accountability Office Detailee
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 235
115th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-166
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PROCUREMENT FRAUD PREVENTION ACT
_______
October 5, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 938]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 938) to require
notice of cost-free Federal procurement technical assistance in
connection with registration of small business concerns in
procurement systems, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the
bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................1
III. Legislative History..............................................2
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................2
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................2
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................3
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported...........3
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
The Procurement Fraud Prevention Act, S. 938, requires that
the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) establish a procedure to notify
small businesses registering to do business with the government
that there are services available to assist them at no cost.
II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Doing business with the Federal Government is notoriously
complex: the Federal Acquisition Regulation is nearing 2,000
pages with a supplement for the Defense Department totaling
over 1,000 pages.\1\ Large business enterprises with the
capability to absorb the overhead required to expertly navigate
this system thrive, while small businesses struggle to sell
their products and services to the Federal Government.\2\ To
navigate the complex registration process required to do
business with the Federal Government, many small businesses
seek out the assistance of consultants and other organizations
that offer services and support at varying prices, without
realizing that there is support available at no cost.\3\
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\1\Federal Acquisition Regulation, 48 C.F.R. (2005).
\2\Press Release, Small Business Administration, Federal Government
Achieves Small Business Procurement Contracting Goal for Second
Consecutive Year (June 26, 2015), https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-
newsroom/press-releases-media-advisories/federal-government-achieves-
small-business-procurement-contracting-goal-second-consecutive-year.
\3\Get Help with Government Contracting, USA.GOV, https://
www.usa.gov/expand-business (last updated May 05, 2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
S. 938 requires GSA and OMB to establish a process for
notifying small businesses that free support services exist to
assist them in registering to do business with the Federal
Government. These communications can be included in official
communications that are already sent by GSA.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 938 on April 5,
2017. The bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs. The Committee considered S.
938 at a July 26, 2017 business meeting.
The Committee ordered S. 938 reported favorably on July 26,
2017, en bloc, by voice vote. Senators present for the vote
were Senators Johnson, Portman, Lankford, Daines, McCaskill,
Tester, Heitkamp, Peters, Hassan and Harris.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section provides the bill's short title, the
``Procurement Fraud Prevention Act.''
Section 2. Notice of cost-free federal procurement technical assistance
in connection with registration of small business concerns in
procurement systems
This section requires GSA and OMB to establish a procedure
to notify small businesses that there is free technical
assistance available to them to assist in navigating the
federal procurement process, including assisting with
registering to do business with the federal government.
V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
September 13, 2017.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,
United States Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 938, the Procurement
Fraud Prevention Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew
Pickford.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall.
Enclosure.
S. 938--Procurement Fraud Prevention Act
S. 938 would require the General Services Administration
(GSA) in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget,
to ensure that any direct communications with small businesses
about providing goods and services to the federal government
contain a notice that technical assistance from the federal
government on the procurement process is available to small
businesses at no cost. According to GSA and the Small Business
Administration, many government websites already state that
such assistance is available and there would be minimal
administrative costs to expand those efforts. Thus, CBO
estimates any additional costs to implement S. 938 would total
less than $500,000 annually; such spending would be subject to
the availability of appropriated funds.
Enacting S. 938 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 938 would not increase
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 938 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew
Pickford. This estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Because this legislation would not repeal or amend any
provision of current law, it would make no changes in existing
law within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12
of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.
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