[Senate Report 117-26]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 80
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 117-26
_______________________________________________________________________
PROMOTING RIGOROUS AND INNOVATIVE
COST EFFICIENCIES FOR FEDERAL
PROCUREMENT AND ACQUISITIONS
ACT OF 2021
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 583
TO PROMOTE INNOVATIVE ACQUISITION TECHNIQUES
AND PROCUREMENT STRATEGIES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
June 21, 2021.--Ordered to be printed
_________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
19-010 WASHINGTON : 2021
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
Michelle M. Benecke, Senior Counsel
Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
Andrew C. Dockham, Minority Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director
Jeremy H. Hayes, Minority Senior Professional Staff Member
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 80
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 117-26
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PROMOTING RIGOROUS AND INNOVATIVE COST EFFICIENCIES FOR FEDERAL
PROCUREMENT AND ACQUISITIONS ACT OF 2021
_______
June 21, 2021.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 583]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 583) to promote
innovative acquisition techniques and procurement strategies,
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill,
as amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
III. Legislative History.............................................. 2
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact.................................. 3
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
The purpose of S. 583, the Promoting Rigorous and
Innovative Cost Efficiencies for Federal Procurement and
Acquisitions Act of 2021, or the PRICE Act of 2021, is to
encourage innovation in Federal procurement. The PRICE Act
encourages reform by identifying and promoting best practices
to modernize how the Federal Government operates, including
with regard to small business participation in the Federal
marketplace. S. 583 does this by requiring the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) to develop guidance and training to
improve procurement methods based on the experience of its
Procurement Innovation Lab (PIL). Additionally, S. 583 requires
the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy
(OFPP) to convene the Chief Acquisition Officers Council (CAO
Council) to identify and widely disseminate best practices in
modernizing Federal contracting, including utilizing small
businesses.\1\
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\1\On December 14, 2020, the Committee approved S. 3038, the
Promoting Rigorous and Innovative Cost Efficiencies for Federal
Procurement and Acquisitions Act of 2019, which is substantially
similar to S. 583. Accordingly, this Committee report is in large part
a reproduction of the Committee report for S. 3038, S. Rep. No. 116-
315.
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II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The PIL is housed in the DHS Office of the Chief
Procurement Officer.\2\ The PIL's mission is to ``foster a
culture of procurement excellence where smart risk-taking and
innovation assure DHS mission success.''\3\ The overall
objectives of the PIL are ``lowering barriers to entry for
small businesses and non-traditional vendors, encouraging
competition, shortening time to award, and increasing the
likelihood of successful outcomes under contract
performance.''\4\ In fiscal year 2019, the PIL supported all
nine of the DHS components, issuing awards for 52 projects.\5\
It also conducted webinars to spread best practices, conducting
43 webinars for 10,105 attendees in 2019.\6\ The PIL has been
invited to conduct training events for OFPP and other agencies,
as well as DHS components.\7\
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\2\Procurement Innovation Lab, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, Fiscal Year 2019 Yearbook: Coaching Innovation (June 30,
2020) (https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/
pilyearbookfy19_digital.pdf).
\3\Id. at 2.
\4\Id. at 5.
\5\Id. at 9.
\6\Id. at 10.
\7\Jason Miller, How DHS' Innovation Lab is Helping Other Offices
Get Into Shape, Federal News Network (Sept. 18, 2018) (https://
federalnewsnetwork.com/acquisition-policy/2018/09/how-dhs-innovation-
lab-is-helping-other-acquisition-offices-get-into-shape/).
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In order to further improve the PIL's ability to
communicate procurement best practices throughout the Federal
Government, and to improve utilization of acquisition
innovation best practices generally, the PRICE Act requires the
PIL to issue an annual report on its business projects and
encourages dissemination of acquisition best practices--
including those practices that improve the utilization of small
businesses.
The PRICE Act also requires that the Administrator of the
OFPP convene the CAO Council to identify best practices for
modernizing Federal contracting and disseminate that
information across the Federal Government--again, making sure
that small business contracting is included. The CAO Council,
or a working group of the council, is required to report to
Congress within one year and provide briefings on its methods
to share innovative practices. Providing concrete examples of
success and sharing best practices government-wide will give
the acquisition workforce much needed practical support to
improve the procurement process.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 583 was introduced on March 3, 2021, by Senators Gary
Peters (D-MI), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Thomas Carper (D-DE). The
bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs. Senator Susan M. Collins (R-ME) later
joined as a co-sponsor.
The Committee considered S. 583 at a business meeting on
March 17, 2021. The legislation passed by voice vote en bloc
with Senators Peters, Rosen, Padilla, Portman, Johnson,
Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley present.
IV. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title of the bill as the
``Promoting Rigorous and Innovative Cost Efficiencies for
Federal Procurement and Acquisitions Act of 2019'' or the
``PRICE Act of 2019.''
Section 2. Findings
This section contains findings regarding DHS and its
procurement operations. These findings include that small
business participation in the Federal marketplace is not only
important economically, it is also required by law. Over the
past ten years, DHS has received top ratings for small business
utilization.
Section 3. Definitions
This subsection establishes the definitions of terms used
in this bill.
Section 4. Procurement Innovation Lab Report
This section requires the PIL to issue an annual report and
describes the contents of that report. This section also
requires the DHS Under Secretary for Management to develop
guidance and offer training to contracting personnel, and share
any best practices found. This section also sunsets the report
three years after enactment.
Section 5. Council
This section requires the CAO Council to convene within 45
days to examine best practices in acquisition innovation,
including small business contracting, and disseminate this
information. It permits, but does not require, a working group
on these topics. The working group, or the CAO Council as a
whole, is required to examine acquisition innovation, report to
Congress, and brief Congressional staff. These duties terminate
30 days after the staff briefings.
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 ESTIMATES
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, April 6, 2021.
Hon. Gary C. Peters,
Chairman Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 583, the PRICE Act
of 2021.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew
Pickford.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director.
Enclosure.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 583 would require the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) to report on innovative techniques for procurement and to
develop guidance and training to improve procurement methods
based on the experience of its Procurement Innovation Lab. In
addition, the bill would require the Office of Federal
Procurement Policy (OFPP) to convene the Chief Acquisition
Officers Council to identify and widely disseminate best
practices to improve federal contracting.
CBO expects that S. 583 would codify many existing policies
and practices. DHS currently reports and issues guidance based
on its experience with the lab, and OFPP memoranda and policies
have stressed innovation to make federal procurement more
effective and efficient since 2014. Thus, although CBO expects
that S. 583 would probably change some methods and activities
in the procurement process across most federal agencies, we
estimate that implementing the bill would not significantly
affect spending subject to appropriation over the 2021-2026
period.
Because most federal agencies would be affected by the bill
requirements, enacting S. 583 could affect direct spending by
some agencies that are allowed to use fees, receipts from the
sale of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs.
CBO estimates that any net changes in direct spending by those
agencies would be negligible because most of them can adjust
amounts collected to reflect changes in operating costs.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Matthew
Pickford (for general government) and Lindsay Wylie (for the
Department of Homeland Security). The estimate was reviewed by
H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Because S. 583 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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