[House Report 119-34]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { REPORT
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 119-34
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PLAIN LANGUAGE IN CONTRACTING ACT
_______
March 24, 2025.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Williams of Texas, from the Committee on Small Business, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 787]
The Committee on Small Business, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 787) to require plain language and the inclusion of
key words in covered notices that are clear, concise, and
accessible to small business concerns, and for other purposes,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Bill Summary........................................2
II. Need for Legislation............................................2
III. Hearings........................................................2
IV. Committee Consideration.........................................3
V. Committee Votes.................................................3
VI. Section-by-Section of H.R. 787..................................5
VII. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate.......................5
VIII. New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditure5
IX. Oversight Findings & Recommendations............................5
X. Performance Goals and Objectives................................5
XI. Statement of Duplication of Federal Programs....................6
XII. Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits........................................................6
XIII. Federal Mandates Statement......................................6
XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement............................6
XV. Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................6
XVI. Statement of Constitutional Authority...........................6
XVII. Minority Views..................................................7
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Plain Language in Contracting Act''.
SEC. 2. ACCESSIBILITY AND CLARITY IN COVERED NOTICES FOR SMALL BUSINESS
CONCERNS.
(a) In General.--Each covered notice shall be written in a manner--
(1) such that a small business concern can easily understand
the intent of the covered notice; and
(2) that--
(A) is clear, concise, and well-organized; and
(B) to the maximum extent practicable, follows other
best practices appropriate to the subject or field of
the covered notice and the intended audience of the
covered notice.
(b) Inclusion of Key Words in Covered Notices.--Each covered notice
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, include key words in the
description of the covered notice such that a small business concern
seeking contract opportunities using the single Government-wide point
of entry described under section 1708 of title 41, United States Code,
can easily identify and understand such covered notice.
(c) Rulemaking.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business
Administration shall issue rules to carry out this section.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered notice.--The term ``covered notice'' means a
notice pertaining to small business concerns published by a
Federal agency on the single Government-wide point of entry
described under section 1708 of title 41, United States Code.
(2) Small business act definitions.--The terms ``Federal
agency'' and ``small business concern'' have the meanings given
those terms, respectively, in section 3 of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
SEC. 3. COMPLIANCE WITH CUTGO.
No additional amounts are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act or the amendments made by this Act.
I. PURPOSE AND BILL SUMMARY
On January 28, 2025, Rep. LaLota, along with Rep. Tran and
Rep. Thanedar, introduced H.R. 787, the Plain Language in
Contracting Act. H.R. 787 requires federal agencies to write
contract solicitations in a clear and concise manner, to the
maximum extent practicable.
II. NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The number of small businesses engaged in federal
contracting has dropped precipitously over the past ten years.
This is, in part, driven by the complexity of the language in
federal contracts. The complexity of these contracts often
discourages many businesses from competing for a federal
government contract.
Small businesses are typically experts in their chosen
fields, not in the law or federal contracting. Overly
burdensome contracts require many small firms to hire attorneys
and contract specialists to ensure compliance with agreements
terms. This serves as a massive barrier to small business
participation in government contracting. Ensuring contracts are
written in an understandable manner will expand contracting
opportunities to more small businesses.
III. HEARINGS
On February 5, 2025, the Committee on Small Business held a
hearing examining matters related to H.R. 787 titled ``Hope on
the Horizon: Prioritizing Small Business Growth in the 119th
Congress.''
IV. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The Committee on Small Business met in open session, with a
quorum being present, on March 5, 2025, and ordered H.R. 787,
as amended, to be reported favorably to the House of
Representatives. During the markup the Committee adopted an
amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by
Representative LaLota by voice vote.
V. COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded
votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments
thereto. The Committee voted to favorably report H.R. 787, as
amended, to the House of Representatives at 11:45 AM.
VI. SECTION-BY-SECTION OF H.R. 787
Section 1--Short title
This act may be cited as the ``Plain Language in
Contracting Act''.
Section 2--Accessibility and clarity in covered notices for small
business concerns
This section requires that covered notices in government
contracting are written in a clear, concise, and accessible
way, and to the extent practicable consistent with Federal
plain language guidelines.
In each covered notice, keywords will be required in the
description to make it easier and quicker to identify what the
notice is about. The SBA must develop rules to implement this
law within 90 days.
VII. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its own the cost
estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974. The Committee has requested but not received from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office a cost estimate for
the Committee's provisions.
VIII. NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY,
AND TAX EXPENDITURES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives and section 308(a)(I) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the
following opinion and estimate with respect to new budget
authority, entitlement authority, and tax expenditures. While
the Committee has not received an estimate of new budget
authority contained in the cost estimate prepared by the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to Sec.
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee does
not believe that there will be any additional costs
attributable to this legislation. H.R. 787 does not direct new
spending, but instead reallocates funding independently
authorized and appropriated.
IX. OVERSIGHT FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS
In accordance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives,
the oversight findings and recommendations of the Committee on
Small Business with respect to the subject matter contained in
the H.R. 787 are incorporated into the descriptive portions of
this report.
X. PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, there are no
performance goals and objectives of H.R. 787 applicable.
XI. STATEMENT OF DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, no provision of H.R. 787 is known to
be duplicative of another Federal program, including any
program that was included in a report to Congress pursuant to
section 21 of Public Law 111-139 or the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
XII. CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS,
AND LIMITED TARIFF BENEFITS
With respect to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that the bill
does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax
benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e),
9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
XIII. FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act.
XIV. FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
XV. APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
XVI. STATEMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY
Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII of the Rules of the House,
the Committee finds that the authority for this legislation in
Art. I, Sec. 8, cl.1 of the Constitution of the United States.
XVII. MINORITY VIEWS
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is tasked with
ensuring that small businesses are awarded a ``fair proportion
of the total purchases and contracts for goods and services of
the Government in each industry category . . . .'' In
accordance with this mandate, Congress has imposed a
governmentwide goal of awarding at least 23% of all small
business eligible Federal prime contracting dollars to small
businesses. SBA's FY23 scorecard showed that the federal
government awarded 28.4% of federal contract dollars to small
businesses, a total of $178 billion.\1\
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\1\Press Release, U.S. Small Bus. Admin., Biden-Harris
Administration Awards Record-Breaking $178 Billion in Federal
Procurement Opportunities to Small Businesses (Apr. 29, 2024), https://
www.sba.gov/article/2024/04/29/biden-harris-administration-awards-
record-breaking-178-billion-federal-procurement-opportunities.
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At the same time that the amount of prime contract dollars
awarded to small businesses has reached record highs, the
number of small businesses in the industrial base has declined
dramatically. The federal government has documented a roughly
40% decrease in the number of small businesses receiving prime
contract awards over the past decade. The data show that the
federal government is not retaining current small business
government contractors, and new small businesses are not
choosing to enter the federal market.
Current procedures around small business procurements
require federal agencies to conduct market research, request
proposals, and issue solicitations by posting notices on the
government's SAM.gov website. These documents identify what the
agency intends to buy, the procedures they will use to buy it,
and their deadlines. Interested companies then submit
proposals, bids and other information in response.
Many stakeholders raise concerns about the complexity of
the requirements for contracting with the government,
especially for small businesses seeking a federal contract for
the first time. This complexity can be compounded by the
language used in contracting documents, which may be unfamiliar
to a small business with no previous government work. The
government-unique processes and wording can differ from
commercial practices in a way that may discourage companies
from doing work with the government.
Nydia M. Velazquez,
Ranking Member.
[all]