Bill Summary
This is a proposed bill to amend the Small Business Act in order to make changes to the contracting authority for certain small business concerns. The bill is titled the "Expanding Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses Act of 2019" and begins by defining terms used in the bill such as "Administration" and "small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans." The bill then goes on to make amendments to contracting authority for qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, and certain small business concerns owned and controlled by women. These amendments include allowing sole source contracts to be awarded to these types of businesses under certain conditions. The bill also requires the Administrator to notify the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives when certification programs for small businesses owned and controlled by women and service-disabled veterans have been implemented. It also requires a report by the Comptroller General of the United States on the policies and practices used to ensure proper classification and eligibility of sole source contracts under these programs. The Administrator is then required to review this report and take appropriate actions to address any concerns or recommendations.
Possible Impacts
1) The legislation could potentially affect business owners who are eligible to receive sole source contracts under the Small Business Act. If their business falls under one of the categories listed in the legislation (such as being owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans or women), they may no longer be considered for these contracts.
2) The legislation may also affect the Small Business Administration and the Administrator, as they will need to implement new programs for certifying small business concerns owned and controlled by women and service-disabled veterans. This could potentially require additional resources and changes in policies or practices.
3) The legislation could also impact the federal procurement process, as contracting officers will now need to ensure that they are properly classifying sole source awards under the new programs and awarding contracts to eligible concerns. This may result in delays or changes in the way contracts are awarded.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 673 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 673
To amend the Small Business Act to eliminate the inclusion of option
years in the award price for sole source contracts, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 6, 2019
Ms. Ernst (for herself and Ms. Baldwin) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business
and Entrepreneurship
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Small Business Act to eliminate the inclusion of option
years in the award price for sole source contracts, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Contracting Opportunities
for Small Businesses Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) the terms ``Administration'' and ``Administrator'' mean
the Small Business Administration and the Administrator
thereof;
(2) the term ``small business concern owned and controlled
by service-disabled veterans'' has the meaning given the term
in section 3(q) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q));
and
(3) the term ``small business concern owned and controlled
by women'' has the meaning given the term in section 8(m) of
the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(m)).
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO CONTRACTING AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN SMALL BUSINESS
CONCERNS.
(a) Qualified HUBZone Small Business Concerns.--Section 31(b)(2)(A)
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657a(b)(2)(A)) is amended to read
as follows:
``(A) Sole source contracts.--A contracting officer
may award sole source contracts under this section to
any qualified HUBZone small business concern, if--
``(i) the qualified HUBZone small business
concern is determined to be a responsible
contractor with respect to performance of the
contract opportunity;
``(ii) the contracting officer does not
have a reasonable expectation that 2 or more
qualified HUBZone small business concerns will
submit offers for the contract opportunity;
``(iii) the anticipated award price of the
contract will not exceed--
``(I) $7,000,000, in the case of a
contract opportunity assigned a
standard industrial classification code
for manufacturing; or
``(II) $4,000,000, in the case of
all other contract opportunities;
``(iv) in the estimation of the contracting
officer, the contract award can be made at a
fair and reasonable price; and
``(v) the base and each of the option years
of the award, if any, are of similar value.''.
(b) Small Business Concern Owned and Controlled by Service-Disabled
Veterans.--Section 36(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657f(a))
is amended to read as follows:
``(a) Sole Source Contracts.--In accordance with this section, a
contracting officer may award a sole source contract to any small
business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans if--
``(1) the concern is determined to be a responsible
contractor with respect to performance of the contract
opportunity;
``(2) the contracting officer does not have a reasonable
expectation that 2 or more small business concerns owned and
controlled by service-disabled veterans will submit offers for
the contract opportunity;
``(3) the anticipated award price of the contract will not
exceed--
``(A) $7,000,000, in the case of a contract
opportunity assigned a standard industrial
classification code for manufacturing; or
``(B) $4,000,000, in the case of any other contract
opportunity;
``(4) in the estimation of the contracting officer, the
contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price;
``(5) the contracting officer has notified the
Administration of the intent to make the award and requested
that the Administration determine the eligibility of the
concern for the award;
``(6) the base and each of the option years of the award,
if any, are of similar value; and
``(7) the Administration has determined that the concern is
eligible for the award.''.
(c) Certain Small Business Concerns Owned and Controlled by
Women.--Section 8(m) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(m)) is
amended--
(1) by amending paragraph (7) to read as follows:
``(7) Authority for sole source contracts for economically
disadvantaged small business concerns owned and controlled by
women.--A contracting officer may award a sole source contract
under this subsection to any small business concern owned and
controlled by women described in paragraph (2)(A) and certified
under paragraph (2)(E) if--
``(A) the concern is determined to be a responsible
contractor with respect to performance of the contract
opportunity;
``(B) the contracting officer does not have a
reasonable expectation that 2 or more small business
concerns owned and controlled by women described in
paragraph (2)(A) will submit offers for the contract
opportunity;
``(C) the anticipated award price of the contract
will not exceed--
``(i) $7,000,000, in the case of a contract
opportunity assigned a standard industrial
classification code for manufacturing; or
``(ii) $4,000,000, in the case of any other
contract opportunity;
``(D) in the estimation of the contracting officer,
the contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable
price;
``(E) the contracting officer has notified the
Administration of the intent to make the award and
requested that the Administration determine the
eligibility of the concern for the award;
``(F) the base and each of the option years of the
award, if any, are of similar value; and
``(G) the Administration has determined that the
concern is eligible for the award.''; and
(2) by amending paragraph (8) to read as follows:
``(8) Authority for sole source contracts for small
business concerns owned and controlled by women in
substantially underrepresented industries.--A contracting
officer may award a sole source contract under this subsection
to any small business concern owned and controlled by women
certified under paragraph (2)(E) that is in an industry in
which small business concerns owned and controlled by women are
substantially underrepresented (as determined by the
Administrator under paragraph (3)) if--
``(A) the concern is determined to be a responsible
contractor with respect to performance of the contract
opportunity;
``(B) the contracting officer does not have a
reasonable expectation that 2 or more businesses in an
industry that has received a waiver under paragraph (3)
will submit offers for the contract opportunity;
``(C) the anticipated award price of the contract
will not exceed--
``(i) $7,000,000, in the case of a contract
opportunity assigned a standard industrial
classification code for manufacturing; or
``(ii) $4,000,000, in the case of any other
contract opportunity;
``(D) in the estimation of the contracting officer,
the contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable
price;
``(E) the contracting officer has notified the
Administration of the intent to make the award and
requested that the Administration determine the
eligibility of the concern for the award;
``(F) the base and each of the option years of the
award, if any, are of similar value; and
``(G) the Administration has determined that the
concern is eligible for the award.''.
(d) Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Small Business
Concerns.--Section 8(a)(1)(D)(i) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
637(a)(1)(D)(i)) is amended to read as follows:
``(D)(i) A contracting officer may award sole source
contracts under this subsection to any qualified socially and
economically disadvantaged small business concern, as defined
in paragraph (4)(A), if--
``(I) the qualified socially and economically
disadvantaged small business concern is determined to
be a responsible contractor with respect to performance
of the contract opportunity;
``(II) the contracting officer does not have a
reasonable expectation that 2 or more qualified
socially and economically disadvantaged small business
concerns will submit offers for the contract
opportunity;
``(III) the anticipated award price of the contract
will not exceed--
``(aa) $7,000,000, in the case of a
contract opportunity assigned a standard
industrial classification code for
manufacturing; or
``(bb) $4,000,000, in the case of any other
contract opportunity;
``(IV) in the estimation of the contracting
officer, the contract award can be made at a fair and
reasonable price; and
``(V) the base and each of the option years of the
award, if any, are of similar value.''.
SEC. 4. SBA CERTIFICATION PROGRAM NOTIFICATION.
(a) In General.--The Administrator shall notify the Committee on
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on
Small Business of the House of Representatives when the Administrator
has implemented each of the following:
(1) A program to certify small business concerns owned and
controlled by women.
(2) A program to certify small business concerns owned and
controlled by service-disabled veterans.
(b) Additional Notice.--The Administrator shall submit a copy of a
notification required under subsection (a) to the Law Revision Counsel
of the House of Representatives so that the Law Revision Counsel may
execute the amendments required under section 5.
SEC. 5. REMOVAL OF ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION UPON IMPLEMENTATION OF
CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS.
Effective upon the notification described in section 4, the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.), as amended by section 3 of this
Act, is amended--
(1) in section 8(m) (15 U.S.C. 637(m))--
(A) in paragraph (7)--
(i) in subparagraph (D), by adding ``and''
at the end;
(ii) by striking subparagraphs (E) and (G);
(iii) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as
subparagraph (E); and
(iv) in subparagraph (E), as so
redesignated, by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a period; and
(B) in paragraph (8)--
(i) in subparagraph (D), by adding ``and''
at the end;
(ii) by striking subparagraphs (E) and (G);
(iii) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as
subparagraph (E); and
(iv) in subparagraph (E), as so
redesignated, by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a period; and
(2) in section 36(a) (15 U.S.C. 657f(a))--
(A) in paragraph (3), by adding ``and'' at the end;
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking the semicolon at
the end and inserting a period; and
(C) by striking paragraphs (5), (6), and (7).
SEC. 6. GAO REPORT.
(a) Study.--With respect to the procurement programs of the
Administration for small business concerns owned and controlled by
women and for small business concerns owned and controlled by service-
disabled veterans, the Comptroller General of the United States shall
conduct an evaluation of the policies and practices used by the
Administration and other Federal agencies to provide assurances that--
(1) contracting officers are properly classifying sole
source awards under those programs in the Federal Procurement
Data System; and
(2) sole source contracts awarded under those programs are
being awarded to eligible concerns.
(b) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date on which the
Administration implements the certification programs described in
section 4(a), the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit
to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate
and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a
report containing the findings made in carrying out the study required
under subsection (a).
(c) SBA Consideration of GAO Report.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator shall review the report
issued under subsection (b) and take such actions as the
Administrator may determine appropriate to address any concerns
raised in the report and any recommendations contained in the
report.
(2) Report to congress.--After the review described under
paragraph (1), the Administrator shall submit to Congress a
report--
(A) stating that no additional actions were
necessary to address any concerns or recommendations
contained in the report; or
(B) describing the actions taken by the
Administrator to resolve those concerns or implement
those recommendations.
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