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[House Report 113-660]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

113th Congress      }                               {           Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session         }                               {           113-660

======================================================================
 
            COMMONSENSE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTING ACT OF 2013

                                _______
                                

 December 11, 2014.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

     Mr. Graves of Missouri, from the Committee on Small Business, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2751]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Small Business, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 2751) to amend the Small Business Act to prohibit 
the use of reverse auctions for design and construction 
services procurements, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 
do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
   I. Amendment.......................................................2
  II. Purpose of the Bill and Summary.................................2
 III. Background and the Need for Legislation.........................3
  IV. Hearings........................................................4
   V. Committee Consideration.........................................5
  VI. Committee Votes.................................................5
 VII. Section-by-Section Analysis of H.R. 2751........................5
VIII. Congressional Budget Cost Estimate..............................7
  IX. Unfunded Mandates...............................................8
   X. New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditure8
  XI. Oversight Findings..............................................8
 XII. Statement of Constitutional Authority...........................8
XIII. Congressional Accountability Act................................8
 XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement............................8
  XV. Statement of No Earmarks........................................9
 XVI. Statement of Duplication of Federal Programs....................9
XVII. Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings.............................9
XVIII.Performance Goals and Objectives................................9

 XIX. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported...........9

                              I. Amendment

    The text of H.R. 2751 as consider by the Committee is as 
follows:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Commonsense Construction Contracting 
Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. REVERSE AUCTIONS PROHIBITED FOR CONTRACTS FOR DESIGN AND 
                    CONSTRUCTION SERVICES.

    The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended--
          (1) by redesignating section 47 as section 48; and
          (2) by inserting after section 46 the following:

``SEC. 47. REVERSE AUCTIONS PROHIBITED FOR CONTRACTS FOR DESIGN AND 
                    CONSTRUCTION SERVICES.

    ``(a) In General.--In the case of any contract for design and 
construction services, reverse auction methods may not be used if the 
contract--
          ``(1) is suitable for award to a small business concern; or
          ``(2) if the award is to be made under--
                  ``(A) section 8(a);
                  ``(B) section 8(m);
                  ``(C) section 15(a);
                  ``(D) section 15(j);
                  ``(E) section 31; or
                  ``(F) section 36.
    ``(b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
          ``(1) The term `reverse auction' means, with respect to 
        procurement by an agency, a real-time auction on the Internet 
        between a group of offerors who compete against each other by 
        submitting bids for a contract or task order with the ability 
        to submit revised bids throughout the course of the auction, 
        and the award being made to the offeror who submits the lowest 
        bid.
        ``(2) The term `design and construction services' means--
                  ``(A) site planning and landscape design;
                  ``(B) architectural and interior design;
                  ``(C) engineering system design;
                  ``(D) performance of construction work for facility, 
                infrastructure, and environmental restoration projects;
                  ``(E) delivery and supply of construction materials 
                to construction sites; and
                  ``(F) construction, alteration, or repair, including 
                painting and decorating, of public buildings and public 
                works.''.

                      II. Purpose and Bill Summary

    The purpose of H.R. 2751, the ``Commonsense Construction 
Contracting Act of 2013,'' is to amend the Small Business Act 
(the Act)\1\ to prohibit the use of reverse auctions when a 
design and construction services contract is suitable for award 
to a small business, or when the procurement is made using a 
small business program. Under a reverse auction, companies 
continue to underbid each other, usually through a digital 
portal, until one is declared the winner. The intention is to 
drive down prices to the lowest possible amount. However, the 
United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) found that this 
methodology did not work for construction contracts due to 
their high degree of variability and did not deliver the 
promised savings. Consequently, it issued a policy to stop 
using reverse auctions for construction contracts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Originally, title II of the Act of July 30, 1953, c. 282, 67 
Stat. 232 was designated as the Small Business Act of 1953. A plethora 
of amendments in subsequent Congresses led to a rewrite in 1958. Pub. 
L. No. 85-536, Sec.  1, 72 Stat. 384 (1958). The Act is codified at 15 
U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 631-657s.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Despite this finding, the use of reverse auctions has 
continued at other agencies, especially the Department of 
Veterans Affairs (DVA) and the Department of the Interior 
(DOI). Small businesses have complained that the use of reverse 
auctions for design and construction continues, placing them at 
a competitive disadvantage. This bill directs the government to 
use better methods for choosing construction and design 
services so that taxpayers get the best value possible and 
small businesses, as well as the jobs they support, are 
protected from unscrupulous bidding behavior.

                       III. Need for Legislation

    While construction and architect and engineering (A&E) 
contracting accounts for about eight percent of federal prime 
contract dollars, this segment accounts for over 17 percent of 
the awards to small businesses.\2\ Therefore, issues affecting 
construction and A&E contracts have a disproportionate effect 
on small business opportunities. Over the last decade, reverse 
auctions have become an increasingly prevalent contracting 
methodology that poses special challenges for small businesses 
and construction contractors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\Analysis based upon the Federal Procurement Data System, 
available at https://www.fpds.gov (last accessed March 6, 2012). Copies 
of reports are on file with the Committee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The term ``reverse auction'' is not defined by statute or 
regulation. However, a 2004 USACE study explained it thusly:

          Under this reverse auction methodology, there is an 
        `auction' process whereby [contractors] offer multiple 
        and consecutively lower bids on a rapid `auctioning' 
        basis to eventually arrive at the lowest bid-price of 
        goods or services for the privilege of a standard 
        contract award. In the case of government reverse 
        auctions . . . [t]he government publicly solicits for 
        specific goods and/or services from responsible and 
        responsive contractors to provide these specific goods 
        or services. The reverse auction process simply is the 
        method by which contractors submit their bids and the 
        lowest bid is received. The award is then executed 
        through a standard firm fixed price contract.
          Yet, there is a major difference in the operational 
        dynamics of the reverse auction methodology that is 
        unlike anything available in the standard sealed bid 
        process. In the standard sealed bid process, the 
        contractor only gets only one chance to submit a bid. 
        Additionally, the contractor does not know the relative 
        ranking of his bid versus others during the bid 
        process. Hence, in a standard sealed bid process, a 
        contractor cannot bidgame, because he is forced to 
        submit his best bid with only one chance to bid.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\USACE, Final Report Regarding the USACE Pilot Program On Reverse 
Auctioning 11 (2004) (hereinafter USACE Study). Generally, the term 
``sealed bidding'' is used to describe a process where bids are all 
submitted by a time certain, publicly opened and recorded, with 
immediate award to the lowest bidder; however, within the construction 
industry it is commonly preceded by a round when an offeror's technical 
capability is evaluated. FAR Part 14.

    Therefore, a reverse auction is a multi-round low-bid 
process where the lowest bids are disclosed. A typical reverse 
auction will be conducted for commodities--products that are 
standardized and where price is the primary differentiator.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\While the use of reverse auctions for commercial goods itself 
remains controversial, the legislation does not address reverse 
auctions for such goods.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The use of reverse auctions for construction services has 
been denounced by most of the construction-related trade 
associations.\5\ They allege that reverse auctions do not 
guarantee the lowest price, may encourage imprudent bidding, do 
not allow for a thorough evaluation of value, do not assure 
that the successful bidder is responsive and responsible, and 
may contravene federal procurement laws.\6\ When these auctions 
are conducted by third parties, work that should be reserved 
for small business is frequently awarded to large businesses, 
and pricing information that the FAR insists remain private is 
publicized.\7\ Indeed, even the chief legislative proponent of 
reverse auctions, former Congressman Tom Davis (R-VA), 
specifically exempted construction from any legislation he 
introduced promoting the use of reverse auctions.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\See, e.g., Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National 
Association, Reverse Auctions (2004), available at http://
www.smacna.org/pdf/ACF6BF7.pdf; Chuck Scislo, To the Lowest Bidder, 
Professional Roofing, March 2006, available at http://
docserver.nrca.net/technical/8633.pdf (National Roofing Contractors 
Association opposes reverse auctions); Associated General Contractors 
of America, White Paper on Reverse Auctions for Procurement of 
Construction 2005, available at http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/
agcleg/downloads/AGC%20Position%20on%20Reverse%20Auctions%20-
%20FINAL.pdf (hereinafter AGC White Paper).
    \6\AGC White Paper.
    \7\Small businesses win most contracts awarded using reverse 
auctions; however, given that all of the awards are under the statutory 
amount reserved exclusively for small businesses, these awards should 
be made exclusively to small companies. Likewise, pricing is frequently 
disclosed in contravention of FAR Sec.  52.203-2.
    \8\H.R. 2067, 109th Cong. (2005).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Industry's assertions are borne out by the only study on 
the use of reverse auctions for construction services. USACE 
spent a year studying the use of the procurement methodology 
and found that ``it offered not even marginal edge in savings 
over the sealed bid process for construction service projects'' 
and that construction was too variable to be considered a 
commodity.\9\ As a result, USACE no longer uses reverse 
auctions for construction contracts. Even though USACE has the 
most construction contracting experience of any federal agency, 
not all federal agencies have followed USACE's example and 
construction contracts continue to be awarded using reverse 
auctions.\10\ Specifically, they are being awarded as 
commercial item contracts, in direct contravention of Office of 
Management and Budget Guidance.\11\ Given these factors, H.R. 
2751 is necessary to ensure that small firms in the design and 
construction arena are able to effectively compete for federal 
contracts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\USACE Study at 34-37.
    \10\See, e.g., supra note 3, DOI, Solicitation P12PS25233 (Jun. 13, 
2012), available at https://www.fbo.gov/
?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=b55a55a0cc7346ab722e4c4b011c4911&_c
view=0 (supply and deliver flexible road base); DVA, Solicitation 
VA24413Q0363, (Jan. 31, 2013), available at https://www.fbo.gov/
?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=039ef8d115384d0cebef055c25934d07&tab=core&_c
view=1 (testing or poser distribution system); DVA, Solicitation 
VA24312Q1952 (Jul. 30, 2012), available at https://www.fbo.gov/
?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=8a576e312880690d317f3fc78314f401&tab=core&_c
view=0 (complete overhaul of chiller).
    \11\Memorandum From Angela Styles, Administrator, Office of Federal 
Procurement Policy, Applicability of FAR Part 12 to Construction 
Acquisitions (Jul. 3, 2003), available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/
sites/default/files/omb/assets/omb/procurement/far/far_part12.pdf. This 
guidance has not been withdrawn.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                              IV. Hearings

    In the 113th Congress, the Subcommittee on Contracting and 
Workforce held a hearing on May 23, 2013, that examined the use 
of reverse auctions for construction and construction services 
for small business contractors. During that hearing, which was 
titled ``Building America: Challenges for Small Construction 
Contractors,'' Mr. James Dalton, Chief of Construction and 
Engineering for the USACE discussed a pilot program run by 
USACE which concluded that for construction projects reverse 
auctions did not provide the government with substantial 
savings. Further witnesses from the Small Business 
Administration (SBA), Associated General Contractors, National 
Association of Surety Bond Producers, and the American 
Institute of Architects offered support for the Committee to 
prohibit the use of reverse auctions for construction services 
under the Act.
    On December 11, 2013, the Subcommittee on Contracting and 
Workforce of the Committee on Small Business and the 
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee 
on Veterans' Affairs held a joint hearing titled, ``Contracting 
Away Accountability-Reverse Auctions in Federal Agency 
Acquisitions.'' The hearing focused on whether reverse auctions 
provided adequate competition and adhered to the requirements 
of the Small Business Act, while also assessing the purported 
cost savings associated with this procurement methodology.

                       V. Committee Consideration

    The Committee on Small Business met in open session, with a 
quorum being present, on March 5, 2014 and ordered H.R. 2751 
reported to the House by a voice vote at 2:35 p.m. During the 
markup, no amendments were offered.

                          VI. 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 the legislation and amendments 
thereto. There were no recorded votes on H.R. 2751.

             VII. Section-by-Section Analysis of H.R. 2751

Section 1. Short title

    This Section designates the bill as the ``Commonsense 
Construction Contracting Act of 2013.''

Section 2. Reverse auctions prohibited for contracts for design and 
        construction services

    This section amends the Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. Sec.  631-657s) 
by Sec.  47 as Sec.  48 and creating a new Sec.  47 of the Act.
            Subsection (a)--In General
    Currently, federal agencies may utilize reverse auctions as 
the procuring method for design and construction service 
contracts. Subsection (a) changes this practice to prohibit the 
use of reverse auctions for design and construction service 
contracts if specific contracting authorities in the Act are 
used. It forbids the use of a reverse auction if the contract 
is awarded pursuant the 8(a) business development program for 
socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses under 
section 8(a) of the Act. Agencies also cannot use reverse 
auction procurement methodologies if the contract is awarded 
using the procurement program for women (section 8(m) of the 
Act); historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) 
procurement program (section 31 of the Act); or service-
disabled veterans (section 36 of the Act). Finally, the 
contracting officer may not use a reverse auction when the 
contract is set aside for small businesses, either because the 
procurement is less than $150,000 (section 15(j) of the Act), 
or is suitable for award to small businesses (section 15(a) of 
the Act).\12\ Given that in fiscal year 2012, 95 percent of 
reverse auctions were for less than $150,000, the Committee 
believes that this definition should encompass the vast 
majority of reverse auctions for design and construction 
services.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\Section 15(a), in pertinent part, states:
    To effectuate the purposes of this Act, small-business concerns 
within the meaning of this Act shall receive any award or contract or 
any part thereof, and be awarded any contract for the sale of 
Government property, as to which it is determined by the Administration 
and the contracting procurement or disposal agency (1) to be in the 
interest of maintaining or mobilizing the Nation's full productive 
capacity, (2) to be in the interest of war or national defense 
programs, (3) to be in the interest of assuring that a fair proportion 
of the total purchases and contracts for property and services for the 
Government in each industry category are placed with small-business 
concerns, or (4) to be in the interest of assuring that a fair 
proportion of the total sales of Government property be made to small-
business concerns.
    This provision was implemented by creating the so-called rule of 
two, which stated that, ``[t]he contracting officer shall set aside any 
acquisition over $150,000 for small business participation when there 
is a reasonable expectation that: (1) Offers will be obtained from at 
least two responsible small business concerns offering the products of 
different small business concerns . . .; and (2) Award will be made at 
fair market prices.'' F.A.R. part 19.502-2(b). For an in-depth 
discussion of the small business procurement programs, see Committee on 
Small Business, ``Small Business Act Programs for Small Federal 
Contractors'' (2013), available at http://smallbusiness.house.gov/
uploadedfiles/
small_business_act_programs_for_small_federal_contractors.pdf.
    \13\Government Accountability Office (GAO), Reverse Auctions, 
Guidance Is Needed to Maximize Competition and Achieve Cost Savings 10 
GAO-14-108 (2013).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Subsection (b)--Definitions
    Subsection (b)(1) addresses the term ``reverse auction,'' 
which is not defined by statute or regulation despite its 
frequent use within the federal procurement arena. Therefore, 
H.R. 2751 defines the term to mean a procurement by an agency 
that is conducted in real-time on the Internet between a group 
of offerors who compete against each other by submitting bids 
for a contract or task order with the ability to submit revised 
bids throughout the course of the auction, and the award being 
made to the offeror who submits the lowest bid. Several factors 
of this definition are important. First, there is the notion 
that this applies only to federal agency procurements, not to 
private sector transactions or subcontracts, even though some 
subcontracts use the procurement authorities mentioned in 
subsection (a). Second, there is the element that this is a 
real time procurement conducted through the Internet. This is 
important to distinguish reverse auctions from procurements 
that permit multiple offers as part of a negotiated 
procurement, such as one conducted pursuant to F.A.R. Part 15. 
Third, it requires that there be a group of offerors competing 
against each other--thus, contracts cannot be awarded to single 
bidders, which is currently happening in 27.1 percent of 
reverse auctions.\14\ Fourth, it clarifies that this applies to 
contracts and task orders, since 47 percent of reverse auctions 
are task order awards.\15\ Fifth, it requires that offerors be 
allowed to submit revised bids, since in 26.8 percent of 
reverse auctions only one round of bidding is conducted, which 
negates any benefit derived from reverse auction procurement 
over a sealed bid procurement.\16\ Finally, it requires that 
award be made on the basis of price, since in a quarter of 
reverse auctions award is made to someone other than the lowest 
bidder.\17\ Thus, the definition should provide clarity to both 
contracting officers and government contractors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\Id. at 22.
    \15\Id. at 12.
    \16\Id. at 22. Information on sealed bid procurements may be found 
at F.A.R. Part 14.
    \17\Id. at 14.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Subsection (b)(2) defines the term ``design and 
construction services'' to clarify which contract using reverse 
auctions are governed by H.R. 2751. Specifically, it lists six 
groups of activities that are considered design and 
construction services: (1) Site planning and landscape design; 
(2) architectural and interior design; (3) engineering system 
design; (4) performance of construction work for facility, 
infrastructure, and environmental restoration projects; (5) 
delivery and supply of construction materials to construction 
sites; and (6) construction, alteration, or repair, including 
painting and decorating, of public buildings and public works. 
Items (1)-(4) are derived from the definitions of ``design and 
construction services'' found at 41 C.F.R. Sec.  102-76, which 
governs the construction of federal buildings. Item (5) is 
derived from the particular experiences of the USACE. Finally, 
item (6) is derived from the definition of construction 
services found in 40 U.S.C. Sec.  3142. Together, the Committee 
believes these provide a comprehensive definition of design and 
construction services.

                VIII. Congressional Budget Cost Estimate

H.R. 2751--Commonsense Construction Contracting Act of 2013

    H.R. 2751 would prohibit federal agencies from purchasing 
design or construction services using online, dynamic 
auctions--often referred to as reverse auctions. In a 
traditional auction a buyer with the highest bid wins the right 
to purchase an object. In a reverse auction a buyer seeking a 
good or service solicits bids, multiple sellers offer bids, and 
the seller with the lowest bid wins the competition. The 
legislation would prohibit a specific type of reverse auction 
for construction and design procurements, specifically those 
done in a real-time auction on the Internet among a group of 
sellers with the option to submit revised bids during the 
auction.
    CBO reviewed information on the use of reverse auctions in 
government procurement contracts by the Army Corps of 
Engineers, the General Services Administration, and the 
Government Accountability Office. In general, those offices 
have found that reverse auctions are not suitable for complex 
contracts like design and constructive services. Those agencies 
have found that using this type of reverse auction in such 
complex procurements does not consistently result in lower 
procurement cost than would result from other methods such as 
sealed bids or negotiated procurements. CBO estimates that 
implementing H.R. 2751 would not require agencies to make a 
significant change in their typical contracting process and 
thus would not have a significant effect on the federal budget.
    Enacting the bill could affect direct spending by agencies 
not funded through annual appropriations; therefore, pay-as-
you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that any net 
increase in spending by those agencies would be negligible. 
Enacting H.R. 2751 would not affect revenues.
    H.R. 2751 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                         IX. Unfunded Mandates

    H.R. 2751 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, Pub. 
L. No. 104-4, and would impose no costs on state, local or 
tribal governments.

  X. New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority and Tax Expenditures

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House, the Committee provides the following opinion and 
estimate with respect to new budget authority, entitlement 
authority and tax expenditures. The Committee adopts as its own 
the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office pursuant to Sec.  402 of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, which found that H.R. 2751 could affect direct 
spending by agencies not funded through annual appropriations, 
but that any net increase in spending by those agencies would 
be negligible so that enacting H.R. 2751 would not affect 
revenues.

                         XI. Oversight Findings

    In accordance with clause (2)(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules 
of the House, the oversight findings and recommendations of the 
Committee on Small Business with respect to the subject matter 
contained in H.R.2751 are incorporated into the descriptive 
portions of this report.

               XII. Statement of Constitutional Authority

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that the 
authority for this legislation in Art. I, Sec.  8, cl. 3 of the 
Constitution of the United States.

                 XIII. Congressional Accountability Act

    H.R. 2751 does not relate to the terms and conditions of 
employment or access to public services or accommodations 
within the meaning of Sec.  102(b)(3) of Pub. L. No. 104-1.

             XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Act Statement

    H.R. 2751 does not establish or authorize the establishment 
of any new advisory committees as that term is defined in the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. 2.

                      XV. Statement of No Earmarks

    Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI, H.R. 2751 does not 
contain any Congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits or 
limited tariff benefits as defined in subsections (d), (e) or 
(f) of clause 9 of Rule XXI of the Rules of the House.

           XVI. Statement of Duplication of Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House, no provision of H.R. 2751 establishes or reauthorizes a 
program of the federal government known to be duplicative of 
another federal program, a program that was included in any 
report from the GAO pursuant to Section 21 of Public Law 111-
139, or a program related to a program identified in the most 
recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.

               XVII. Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings

    Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House, H.R. 2751 does not direct any rulemaking.

                XVIII. Performance Goals and Objectives

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House, the Committee establishes the following performance-
related goals and objectives for this legislation:

         H.R. 2751 prohibits the use the use of reverse 
        auctions for design and construction services contracts 
        if the contract is awarded pursuant to the Small 
        Business Act.

       XIX. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

SMALL BUSINESS ACT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

SEC. 47. REVERSE AUCTIONS PROHIBITED FOR CONTRACTS FOR DESIGN AND 
                    CONSTRUCTION SERVICES.

  (a) In General.--In the case of any contract for design and 
construction services, reverse auction methods may not be used 
if the contract--
          (1) is suitable for award to a small business 
        concern; or
          (2) if the award is to be made under--
                  (A) section 8(a);
                  (B) section 8(m);
                  (C) section 15(a);
                  (D) section 15(j);
                  (E) section 31; or
                  (F) section 36.
  (b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
          (1) The term ``reverse auction'' means, with respect 
        to procurement by an agency, a real-time auction on the 
        Internet between a group of offerors who compete 
        against each other by submitting bids for a contract or 
        task order with the ability to submit revised bids 
        throughout the course of the auction, and the award 
        being made to the offeror who submits the lowest bid.
          (2) The term ``design and construction services'' 
        means--
                  (A) site planning and landscape design;
                  (B) architectural and interior design;
                  (C) engineering system design;
                  (D) performance of construction work for 
                facility, infrastructure, and environmental 
                restoration projects;
                  (E) delivery and supply of construction 
                materials to construction sites; and
                  (F) construction, alteration, or repair, 
                including painting and decorating, of public 
                buildings and public works.
  Sec. [47.] 48. All laws and parts of laws inconsistent with 
this Act are hereby repealed to the extent of such 
inconsistency.
```