I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4341 

To amend the Small Business Act to improve transparency and clarity for 

small businesses, to clarify the role of small business advocates, to 

increase opportunities for competition in subcontracting, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 7, 2016 

Mr. CHABOT (for himself and Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Small Business, and in addition 

to the Committees on Armed Services, Oversight and Government Reform, and Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to improve transparency 

and clarity for small businesses, to clarify the role of 

small business advocates, to increase opportunities for 

competition in subcontracting, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Defending America’s Small Contractors Act of 2016’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

TITLE I—IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY AND CLARITY FOR SMALL 

BUSINESSES 

Sec. 101. Plain language rewrite of requirements for small business procurements. 

Sec. 102. Improving reporting on small business goals. 

Sec. 103. Transparency in small business goals. 

Sec. 104. Uniformity in procurement terminology. 

TITLE II—CLARIFYING THE ROLES OF SMALL BUSINESS 

ADVOCATES 

Sec. 201. Duties of procurement center representatives with respect to reviewing solicitations. 

Sec. 202. Responsibilities of Commercial Market Representatives. 

Sec. 203. Duties of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. 

Sec. 204. Improving contractor compliance. 

TITLE III—STRENGTHENING OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMPETITION 

IN SUBCONTRACTING 

Sec. 301. Good faith in subcontracting. 

Sec. 302. Pilot program to provide opportunities for qualified subcontractors to 

obtain past performance ratings. 

TITLE IV—MENTOR-PROTEGE PROGRAMS 

Sec. 401. Amendments to the Mentor-Protege Program of the Department of 

Defense. 

Sec. 402. Improving cooperation between the mentor-protege programs of the 

Small Business Administration and the Department of Defense. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 501. Improving education on small business regulations. 

Sec. 502. Protecting task order competition. 

Sec. 503. Improvements to size standards for small agricultural producers. 

Sec. 504. Uniformity in service-disabled veteran definitions. 

Sec. 505. GAO review of the Office of Government Contracting and Business 

Development of the Small Business Administration. 


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1 TITLE I—IMPROVING TRANS2 PARENCY AND CLARITY FOR 

3 SMALL BUSINESSES 

4 SEC. 101. PLAIN LANGUAGE REWRITE OF REQUIREMENTS 

5 FOR SMALL BUSINESS PROCUREMENTS. 

6 Section 15(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

7 644(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(a) SMALL BUSINESS PROCUREMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act, 

10 small business concerns shall receive any award or 

11 contract if such award or contract is, in the deter12 mination of the Administrator and the contracting 

13 agency, in the interest of— 

14 ‘‘(A) maintaining or mobilizing the full 

15 productive capacity of the United States; 

16 ‘‘(B) war or national defense programs; or 

17 ‘‘(C) assuring that a fair proportion of the 

18 total purchase and contracts for goods and 

19 services of the Government in each industry 

20 category (as described under paragraph (2)) are 

21 awarded to small business concerns. 

22 ‘‘(2) INDUSTRY CATEGORY DEFINED.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In this subsection, the 

24 term ‘industry category’ means a discrete group 

25 of similar goods and services, as determined by 


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1 the Administrator in accordance with the North 

2 American Industry Classification System codes 

3 used to establish small business size standards 

4 under section 3(a), except that the Adminis5 trator shall limit an industry category to a 

6 greater extent than provided under the North 

7 American Industry Classification codes if the 

8 Administrator receives evidence indicating that 

9 further segmentation of the industry category is 

10 warranted— 

11 ‘‘(i) due to special capital equipment 

12 needs; 

13 ‘‘(ii) due to special labor require14 ments; 

15 ‘‘(iii) due to special geographic re16 quirements, except as provided in subpara17 graph (B); or 

18 ‘‘(iv) to recognize a new industry. 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR GEOGRAPHIC RE20 QUIREMENTS.—The Administrator may not fur21 ther segment an industry category based on ge22 ographic requirements unless— 

23 ‘‘(i) the Government typically des24 ignates the geographic area where work for 


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1 contracts for goods or services is to be per2 formed; 

3 ‘‘(ii) Government purchases comprise 

4 the major portion of the entire domestic 

5 market for such goods or services; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) it is unreasonable to expect com7 petition from business concerns located 

8 outside of the general geographic area due 

9 to the fixed location of facilities, high mo10 bilization costs, or similar economic fac11 tors. 

12 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATIONS WITH RESPECT TO

13 AWARDS OR CONTRACTS.—Determinations made 

14 pursuant to paragraph (1) may be made for indi15 vidual awards or contracts, any part of an award or 

16 contract, or for classes of awards or contracts. 

17 ‘‘(4) INCREASING PRIME CONTRACTING OPPOR18 TUNITIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) DESCRIPTION OF COVERED PRO20 POSED PROCUREMENTS.—The requirements of 

21 the paragraph shall apply to a proposed pro22 curement that includes in its statement of work 

23 goods or services currently being supplied or 

24 performed by a small business concern and, as 

25 determined by the Administrator— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is in a quantity or of an esti2 mated dollar value which makes the par3 ticipation of a small business concern as a 

4 prime contractor unlikely; 

5 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a proposed pro6 curement for construction, if such pro7 posed procurement seeks to bundle or con8 solidate discrete construction projects; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) is a solicitation that involves an 

10 unnecessary or unjustified bundling of con11 tract requirements. 

12 ‘‘(B) NOTICE TO PROCUREMENT CENTER

13 REPRESENTATIVES.—With respect to proposed 

14 procurements described in subparagraph (A), at 

15 least 30 days before issuing a solicitation and 

16 concurrent with other processing steps required 

17 before issuing the solicitation, the contracting 

18 agency shall provide a copy of the proposed pro19 curement to the procurement center representa20 tive of the contracting agency (as described in 

21 subsection (l)) along with a statement explain22 ing— 

23 ‘‘(i) why the proposed procurement 

24 cannot be divided into reasonably small 

25 lots (not less than economic production 


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1 runs) to permit offers on quantities less 

2 than the total requirement; 

3 ‘‘(ii) why delivery schedules cannot be 

4 established on a realistic basis that will en5 courage the participation of small business 

6 concerns in a manner consistent with the 

7 actual requirements of the Government; 

8 ‘‘(iii) why the proposed procurement 

9 cannot be offered to increase the likelihood 

10 of the participation of small business con11 cerns; 

12 ‘‘(iv) in the case of a proposed pro13 curement for construction, why the pro14 posed procurement cannot be offered as 

15 separate discrete projects; or 

16 ‘‘(v) why the agency has determined 

17 that the bundling of contract requirements 

18 is necessary and justified. 

19 ‘‘(C) ALTERNATIVES TO INCREASE PRIME

20 CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL

21 BUSINESS CONCERNS.—If the procurement cen22 ter representative believes that the proposed 

23 procurement will make the participation of 

24 small business concerns as prime contractors 

25 unlikely, the procurement center representative, 


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1 within 15 days after receiving the statement de2 scribed in subparagraph (B), shall recommend 

3 to the contracting agency alternative procure4 ment methods for increasing prime contracting 

5 opportunities for small business concerns. 

6 ‘‘(D) FAILURE TO AGREE ON AN ALTER7 NATIVE PROCUREMENT METHOD.—If the pro8 curement center representative and the con9 tracting agency fail to agree on an alternative 

10 procurement method, the Administrator shall 

11 submit the matter to the head of the appro12 priate department or agency for a determina13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(5) CONTRACTS FOR SALE OF GOVERNMENT

15 PROPERTY.—With respect to a contract for the sale 

16 of Government property, small business concerns 

17 shall receive any such contract if, in the determina18 tion of the Administrator and the disposal agency, 

19 the award of such contract is in the interest of as20 suring that a fair proportion of the total sales of 

21 Government property be made to small business con22 cerns. 

23 ‘‘(6) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) SALE OF ELECTRICAL POWER OR

25 OTHER PROPERTY.—Nothing in this subsection 


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1 shall be construed to change any preferences or 

2 priorities established by law with respect to the 

3 sale of electrical power or other property by the 

4 Federal Government. 

5 ‘‘(B) COSTS EXCEEDING FAIR MARKET

6 PRICE.—A contract may not be awarded under 

7 this subsection if the cost of the contract to the 

8 awarding agency exceeds a fair market price.’’. 

9 SEC. 102. IMPROVING REPORTING ON SMALL BUSINESS 

10 GOALS. 

11 Section 15(h)(2)(E) of the Small Business Act (15 

12 U.S.C. 644(h)(2)(E)) is amended— 

13 (1) in clause (i)— 

14 (A) in subclause (III), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

15 the end; and 

16 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

17 subclauses: 

18 ‘‘(V) that were purchased by an19 other entity after the initial contract 

20 was awarded and as a result of the 

21 purchase, would no longer be deemed 

22 to be small business concerns for pur23 poses of the initial contract; and 

24 ‘‘(VI) that were awarded using a 

25 procurement method that restricted 


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1 competition to small business concerns 

2 owned and controlled by service-dis3 abled veterans, qualified HUBZone 

4 small business concerns, small busi5 ness concerns owned and controlled by 

6 socially and economically disadvan7 taged individuals, small business con8 cerns owned and controlled by women, 

9 or a subset of any such concerns;’’; 

10 (2) in clause (ii)— 

11 (A) in subclause (IV), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

12 the end; and 

13 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

14 subclauses: 

15 ‘‘(VI) that were purchased by an16 other entity after the initial contract 

17 was awarded and as a result of the 

18 purchase, would no longer be deemed 

19 to be small business concerns owned 

20 and controlled by service-disabled vet21 erans for purposes of the initial con22 tract; and 

23 ‘‘(VII) that were awarded using a 

24 procurement method that restricted 

25 competition to qualified HUBZone 


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1 small business concerns, small busi2 ness concerns owned and controlled by 

3 socially and economically disadvan4 taged individuals, small business con5 cerns owned and controlled by women, 

6 or a subset of any such concerns;’’; 

7 (3) in clause (iii)— 

8 (A) in subclause (V), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

9 the end; and 

10 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

11 subclauses: 

12 ‘‘(VII) that were purchased by 

13 another entity after the initial con14 tract was awarded and as a result of 

15 the purchase, would no longer be 

16 deemed to be qualified HUBZone 

17 small business concerns for purposes 

18 of the initial contract; and 

19 ‘‘(VIII) that were awarded using 

20 a procurement method that restricted 

21 competition to small business concerns 

22 owned and controlled by service-dis23 abled veterans, small business con24 cerns owned and controlled by socially 

25 and economically disadvantaged indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Jan 08, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4341.IH H4341

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1 viduals, small business concerns 

2 owned and controlled by women, or a 

3 subset of any such concerns;’’; 

4 (4) in clause (iv)— 

5 (A) in subclause (V), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

6 the end; and 

7 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

8 subclauses: 

9 ‘‘(VII) that were purchased by 

10 another entity after the initial con11 tract was awarded and as a result of 

12 the purchase, would no longer be 

13 deemed to be small business concerns 

14 owned and controlled by socially and 

15 economically disadvantaged individ16 uals for purposes of the initial con17 tract; and 

18 ‘‘(VIII) that were awarded using 

19 a procurement method that restricted 

20 competition to small business concerns 

21 owned and controlled by service-dis22 abled veterans, qualified HUBZone 

23 small business concerns, small busi24 ness concerns owned and controlled by 


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1 women, or a subset of any such con2 cerns;’’; 

3 (5) in clause (v)— 

4 (A) in subclause (IV), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

5 the end; 

6 (B) in subclause (V), by inserting ‘‘and’’ at 

7 the end; and 

8 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

9 subclause: 

10 ‘‘(VI) that were purchased by an11 other entity after the initial contract 

12 was awarded and as a result of the 

13 purchase, would no longer be deemed 

14 to be small business concerns owned 

15 by an Indian tribe other than an Alas16 ka Native Corporation for purposes of 

17 the initial contract;’’; 

18 (6) in clause (vi)— 

19 (A) in subclause (IV), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

20 the end; 

21 (B) in subclause (V), by inserting ‘‘and’’ at 

22 the end; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

24 subclause: 


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1 ‘‘(VI) that were purchased by an2 other entity after the initial contract 

3 was awarded and as a result of the 

4 purchase, would no longer be deemed 

5 to be small business concerns owned 

6 by a Native Hawaiian Organization 

7 for purposes of the initial contract;’’; 

8 (7) in clause (vii)— 

9 (A) in subclause (IV), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

10 the end; 

11 (B) in subclause (V), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

12 the end; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

14 subclause: 

15 ‘‘(VI) that were purchased by an16 other entity after the initial contract 

17 was awarded and as a result of the 

18 purchase, would no longer be deemed 

19 to be small business concerns owned 

20 by an Alaska Native Corporation for 

21 purposes of the initial contract; and’’; 

22 and 

23 (8) in clause (viii)— 

24 (A) in subclause (VII), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

25 at the end; 


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1 (B) in subclause (VIII), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

2 at the end; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

4 subclauses: 

5 ‘‘(IX) that were purchased by an6 other entity after the initial contract 

7 was awarded and as a result of the 

8 purchase, would no longer be deemed 

9 to be small business concerns owned 

10 and controlled by women for purposes 

11 of the initial contract; and 

12 ‘‘(X) that were awarded using a 

13 procurement method that restricted 

14 competition to small business concerns 

15 owned and controlled by service-dis16 abled veterans, qualified HUBZone 

17 small business concerns, small busi18 ness concerns owned and controlled by 

19 socially and economically disadvan20 taged individuals, or a subset of any 

21 such concerns; and’’. 

22 SEC. 103. TRANSPARENCY IN SMALL BUSINESS GOALS. 

23 Section 15(g) of the Small Business Act is amended 

24 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATIONS OF THE TOTAL VALUE

2 OF CONTRACT AWARDS.—For purposes of the goals 

3 established under paragraphs (1) and (2), the total 

4 value of contract awards for a fiscal year may not 

5 be determined in a manner that excludes the value 

6 of a contract based on— 

7 ‘‘(A) where the contract is awarded; 

8 ‘‘(B) where the contract is performed; 

9 ‘‘(C) whether the contract is mandated by 

10 Federal law to be performed by an entity other 

11 than a small business concern; 

12 ‘‘(D) whether funding for the contract is 

13 made available in an appropriations Act, if the 

14 contract is subject to the requirements of chap15 ter 33 of title 41, United States Code, or chap16 ter 137 of title 10, United States Code, and the 

17 Federal Acquisition Regulation; or 

18 ‘‘(E) whether the contract is otherwise 

19 subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation.’’. 

20 SEC. 104. UNIFORMITY IN PROCUREMENT TERMINOLOGY. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 15(j)(1) of the Small 

22 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(j)(1)) is amended by striking 

23 ‘‘greater than $2,500 but not greater than $100,000’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘greater than the micro-purchase threshold deVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Jan 08, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4341.IH H4341

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1 fined in section 1902(a) of title 41, United States Code, 

2 but not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold’’. 

3 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 3(m) of the 

4 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(m)) is amended to 

5 read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(m) DEFINITIONS PERTAINING TO CON7 TRACTING.—In this Act: 

8 ‘‘(1) PRIME CONTRACT.—The term ‘prime con9 tract’ has the meaning given such term in section 

10 8701(4) of title 41, United States Code. 

11 ‘‘(2) PRIME CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘prime 

12 contractor’ has the meaning given such term in sec13 tion 8701(5) of title 41, United States Code. 

14 ‘‘(3) SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD.— 

15 The term ‘simplified acquisition threshold’ has the 

16 meaning given such term in section 134 of title 41, 

17 United States Code. 

18 ‘‘(4) TOTAL PURCHASE AND CONTRACTS FOR

19 PROPERTY AND SERVICES.—The term ‘total pur20 chases and contracts for property and services’ shall 

21 mean total number and total dollar amount of con22 tracts and orders for property and services.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—CLARIFYING THE 

2 ROLES OF SMALL BUSINESS 

3 ADVOCATES 

4 SEC. 201. DUTIES OF PROCUREMENT CENTER REPRESENT5 ATIVES WITH RESPECT TO REVIEWING SO6 LICITATIONS. 

7 Section 15(l)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 

8 U.S.C. 644(l)(2)(D)) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) 

10 through (I) as subparagraphs (F) through (J), re11 spectively; and 

12 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol13 lowing new subparagraph: 

14 ‘‘(E) review any solicitation for a contract 

15 or task order without regard to whether the 

16 contract or task order or part of the contract 

17 or task order is set aside for small business 

18 concerns, whether 1 or more contract or task 

19 order awards are reserved for small business 

20 concerns under a multiple award contract, or 

21 whether or not the solicitation would result in 

22 a bundled or consolidated contract (as defined 

23 in subsection (s)) or a bundled or consolidated 

24 task order;’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMERCIAL MARKET 

2 REPRESENTATIVES. 

3 Section 4(h) of the Small Business Act (as added by 

4 section 865 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 

5 Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114–92)) is amended— 

6 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘CER7 TIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (2), by redesignating subpara9 graphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respec10 tively (and conforming the margins accordingly); 

11 (3) by amending clause (ii) (as so redesignated) 

12 to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—The requirements of 

14 clause (i) shall be included in any initial job 

15 posting for the position of a commercial market 

16 representative and shall apply to any person ap17 pointed as a commercial market representative 

18 after November 25, 2015.’’; 

19 (4) in clause (i) (as so redesignated), by strik20 ing ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 

21 (A)’’; 

22 (5) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

23 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively (and con24 forming the margins accordingly); 


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1 (6) in subparagraph (A) (as so redesignated), 

2 by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara3 graph (B)’’; and 

4 (7) by inserting before subparagraph (A) (as so 

5 redesignated) the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) DUTIES.—The principal duties of a Com7 mercial Market Representative employed by the Ad8 ministrator and reporting to the senior official ap9 pointed by the Administrator with responsibilities 

10 under sections 8, 15, 31, and 36 (or the designee of 

11 such official) shall be to advance the policies estab12 lished in section 8(d)(1) relating to subcontracting. 

13 Such duties shall include— 

14 ‘‘(A) helping prime contractors to find 

15 small business concerns that are capable of per16 forming subcontracts; 

17 ‘‘(B) for contractors awarded contracts 

18 containing the clause described in section 

19 8(d)(3), providing— 

20 ‘‘(i) counseling on the contractor’s re21 sponsibility to maximize subcontracting op22 portunities for small business concerns; 

23 ‘‘(ii) instruction on methods and tools 

24 to identify potential subcontractors that 

25 are small business concerns; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) assistance to increase awards to 

2 subcontractors that are small business con3 cerns through visits, training, and reviews 

4 of past performance; 

5 ‘‘(C) providing counseling on how a small 

6 business concern may promote its capacity to 

7 contractors awarded contracts containing the 

8 clause described in section 8(d)(3); and 

9 ‘‘(D) conducting periodic reviews of con10 tractors awarded contracts containing the 

11 clause described in section 8(d)(3) to assess 

12 compliance with subcontracting plans required 

13 under section 8(d)(6). 

14 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—’’. 

15 SEC. 203. DUTIES OF THE OFFICE OF SMALL AND DIS16 ADVANTAGED BUSINESS UTILIZATION. 

17 Section 15(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

18 644(k)), as amended by section 870 of the National De19 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 

20 114–92), is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘section 8, 15 or 44’’ and in22 serting ‘‘section 8, 15, 31, 36, or 44’’; 

23 (2) by striking ‘‘sections 8 and 15’’ each place 

24 such term appears and inserting ‘‘sections 8, 15, 31, 

25 36, and 44’’; 


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1 (3) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘section 

2 8(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 8, 15, 31, or 36’’; 

3 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (15), (16), and 

4 (17) as paragraphs (16), (17), and (18), respec5 tively; 

6 (5) by inserting after paragraph (14) the fol7 lowing new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(15) shall review purchases made by the agen9 cy greater than the micro-purchase threshold defined 

10 in section 1902(a) of title 41, United States Code, 

11 and less than the simplified acquisition threshold to 

12 ensure that the purchases have been made in compli13 ance with the provisions of this Act and have been 

14 properly recorded in the Federal Procurement Data 

15 System, if the method of payment is a purchase card 

16 issued by the Department of Defense pursuant to 

17 section 2784 of title 10, United States Code, or by 

18 the head of an executive agency pursuant to section 

19 1909 of title 41, United States Code;’’; and 

20 (6) in paragraph (17) (as so redesignated)— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

22 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

23 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 

24 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

2 subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(D) any failure of the agency to comply 

4 with section 8, 15, 31, or 36.’’. 

5 SEC. 204. IMPROVING CONTRACTOR COMPLIANCE. 

6 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR THE OFFICE OF SMALL AND

7 DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS UTILIZATION.—Section 15(k) 

8 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)(8)), as 

9 amended by section 204, is further amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (16), (17), and 

11 (18) as paragraphs (17), (18), and (19), respec12 tively; and 

13 (2) by inserting after paragraph (15) the fol14 lowing new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(16) shall provide assistance to a small busi16 ness concern awarded a contract or subcontract 

17 under this Act or under title 10 or title 41, United 

18 States Code, with finding resources for education 

19 and training on compliance with contracting regula20 tions (including the Federal Acquisition Regulation) 

21 after award of such a contract or subcontract.’’. 

22 (b) REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE MENTOR-PROTEGE

23 PROGRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—Section 

24 831(e)(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for 


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1 Fiscal Year 1991 (Public Law 101–510; 104 Stat. 1607; 

2 10 U.S.C. 2302 note) is amended— 

3 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

4 the end; 

5 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 

6 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

7 (3) by inserting at the end the following new 

8 subparagraph: 

9 ‘‘(D) the assistance the mentor firm will 

10 provide to the protege firm in understanding 

11 contract regulations of the Federal Government 

12 and the Department of Defense (including the 

13 Federal Acquisition Regulation and the Defense 

14 Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement) 

15 after award of a subcontract under this section, 

16 if applicable.’’. 

17 (c) RESOURCES FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS.— 

18 Section 15 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644) is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following new sub20 section: 

21 ‘‘(t) POST-AWARD COMPLIANCE RESOURCES.—The 

22 Administrator shall provide to small business development 

23 centers (as defined in section 21) and entities partici24 pating in the Procurement Technical Assistance Coopera25 tive Agreement Program under chapter 142 of title 10, 


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1 United States Code, and shall make available on the 

2 website of the Administration, a list of resources for small 

3 business concerns seeking education and assistance on 

4 compliance with contracting regulations (including the 

5 Federal Acquisition Regulation) after award of a contract 

6 or subcontract.’’. 

7 (d) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROCUREMENT CENTER

8 REPRESENTATIVES.—Section 15(l)(2) of the Small Busi9 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 644(l)(2)) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as sub11 paragraph (K); 

12 (2) in subparagraph (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

13 the end; and 

14 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the fol15 lowing new subparagraph: 

16 ‘‘(J) assist small business concerns with 

17 finding resources for education and training on 

18 compliance with contracting regulations (includ19 ing the Federal Acquisition Regulation) after 

20 award of a contract or subcontract; and’’. 

21 (e) REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE MENTOR-PROTEGE

22 PROGRAM OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.— 

23 Section 45(b)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

24 657r(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

25 new subparagraph: 


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1 ‘‘(K) The extent to which assistance with 

2 compliance with the requirements of contracting 

3 with the Federal Government after award of a 

4 contract or subcontract under this section.’’. 

5 TITLE III—STRENGTHENING OP6 PORTUNITIES FOR COMPETI7 TION IN SUBCONTRACTING 

8 SEC. 301. GOOD FAITH IN SUBCONTRACTING. 

9 (a) TRANSPARENCY IN SUBCONTRACTING GOALS.— 

10 Section 8(d)(9) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

11 637(d)(9)) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘(9) The failure’’ and inserting 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(9) MATERIAL BREACH.—The failure’’; 

15 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

16 the end; 

17 (3) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘or’’ at 

18 the end; and 

19 (4) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(C) assurances provided under paragraph 

22 (6)(E),’’. 

23 (b) AUTHORITY OF THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE

24 SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.—Section 8(d)(11) of 


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1 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(11)) is amend2 ed— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘(11) In the case of’’ and insert4 ing the following: 

5 ‘‘(11) AUTHORITY OF ADMINISTRATOR.—In the 

6 case of’’; and 

7 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘, which 

8 shall be advisory in nature,’’. 

9 (c) REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF SUBCONTRACTING

10 PLANS.—Section 8(d) of the Small Business Act (15 

11 U.S.C. 637(d)) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(17) REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF SUBCON14 TRACTING PLANS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

16 term ‘covered small business concerns’ means— 

17 ‘‘(i) small business concerns; 

18 ‘‘(ii) qualified HUBZone small busi19 ness concerns; 

20 ‘‘(iii) small business concerns owned 

21 and controlled by veterans; 

22 ‘‘(iv) small business concerns owned 

23 and controlled by service-disabled veterans; 

24 ‘‘(v) small business concerns owned 

25 and controlled by socially and economically 


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1 disadvantaged individuals, as defined in 

2 paragraph (3)(C); and 

3 ‘‘(vi) small business concerns owned 

4 and controlled by women. 

5 ‘‘(B) DELAYED ACCEPTANCE OF PLAN.— 

6 Except as provided in subparagraph (E), if a 

7 procurement center representative or commer8 cial market representative determines that a 

9 subcontracting plan required under paragraph 

10 (4) or (5) fails to provide the maximum prac11 ticable opportunity for covered small business 

12 concerns to participate in the performance of 

13 the contract to which the plan applies, the rep14 resentative may delay acceptance of the plan in 

15 accordance with subparagraph (C). 

16 ‘‘(C) PROCESS FOR DELAYED ACCEPT17 ANCE.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro19 vided in clause (ii), a procurement center 

20 representative or commercial market rep21 resentative who makes a determination 

22 under subparagraph (B) with respect to a 

23 subcontracting plan may delay acceptance 

24 of the plan for a 30-day period by pro25 viding written notice of the determination 


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1 to the head of the procuring activity of the 

2 contracting agency that includes rec3 ommendations for altering the plan to pro4 vide the maximum practicable opportunity 

5 described in that subparagraph. 

6 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—In the case of the 

7 Department of Defense— 

8 ‘‘(I) a procurement center rep9 resentative or commercial market rep10 resentative who makes a determina11 tion under subparagraph (B) with re12 spect to a subcontracting plan may 

13 delay acceptance of the plan for a 15- 

14 day period by providing written notice 

15 of the determination to appropriate 

16 personnel of the Department of De17 fense that includes recommendations 

18 for altering the plan to provide the 

19 maximum practicable opportunity de20 scribed in that subparagraph; and 

21 ‘‘(II) the authority of a procure22 ment center representative or com23 mercial market representative to delay 

24 acceptance of a subcontracting plan as 

25 provided in subparagraph (B) does 


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1 not include the authority to delay the 

2 award or performance of the contract 

3 concerned. 

4 ‘‘(D) DISAGREEMENTS.—If a procurement 

5 center representative or commercial market rep6 resentative delays the acceptance of a subcon7 tracting plan under subparagraph (C) and does 

8 not reach agreement with the head of the pro9 curing activity of the contracting agency to 

10 alter the plan to provide the maximum prac11 ticable opportunity described in subparagraph 

12 (B) not later than 30 days after the date on 

13 which written notice was provided, the disagree14 ment shall be submitted to the head of the con15 tracting agency by the Administrator for a final 

16 determination. 

17 ‘‘(E) EXCEPTION.—A procurement center 

18 representative or commercial market represent19 ative may not delay the acceptance of a subcon20 tracting plan if the head of the contracting 

21 agency certifies that the need of the agency for 

22 the supplies or services is of such an unusual 

23 and compelling urgency that the United States 

24 would be seriously injured unless the agency is 

25 permitted to accept the subcontracting plan.’’. 


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1 (d) GOOD FAITH COMPLIANCE.—Not later than 270 

2 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis3 trator of the Small Business Administration shall issue 

4 regulations providing examples of activities that would be 

5 considered a failure to make a good faith effort to comply 

6 with the requirements imposed on an entity (other than 

7 a small business concern as defined under section 3 of the 

8 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)) that is awarded a 

9 prime contract containing the clauses required under 

10 paragraph (4) or (5) of section 8(d) of the Small Business 

11 Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)). 

12 SEC. 302. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES 

13 FOR QUALIFIED SUBCONTRACTORS TO OB14 TAIN PAST PERFORMANCE RATINGS. 

15 Section 8(d) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

16 637(d)), as amended by section 301, is further amended 

17 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(18) PILOT PROGRAM PROVIDING PAST PER19 FORMANCE RATINGS FOR OTHER SMALL BUSINESS

20 SUBCONTRACTORS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Adminis22 trator shall establish a pilot program for a 

23 small business concern performing as a first 

24 tier subcontractor for a covered contract (as de25 fined in paragraph 13(A)) to request a past 


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1 performance rating in the system used by the 

2 Federal Government to monitor or record con3 tractor past performance. 

4 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—A small business con5 cern described in subparagraph (A) shall sub6 mit an application to the appropriate official for 

7 a past performance rating. Such application 

8 shall include written evidence of the past per9 formance factors for which the small business 

10 concern seeks a rating and a suggested rating. 

11 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION.—The appropriate 

12 official shall submit the application from the 

13 small business concern to the contracting officer 

14 (or a designee of such officer) for the covered 

15 contract and to the prime contractor for review. 

16 The contracting officer (or designee) and the 

17 prime contractor shall, not later than 30 days 

18 after receipt of the application, submit to the 

19 appropriate official a response regarding the 

20 application. 

21 ‘‘(i) AGREEMENT ON RATING.—If the 

22 contracting officer (or designee) and the 

23 prime contractor agree on a past perform24 ance rating, or if either the contracting of25 ficer (or designee) or the prime contractor 


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1 fail to respond and the responding indi2 vidual agrees with the rating of the appli3 cant small business concern, the appro4 priate official shall enter the agreed-upon 

5 past performance rating in the system de6 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

7 ‘‘(ii) DISAGREEMENT ON RATING.—If 

8 the contracting officer (or designee) and 

9 the prime contractor fail to respond within 

10 30 days or if they disagree about the rat11 ing, or if either the contracting officer (or 

12 designee) or the prime contractor fail to 

13 respond and the responding individual dis14 agrees with the rating of the applicant 

15 small business concern, the contracting of16 ficer (or designee) or the prime contractor 

17 shall submit a notice contesting the appli18 cation to appropriate official. The appro19 priate official shall follow the requirements 

20 of subparagraph (D). 

21 ‘‘(D) PROCEDURE FOR RATING.—Not later 

22 than 14 calendar days after receipt of a notice 

23 under subparagraph (C)(ii), the appropriate of24 ficial shall submit such notice to the applicant 

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1 mit comments, rebuttals, or additional informa2 tion relating to the past performance of such 

3 concern not later 14 calendar days after receipt 

4 of such notice. The appropriate official shall 

5 enter the into the system described in subpara6 graph (A) a rating that is neither favorable nor 

7 unfavorable along with the initial application 

8 from the small business concern, the responses 

9 of the contracting officer (or designee) and the 

10 prime contractor, and any additional informa11 tion provided by the small business concern. 

12 ‘‘(E) USE OF INFORMATION.—A small 

13 business subcontractor may use a past perform14 ance rating given under this paragraph to es15 tablish its past performance for a prime con16 tract. 

17 ‘‘(F) DURATION.—The pilot program es18 tablished under this paragraph shall terminate 

19 3 years after the date on which the first small 

20 business concern receives a past performance 

21 rating for performance as a first tier subcon22 tractor. 

23 ‘‘(G) REPORT.—The Comptroller General 

24 of the United States shall begin an assessment 

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1 ment of such program. Not later than 6 months 

2 after beginning such assessment, the Comp3 troller General shall submit a report to the 

4 Committee on Small Business and Entrepre5 neurship of the Senate and the Committee on 

6 Small Business of the House of Representa7 tives, which shall include— 

8 ‘‘(i) the number of small business con9 cerns that have received past performance 

10 ratings under the pilot program; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the number of applications in 

12 which the contracting officer (or designee) 

13 or the prime contractor contested the ap14 plication of the small business concern; 

15 ‘‘(iii) any suggestions or recommenda16 tions the Comptroller General or the small 

17 business concerns participating in the pro18 gram have to address disputes between the 

19 small business concern, the contracting of20 ficer (or designee), and the prime con21 tractor on past performance ratings; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) any suggestions or recommenda23 tion the Comptroller General has to im24 prove the operation of the pilot program. 


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1 ‘‘(H) APPROPRIATE OFFICIAL DEFINED.— 

2 In this paragraph, the term ‘appropriate offi3 cial’ means a Commercial Market Representa4 tive or other individual designated by the senior 

5 official appointed by the Administrator with re6 sponsibilities under sections 8, 15, 31, and 

7 36.’’. 

8 TITLE IV—MENTOR-PROTEGE 

9 PROGRAMS 

10 SEC. 401. AMENDMENTS TO THE MENTOR-PROTEGE PRO11 GRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. 

12 Section 831 of the National Defense Authorization 

13 Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (Public Law 101–510; 104 Stat. 

14 1607; 10 U.S.C. 2302 note) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (d)— 

16 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

17 follows: 

18 ‘‘(1) prior to the approval of that agreement, 

19 the Administrator of the Small Business Administra20 tion had made no finding of affiliation between the 

21 mentor firm and the protege firm;’’; 

22 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

23 paragraph (3); and 

24 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

25 following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(2)(A) the Administrator of the Small Busi2 ness Administration does not have a current finding 

3 of affiliation between the mentor firm and protege 

4 firm; or 

5 ‘‘(B) the Secretary, after considering the regu6 lations promulgated by the Administrator of the 

7 Small Business Administration regarding affili8 ation— 

9 ‘‘(i) does not have reason to believe that 

10 the mentor firm affiliated with the protege firm; 

11 or 

12 ‘‘(ii) has received a formal determination 

13 of no affiliation between the mentor firm and 

14 protege firm from the Administrator after hav15 ing submitted a question of affiliation to the 

16 Administrator; and’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (n), by amending paragraph 

18 (9) to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(9) The term ‘affiliation’, with respect to a re20 lationship between a mentor firm and a protege 

21 firm, means a relationship described under section 

22 121.103 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

23 any successor regulation).’’. 


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1 SEC. 402. IMPROVING COOPERATION BETWEEN THE MEN2 TOR-PROTEGE PROGRAMS OF THE SMALL 

3 BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND THE DE4 PARTMENT OF DEFENSE. 

5 Section 45(b)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 

6 U.S.C. 657r(b)(4)) is amended by striking subparagraph 

7 (A) and redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as sub8 paragraphs (A) and (B), respectively. 

9 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

10 SEC. 501. IMPROVING EDUCATION ON SMALL BUSINESS 

11 REGULATIONS. 

12 Section 15 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

13 644), as amended by section 204(c), is further amended 

14 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(u) REGULATORY CHANGES AND TRAINING MATE16 RIALS.—Not less than annually, the Administrator shall 

17 provide to the Defense Acquisition University (established 

18 under section 1746 of title 10, United States Code), the 

19 Federal Acquisition Institute (established under section 

20 1201 of title 41, United States Code), the individual re21 sponsible for mandatory training and education of the ac22 quisition workforce of each agency (described under sec23 tion 1703(f)(1)(C) of title 41, United States Code), small 

24 business development centers (as defined in section 21), 

25 and entities participating in the Procurement Technical 


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1 Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program under chapter 

2 142 of title 10, United States Code— 

3 ‘‘(1) a list of all changes made in the prior year 

4 to regulations promulgated— 

5 ‘‘(A) by the Administrator that affect Fed6 eral acquisition; and 

7 ‘‘(B) by the Federal Acquisition Council 

8 that implement changes to this Act; and 

9 ‘‘(2) any materials the Administrator has devel10 oped to explain, train, or assist Federal agencies or 

11 departments or small business concerns to comply 

12 with the regulations specified in paragraph (1).’’. 

13 SEC. 502. PROTECTING TASK ORDER COMPETITION. 

14 Section 4106(f) of title 41, United States Code, is 

15 amended by striking paragraph (3). 

16 SEC. 503. IMPROVEMENTS TO SIZE STANDARDS FOR SMALL 

17 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS. 

18 (a) AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION OF AGRICULTURAL

19 ENTERPRISES.—Paragraph (1) of section 18(b) of the 

20 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 647(b)(1)) is amended by 

21 striking ‘‘businesses’’ and inserting ‘‘small business con22 cerns’’. 

23 (b) EQUAL TREATMENT OF SMALL FARMS.—Para24 graph (1) of section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 

25 U.S.C. 632(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘operation: ProVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Jan 08, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4341.IH H4341

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1 vided,’’ and all that follows through the period at the end 

2 and inserting ‘‘operation.’’. 

3 (c) UPDATED SIZE STANDARDS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

5 after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad6 ministrator of the Small Business Administration 

7 shall, by rule, establish size standards in accordance 

8 with section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

9 632) for agricultural enterprises (as such term is de10 fined in section 18(b)(1) of such Act). 

11 (2) REVIEW.—Size standards established under 

12 subsection (a) are subject to the rolling review pro13 cedures established under section 1344(a) of the 

14 Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (15 U.S.C. 632 

15 note). 

16 SEC. 504. UNIFORMITY IN SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN 

17 DEFINITIONS. 

18 (a) SMALL BUSINESS DEFINITION OF SMALL BUSI19 NESS CONCERN CONSOLIDATED.—Section 3(q) of the 

20 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)) is amended— 

21 (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(2) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN OWNED AND

24 CONTROLLED BY SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS.— 

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1 trolled by service-disabled veterans’ means any of 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) A small business concern— 

4 ‘‘(i) not less than 51 percent of which 

5 is owned by one or more service-disabled 

6 veterans or, in the case of any publicly 

7 owned business, not less than 51 percent 

8 of the stock (not including any stock 

9 owned by an ESOP) of which is owned by 

10 one or more service-disabled veterans; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the management and daily busi12 ness operations of which are controlled by 

13 one or more service-disabled veterans or, in 

14 the case of a veteran with permanent and 

15 severe disability, the spouse or permanent 

16 caregiver of such veteran. 

17 ‘‘(B) A small business concern— 

18 ‘‘(i) not less than 51 percent of which 

19 is owned by one or more service-disabled 

20 veterans with a disability that is rated by 

21 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs as a per22 manent and total disability who are unable 

23 to manage the daily business operations of 

24 such concern; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a publicly owned 

2 business, not less than 51 percent of the 

3 stock (not including any stock owned by an 

4 ESOP) of which is owned by one or more 

5 such veterans. 

6 ‘‘(C)(i) During the time period described in 

7 clause (ii), a small business concern that was a 

8 small business concern described in subpara9 graph (A) or (B) immediately prior to the death 

10 of a service-disabled veteran who was the owner 

11 of the concern, the death of whom causes the 

12 concern to be less than 51 percent owned by 

13 one or more service-disabled veterans, if— 

14 ‘‘(I) the surviving spouse of the de15 ceased veteran acquires such veteran’s 

16 ownership interest in such concern; 

17 ‘‘(II) such veteran had a service-con18 nected disability (as defined in section 

19 101(16) of title 38, United States Code) 

20 rated as 100 percent disabling under the 

21 laws administered by the Secretary of Vet22 erans Affairs or such veteran died as a re23 sult of a service-connected disability; and 

24 ‘‘(III) immediately prior to the death 

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1 scribed in clause (ii), the small business 

2 concern is included in the database de3 scribed in section 8127(f) of title 38, 

4 United States Code. 

5 ‘‘(ii) The time period described in this 

6 clause is the time period beginning on the date 

7 of the veteran’s death and ending on the earlier 

8 of— 

9 ‘‘(I) the date on which the surviving 

10 spouse remarries; 

11 ‘‘(II) the date on which the surviving 

12 spouse relinquishes an ownership interest 

13 in the small business concern; or 

14 ‘‘(III) the date that is 10 years after 

15 the date of the death of the veteran.’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraphs: 

18 ‘‘(6) ESOP.—The term ‘ESOP’ has the mean19 ing given the term ‘employee stock ownership plan’ 

20 in section 4975(e)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code 

21 of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 4975(e)(7)). 

22 ‘‘(7) SURVIVING SPOUSE.—The term ‘surviving 

23 spouse’ has the meaning given such term in section 

24 101(3) of title 38, United States Code.’’. 


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1 (b) VETERANS AFFAIRS DEFINITION OF SMALL

2 BUSINESS CONCERN CONSOLIDATED.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8127 of title 38, 

4 United States Code, is amended— 

5 (A) by striking subsection (h) and redesig6 nating subsections (i) through (l) as subsections 

7 (h) through (k), respectively; and 

8 (B) in subsection (k), as so redesignated— 

9 (i) by amending paragraph (2) to read 

10 as follows: 

11 ‘‘(2) The term ‘small business concern owned 

12 and controlled by veterans’ has the meaning given 

13 that term under section 3(q)(3) of the Small Busi14 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)(3)).’’; and 

15 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

16 new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(3) The term ‘small business concern owned 

18 and controlled by veterans with service-connected 

19 disabilities’ has the meaning given the term ‘small 

20 business concern owned and controlled by service21 disabled veterans’ under section 3(q)(2) of the Small 

22 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)(2)).’’. 

23 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such section 

24 is further amended— 


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1 (A) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘or a 

2 small business concern owned and controlled by 

3 veterans with service-connected disabilities’’ 

4 after ‘‘a small business concern owned and con5 trolled by veterans’’; 

6 (B) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘or a 

7 small business concern owned and controlled by 

8 veterans with service-connected disabilities’’ 

9 after ‘‘a small business concern owned and con10 trolled by veterans’’; 

11 (C) in subsection (d) by inserting ‘‘or small 

12 business concerns owned and controlled by vet13 erans with service-connected disabilities’’ after 

14 ‘‘small business concerns owned and controlled 

15 by veterans’’ both places it appears; and 

16 (D) in subsection (f)(1), by inserting ‘‘, 

17 small business concerns owned and controlled 

18 by veterans with service-connected disabilities,’’ 

19 after ‘‘small business concerns owned and con20 trolled by veterans’’. 

21 (c) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 8(d)(3) of the 

22 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(3)), is amended by 

23 adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

24 ‘‘(H) In this contract, the term ‘small business 

25 concern owned and controlled by service-disabled 


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1 veterans’ has the meaning given that term in section 

2 3(q).’’. 

3 (d) REGULATIONS RELATING TO DATABASE OF THE

4 SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.— 

5 (1) REQUIREMENT TO USE CERTAIN SMALL

6 BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION REGULATIONS.—Section 

7 8127(f)(4) of title 38, United States Code, is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘verified’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘verified, using regulations issued by the Adminis10 trator of the Small Business Administration with re11 spect to the status of the concern as a small busi12 ness concern and the ownership and control of such 

13 concern,’’. 

14 (2) PROHIBITION ON SECRETARY OF VETERANS

15 AFFAIRS ISSUING CERTAIN REGULATIONS.—Section 

16 8127(f) of title 38, United States Code, is amended 

17 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(7) The Secretary may not issue regulations related 

19 to the status of a concern as a small business concern and 

20 the ownership and control of such small business con21 cern.’’. 

22 (e) DELAYED EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

23 made by subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) shall take effect 

24 on the date on which the Administrator of the Small Busi25 ness Administration and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 


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1 jointly issue regulations implementing such sections. Such 

2 date shall be not later than 18 months after the date of 

3 enactment of this Act. 

4 (f) APPEALS OF INCLUSION IN DATABASE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8127(f) of title 38, 

6 United States Code, as amended by section 3, is fur7 ther amended by adding at the end the following 

8 new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(8)(A) If the Secretary does not verify a concern for 

10 inclusion in the database under this subsection based on 

11 the status of the concern as a small business concern or 

12 the ownership or control of the concern, the concern may 

13 appeal the denial of verification to the Office of Hearings 

14 and Appeals of the Small Business Administration (as es15 tablished under part 134 of title 13, Code of Federal Reg16 ulations, or any successor administrative appellate entity 

17 created with the Small Business Administration). The de18 cision of the Office of Hearings and Appeals shall be con19 sidered a final agency action. 

20 ‘‘(B)(i) If an interested party challenges the inclusion 

21 in the database of a small business concern owned and 

22 controlled by veterans or a small business concern owned 

23 and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabil24 ities based on the status of the concern as a small business 

25 concern or the ownership or control of the concern, the 


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1 challenge shall be heard by the Office of Hearings and 

2 Appeals of the Small Business Administration as de3 scribed in subparagraph (A). The decision of the Office 

4 of Hearings and Appeals shall be considered final agency 

5 action. 

6 ‘‘(ii) In this subparagraph, the term ‘interested party’ 

7 means— 

8 ‘‘(I) the Secretary; and 

9 ‘‘(II) in the case of a small business concern 

10 that is awarded a contract, the contracting officer of 

11 the Department or another small business concern 

12 that submitted an offer for the contract that was 

13 awarded to the small business concern that sub14 mitted an offer under clause (i). 

15 ‘‘(C) For each fiscal year, the Secretary shall reim16 burse the Administrator of the Small Business Adminis17 tration in an amount necessary to cover any cost incurred 

18 by the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Small Busi19 ness Administration for actions taken by the Office under 

20 this paragraph. The amount of any such reimbursement 

21 shall be determined jointly by the Secretary and the Ad22 ministrator and shall be provided from fees collected by 

23 the Secretary under multiple-award schedule contracts. 

24 Any disagreement about the amount shall be resolved by 

25 the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.’’. 


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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraph (8) of sub2 section (f) of title 38, United States Code, as added 

3 by paragraph (1), shall apply with respect to a 

4 verification decision made by the Secretary of Vet5 erans Affairs on or after the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act. 

7 SEC. 505. GAO REVIEW OF THE OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT 

8 CONTRACTING AND BUSINESS DEVELOP9 MENT OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRA10 TION. 

11 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 

13 the United States shall initiate a review of the Office of 

14 Government Contracting and Business Development of the 

15 Small Business Administration. Such review shall exam16 ine— 

17 (1) the extent to which the personnel of the 

18 Small Business Administration who carry out pro19 curement and business development programs report 

20 to the Office of Government Contracting and Busi21 ness Development; 

22 (2) whether greater efficiency and consistency 

23 in the certification process of procurement and busi24 ness development programs could be achieved by cre25 ating a single organizational unit of employees to 


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1 process all certifications required by procurement 

2 and business development programs; 

3 (3) whether greater efficiency and efficacy in 

4 the performance of procurement and business devel5 opment programs could be achieved by improving 

6 the alignment of the field personnel assigned to such 

7 programs; 

8 (4) how the Office of Government Contracting 

9 and Business Development could improve its staffing 

10 of regulatory drafting functions and its coordination 

11 with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to 

12 ensure timely rulemaking by the Small Business Ad13 ministration; and 

14 (5) any other areas in which the Comptroller 

15 General determines that the Small Business Admin16 istration could improve its performance with respect 

17 to procurement and business development programs. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after initiating 

19 the review required by paragraph (1), the Comptroller 

20 General shall submit a report including the results of the 

21 review, along with any recommendations for improvements 

22 or other suggestions with respect to procurement and busi23 ness development programs, to the Committee on Small 

24 Business of the House of Representatives and the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Jan 08, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4341.IH H4341

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1 mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 

2 Senate. 

3 (c) PROCUREMENT AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

4 PROGRAM DEFINED.—In this Act, the term ‘‘procurement 

5 and business development program’’ means a program re6 lated to procurement or business development established 

7 under section 7, 8, 15, 31, 36, 44, 45, or 46 of the Small 

8 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.). 

Æ 


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