99–006 

112TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 112–37 

TO AMEND TITLE 41, UNITED STATES CODE, TO EXTEND THE SUNSET 

DATE FOR CERTAIN PROTESTS OF TASK AND DELIVER ORDER CONTRACTS 

MARCH 17, 2011.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. ISSA, from the Committee on Oversight and Government 

Reform, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 899] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to whom 

was referred the bill (H.R. 899) to amend title 41, United States 

Code, to extend the sunset date for certain protests of task and deliver order contracts, having considered the same, report favorably 

thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Committee Statement and Views ........................................................................... 1 

Section-by-Section .................................................................................................... 2 

Explanation of Amendments ................................................................................... 2 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 2 

Application of Law to the Legislative Branch ....................................................... 2 

Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee ...... 3 

Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives .................................... 3 

Federal Advisory Committee Act ............................................................................ 3 

Unfunded Mandate Statement ............................................................................... 3 

Earmark Identification ............................................................................................ 3 

Committee Estimate ................................................................................................ 3 

Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .................... 3 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill as Reported ...................................... 5 

COMMITTEE STATEMENT AND VIEWS

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

The purpose of this bill is to extend the sunset date to allow the 

Government Accountability Office (GAO) to continue to hear bid 

protests on civilian agency task and delivery orders until September 30, 2016. 


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1 Report of the Acquisition Advisory Panel to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and 

the U.S. Cong., available at https://www.acquisition.gov/comp/aap/documents/Chapter1.pdf (Jan. 

2007). 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Section 825 of the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization 

Act of for FY 2011 (PL 111–383) extended the sunset date for GAO 

bid protests on task and delivery orders for defense acquisitions 

until September 30, 2016. It did not address civilian agency acquisitions. Therefore, this bill is necessary to align the two procurement systems—defense and civilian—and alleviate uncertainty in 

the contracting community. In addition, allowing protests at the 

task and delivery order level increases transparency and accountability, while providing an alternative to costly litigation. 

Extending GAO’s jurisdiction to encompass bid protests over task 

and delivery orders was a recommendation made in the January 

2007 Report of the Acquisition Advisory Working Group (commonly 

referred to as the ‘‘SARA Panel’’). The SARA Panel made the recommendation based on the following findings: (1) improper use of 

certain contracting vehicles, (2) a need for increased competition, 

(3) the frequency with which agencies make ‘‘significant purchases 

of complex services using task and delivery orders,’’ and (4) the desire to increase transparency.1

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Section 843 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 

2008 (PL 110–181) expanded the GAO jurisdiction to hear bid protests by authorizing GAO to hear protests on task and delivery orders valued in excess of $10 million. This provision covered both 

defense (Title 10) and civilian acquisitions (Title 41). It sunsets in 

May 2011. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION

Section 1 

This bill contains one section which amends 41 U.S.C. 4106(f) to 

allow GAO to continue to hear bid protests on task and delivery orders over $10 million until September 30, 2016. 

EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS

No amendments were offered to the bill. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On March 10, 2011, the Committee met in open session and ordered reported favorably the bill, H.R. 899, by voice vote, a quorum 

being present. 

APPLICATION OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104–1 requires a description of 

the application of this bill to the legislative branch where the bill 

relates to the terms and conditions of employment or access to public services and accommodations. This bill extends the sunset date 

to allow the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to continue to 

hear bid protests on civilian agency task and delivery orders until 


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September 30, 2016. As such this bill does not relate to employment or access to public services and accommodations. 

Legislative branch employees and their families, to the extent 

that they are otherwise eligible for the benefits provided by this 

legislation, have equal access to its benefits. 

STATEMENT OF OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF

THE COMMITTEE

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 2(b)(1) 

of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee’s oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the 

descriptive portions of this report. 

STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee’s performance goals and 

objectives are reflected in the descriptive portions of this report. 

FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT

The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish or 

authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within the 

definition of 5 U.S.C. App., Section 5(b). 

UNFUNDED MANDATE STATEMENT

Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, P.L. 104–4) requires a statement as to whether 

the provisions of the reported include unfunded mandates. In compliance with this requirement the Committee has received a letter 

from the Congressional Budget Office included herein. 

EARMARK IDENTIFICATION

H.R. 899 does not include any congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9 of Rule 

XXI. 

COMMITTEE ESTIMATE

Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 899. 

However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report 

a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 

Congressional Budget Act. 

BUDGET AUTHORITY AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST

ESTIMATE

With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the 

Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect to requirements 

of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of RepresentVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:04 Mar 19, 2011 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR037.XXX HR037

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atives and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the 

Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R. 899 

from the Director of Congressional Budget Office: 

MARCH 16, 2011. 

Hon. DARRELL ISSA, 

Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 899, a bill to amend title 

41, United States Code, to extend the sunset date for certain protests of task and deliver order contracts. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew Pickford. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 899—A bill to amend title 41, United States Code, to extend 

the sunset date for certain protests of task and deliver order 

contracts 

H.R. 899 would amend federal law to extend the process for protesting the awards of certain civilian agency procurements. Under 

the legislation, contractors could protest certain task and delivery 

order contracts through September 30, 2016. 

Task and delivery order contracts authorize deliveries during the 

life of the contract without specifying a firm quantity of supplies 

or services. Such contracts are often used when an agency cannot 

determine the precise number of supplies or services that will be 

required. Under current law, contractors under such orders can 

protest the award of any order valued over $10 million, and the 

Government Accountability Office (GAO) has exclusive jurisdiction 

to hear those protests through May 2011. H.R. 899 would extend 

those procedures through September 2016. 

Information from GAO and several civilian agencies indicates 

that more than 100 cases have been filed to protest contract 

awards during the past two years; 50 percent of the protestors have 

reported obtaining some form of relief from the procuring agency. 

The form of relief can vary from improvements in the procurement 

process to reimbursement of the protestors’ costs. Based on that information, CBO expects that complying with the bill would increase 

the administrative expenses of federal agencies for contract personnel, lawyers, and general administrative overhead. Such expenses would generally be paid from agencies’ salaries and expense 

budgets, which are subject to annual appropriation. CBO estimates 

that such costs would total a few million dollars over the 2011– 

2016 period. 

Enacting H.R. 899 also could affect direct spending by agencies 

not funded through annual appropriations, such as the Tennessee 

Valley Authority and the Bonneville Power Administration; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that 

any net increase in spending by those agencies would not be significant. Enacting H.R. 899 would not affect revenues. 


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H.R. 899 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. The 

estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

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): 

TITLE 41, UNITED STATES CODE 

* * * * * * * 

SUBTITLE I—FEDERAL PROCUREMENT 

POLICY 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 41—TASK AND DELIVERY ORDER CONTRACTS 

* * * * * * * 

§ 4106. Orders 

(a) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(f) PROTESTS.— (1) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

ø(3) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—This subsection shall be in effect 

for three years, beginning on the date that is 120 days after 

January 28, 2008.¿ 

(3) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—Paragraph (1)(B) and paragraph (2) 

of this subsection shall not be in effect after September 30, 

2016. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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