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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2912 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2912

To provide authority for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan 
     Reconstruction to suspend and debar contractors under certain 
                             circumstances.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 1, 2013

 Mr. Chaffetz (for himself, Mr. Coffman, Mr. Tierney, and Ms. Speier) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
  Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and 
 Government Reform, 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 provide authority for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan 
     Reconstruction to suspend and debar contractors under certain 
                             circumstances.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Afghanistan Suspension and Debarment 
Reform Act''.

SEC. 2. SUSPENSION AND DEBARMENT AUTHORITY FOR SPECIAL INSPECTOR 
              GENERAL FOR AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION UNDER CERTAIN 
              CIRCUMSTANCES.

    (a) Suspension and Debarment Process.--Section 1229(g) of the 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law 
110-181; 5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph:
            ``(3) Suspension and debarment.--
                    ``(A) Referral of case to lead agency.--In carrying 
                out the duties, responsibilities, and authorities set 
                forth under this section, the Inspector General (or the 
                Inspector General's designee) may refer a potential 
                suspension or debarment case described in subparagraph 
                (B) to the lead agency for that suspension or 
                debarment. If such a referral is made, the Inspector 
                General shall notify the Interagency Committee on 
                Debarment and Suspension and the congressional 
                committees described in subparagraph (G) of the 
                referral. If the Inspector General is unable to 
                determine which agency is the lead agency for purposes 
                of a referral under this subparagraph, the Inspector 
                General shall request the Interagency Committee to 
                resolve the issue of which agency is the lead agency, 
                in accordance with section 873 of the Duncan Hunter 
                National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 
                (Public Law 110-417; 31 U.S.C. 6101 note).
                    ``(B) Covered cases.--
                            ``(i) A potential suspension or debarment 
                        case described in this subparagraph is a case 
                        involving a person that is an Afghan national 
                        or foreign national or foreign company 
                        operating in Afghanistan that has received in 
                        the past, is receiving, or may receive in the 
                        future, funds from any--
                                    ``(I) covered prime contract; or
                                    ``(II) covered subcontract.
                            ``(ii) In this subparagraph:
                                    ``(I) The term `covered prime 
                                contract' means a prime contract that 
                                is a contract described in subsection 
                                (i)(2).
                                    ``(II) The term `covered 
                                subcontract' means a subcontract that 
                                is a contract described in subsection 
                                (i)(2) under a covered prime contract.
                    ``(C) Acceptance or declination of case.--Not later 
                than 30 days after the date of referral of a suspension 
                or debarment case under subparagraph (A), the lead 
                agency shall--
                            ``(i) accept or decline the case; and
                            ``(ii) submit to the Inspector General and 
                        the Interagency Committee a written 
                        notification and rationale for accepting or 
                        declining the case.
                    ``(D) Determination by interagency committee if 
                lead agency declines case.--If the lead agency declines 
                to accept a suspension or debarment case referred under 
                subparagraph (A) or fails to respond to the referral, 
                the Interagency Committee shall make a determination, 
                not later than 45 days after the date of the referral 
                of the case under subparagraph (A), regarding whether 
                the Inspector General shall act as lead agency in the 
                case. The Interagency Committee shall submit to the 
                congressional committees described in subparagraph (G) 
                a written notification of the determination.
                    ``(E) Determination by lead agency if lead agency 
                accepts case.--If the lead agency accepts a suspension 
                or debarment case referred under subparagraph (A), the 
                agency shall make a determination, not later than 60 
                days after the date of the referral of the case under 
                subparagraph (A), to either suspend or debar the person 
                that is the subject of the case or decline to suspend 
                or debar the person. If the lead agency declines to 
                suspend or debar the person, the lead agency shall, not 
                later than 15 days after the determination, submit to 
                the congressional committees described in subparagraph 
                (G) a written notification and rationale for the 
                determination to decline to suspend or debar the 
                person.
                    ``(F) Suspension and debarment authority of 
                inspector general.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If the Interagency 
                        Committee determines under subparagraph (D) 
                        that the Inspector General may act as lead 
                        agency in a suspension or debarment case 
                        referred under subparagraph (A), then the 
                        Inspector General (or the Inspector General's 
                        designee) may suspend or debar a person from 
                        procurement or nonprocurement activities of the 
                        Federal Government in accordance with 
                        regulations implementing the suspension and 
                        debarment system of the Federal Government, 
                        including the Federal Acquisition Regulation 
                        and the Office of Management and Budget 
                        guidelines to agencies on governmentwide 
                        debarment and suspension (nonprocurement) in 
                        part 180 of title 2 of the Code of Federal 
                        Regulations.
                            ``(ii) Exception.--In exercising the 
                        authority provided under clause (i), the 
                        Inspector General (or the Inspector General's 
                        designee) may, with respect to a particular 
                        contract, grant, or other procurement or 
                        nonprocurement activity, grant an exception 
                        that permits a person debarred or suspended 
                        pursuant to clause (i) to submit an offer for 
                        or be awarded the contract, grant, or other 
                        activity. If such an exception is granted, the 
                        Inspector General shall submit to the 
                        congressional committees described in 
                        subparagraph (G) a written notification and 
                        rationale for the exception.
                    ``(G) Committees described.--The committees 
                described in this subparagraph are the following:
                            ``(i) The Committees on Foreign Affairs and 
                        on Oversight and Government Reform of the House 
                        of Representatives.
                            ``(ii) The Committees on Foreign Relations 
                        and on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                        Affairs of the Senate.''.
    (b) Definition of Interagency Committee.--Section 1229(m) of such 
Act (Public Law 110-181; 5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) Interagency committee on debarment and suspension.--
        The term `Interagency Committee on Debarment and Suspension' or 
        `Interagency Committee' means the committee constituted under 
        sections 4 and 5 of Executive Order No. 12549.''.
    (c) Deadline for Publication of Rules.--The Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget shall publish any interim final rules 
submitted to the Office to implement the amendments made by this Act in 
the Federal Register within 30 days after the date of submission.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY AND REPORT.

    (a) Study.--After the termination of the Office of Special 
Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction under section 
1229(o)(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2008 (Public Law 110-181; 122 Stat. 380; 5 U.S.C. App.), the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on the 
authority and process provided under section 1229(g)(3) of such Act (as 
added by section 2 of this Act).
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report 
on the study carried out under subsection (a), with such 
recommendations as the Comptroller General considers appropriate with 
respect to the suspension and debarment system of the Federal 
Government.
                                 <all>
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