I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4221 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for improved acquisition 

practices by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 8, 2009 

Mr. BUYER (for himself, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. LAMBORN, 

Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, and Mr. BOOZMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ 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 amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for improved acquisition practices by the Department of Veterans Affairs, 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 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Vet5 erans Affairs Acquisition Improvement Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR 

2 ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, AND ASSET 

3 MANAGEMENT; ADDITIONAL DEPUTY ASSIST4 ANT SECRETARIES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 308 of title 38, United 

6 States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

8 following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(12) Acquisition, Construction, and Asset 

10 Management.’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (d)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘19’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘26’’; and 

14 (B) by inserting at the end the following 

15 new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall assign one Deputy Assistant 

17 Secretary to each of the following areas of responsibility: 

18 ‘‘(A) Information technology acquisition. 

19 ‘‘(B) Acquisition services for the Veterans Ben20 efits Administration, the National Cemetery Admin21 istration, and the Department headquarters. 

22 ‘‘(C) Construction acquisitions and leasing. 

23 ‘‘(D) Acquisition services for the Veterans 

24 Health Administration. 

25 ‘‘(E) National contracts, including contracts for 

26 health care products and services awarded by the 


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1 National Acquisition Center (other than contracts 

2 for information technology). 

3 ‘‘(F) Policy. 

4 ‘‘(G) Asset Enterprise Management and Logis5 tics.’’. 

6 (b) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENTS.—By not later 

7 than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

8 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall assign an indi9 vidual to carry out the responsibilities of the Assistant 

10 Secretary for Acquisition, Construction, and Asset Man11 agement, pursuant to paragraph (12) of section 308(b) 

12 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection 

13 (a), and individuals to carry out the responsibilities of the 

14 Deputy Assistant Secretaries pursuant to section 308(d) 

15 of such title, as amended by subsection (a). 

16 SEC. 3. CHIEF ACQUISITION OFFICER. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Chapter 3 of title 38, United 

18 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 310 the 

19 following new section: 

20 ‘‘§ 310A. Chief Acquisition Officer; other acquisition 

21 officers 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is in the Department 

23 a Chief Acquisition Officer. The Assistant Secretary for 

24 Acquisition, Construction, and Asset Management shall 

25 serve as the Chief Acquisition Officer. 


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1 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—In addition to the respon2 sibilities of the Chief Acquisition Officer under section 16 

3 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 

4 U.S.C. 414), the Chief Acquisition Officer shall carry out 

5 the following additional responsibilities: 

6 ‘‘(1) Managing and monitoring the performance 

7 of Department acquisition activities. 

8 ‘‘(2) Advising the Secretary on appropriate 

9 business strategies to meet the missions of the De10 partment. 

11 ‘‘(3) Awarding and administering contracts and 

12 purchases. 

13 ‘‘(4) Increasing the use of full and open com14 petition in the acquisitions processes of the Depart15 ment. 

16 ‘‘(5) Increasing the appropriate use of perform17 ance-based contracting and performance specifica18 tions in such processes. 

19 ‘‘(6) Ensuring that acquisitions decisions are 

20 consistent with applicable laws. 

21 ‘‘(7) Managing the direction of acquisition pol22 icy for the Department. 

23 ‘‘(8) Establishing clear lines of authority, ac24 countability, and responsibility for decision making 

25 within the Department with respect to acquisitions. 


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1 ‘‘(9) Developing and maintaining an acquisition 

2 career management program. 

3 ‘‘(c) QUALIFICATIONS.—The individual appointed as 

4 Chief Acquisition Officer shall have the following qualifica5 tions: 

6 ‘‘(1) Executive experience in acquisition in the 

7 Federal Government— 

8 ‘‘(A) managing large projects or having re9 sponsibility for managing a corporate-type sup10 ply chain function; 

11 ‘‘(B) defining and achieving performance 

12 results; 

13 ‘‘(C) developing, negotiating, delivering, 

14 and managing successful and complex business 

15 arrangements across large organizations with 

16 competing interests; 

17 ‘‘(D) building and managing executive re18 lationships across organizational and functional 

19 boundaries; and 

20 ‘‘(E) successfully using strategic resource 

21 management to achieve organizational goals. 

22 ‘‘(2) Knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Reg23 ulation. 

24 ‘‘(3) Knowledge of the Federal budget, appro25 priations, and legislative processes. 


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1 ‘‘(d) ACQUISITION WORKFORCE.—All employees of 

2 the Department whose responsibilities relate to acquisition 

3 shall report directly to the Chief Acquisition Officer. Be4 ginning on the date of the enactment of this section, no 

5 new employee may be hired as a Head of Contracting Au6 thority or Chief Logistics Officer unless the Principal Dep7 uty Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Construction, and 

8 Asset Management approves the hire. 

9 ‘‘(e) PRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY

10 FOR ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, AND ASSET MANAGE11 MENT.—(1) There is in the Department a Principal Dep12 uty Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Construction, and 

13 Asset Management. The Principal Deputy Assistance Sec14 retary for Acquisition, Construction, and Asset Manage15 ment shall be the senior procurement executive for the De16 partment and shall report directly to the Chief Acquisition 

17 Officer. 

18 ‘‘(2) The position of Principal Deputy Assistant Sec19 retary for Acquisition, Construction, and Asset Manage20 ment shall for all purposes be considered to be a career 

21 reserve position within the meaning of section 3132(a)(8) 

22 of title 5. 

23 ‘‘(3) The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

24 Acquisition, Construction, and Asset Management shall 

25 have primary responsibility for the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Acquisition policy and oversight. 

2 ‘‘(B) Oversight of the Office of the Business 

3 Ombudsman, including the Competition Advocate 

4 and the Office of Business Oversight. 

5 ‘‘(C) Training, management, and oversight of 

6 the acquisition workforce, including the Acquisition 

7 Academy of the Department. 

8 ‘‘(D) Management and oversight of the Deputy 

9 Assistant Secretary responsible for awarding and ad10 ministering contracts and purchases. 

11 ‘‘(f) DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARIES FOR ACQUISI12 TION.—There are in the Department seven Deputy Assist13 ant Secretaries for Acquisition who shall report directly 

14 to the Principal Deputy Assistant for Acquisition, Con15 struction, and Asset Management. The Secretary or the 

16 Secretary’s designee shall assign to each Deputy Assistant 

17 Secretary one of the following functions: 

18 ‘‘(1) Information technology acquisition. 

19 ‘‘(2) Acquisition services for the Veterans Bene20 fits Administration, the National Cemetery Adminis21 tration and the Department headquarters. 

22 ‘‘(3) Construction acquisition and leasing. 

23 ‘‘(4) Veterans Health Administration acquisi24 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(5) National contracts, including contracts for 

2 health care products and services awarded by the 

3 National Acquisition Center. 

4 ‘‘(6) Policy. 

5 ‘‘(7) Asset enterprise management and logis6 tics.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

8 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

9 after the item relating to section 310 the following new 

10 item: 

‘‘310A. Chief Acquisition Officer; other acquisition officers.’’. 

11 (c) DEADLINE FOR DESIGNATIONS.— 

12 (1) DEADLINE FOR PLAN.—Not later than 180 

13 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

14 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Con15 gress a plan for implementing section 310A of title 

16 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a). 

17 (2) DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—Not 

18 later than 18 months after the date of the enact19 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

20 shall fully implement the plan submitted under para21 graph (1). 

22 SEC. 4. ACQUISITION POLICY OF DEPARTMENT OF VET23 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

24 (a) DEPARTMENT-WIDE POLICY REQUIRED.— 


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1 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 

2 81 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 

3 adding at the end the following new section: 

4 ‘‘§ 8129. Department-wide acquisition policy 

5 ‘‘(a) POLICY REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall estab6 lish and maintain a comprehensive Department-wide ac7 quisition program under which the Secretary shall develop, 

8 implement, and enforce a streamlined approach to enter9 ing into contracts and purchasing goods and services. 

10 Such program shall include the elements described in sub11 section (b). 

12 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

13 the Department-wide acquisition program includes the fol14 lowing elements: 

15 ‘‘(1) The centralization under the Chief Acqui16 sition Officer of all contracting activities of the De17 partment, including purchasing, and including all 

18 contracting activities carried out by each Adminis19 tration and staff office of the Department as of the 

20 date of the enactment of this section. 

21 ‘‘(2) The establishment of acquisition goals to 

22 meet the mission needs of the Department. 

23 ‘‘(3) The development of Department require24 ments with respect to acquisition. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The establishment of an overall acquisition 

2 strategy for the Department. 

3 ‘‘(5) Soliciting and awarding contracts. 

4 ‘‘(6) The management of acquisition system 

5 and contract performance. 

6 ‘‘(c) ACQUISITION REQUIREMENTS.—(1) Except as 

7 provided in paragraph (2), an acquisition of any health 

8 care item by the Department shall be made through the 

9 use of a Federal supply schedule 65 or 66 contract award10 ed by the Department or a national contract that is 

11 awarded by or approved by the Department. 

12 ‘‘(2)(A) Paragraph (1) does not apply to an acquisi13 tion of a health care item in any of the following cases: 

14 ‘‘(i) An acquisition necessary to meet a current 

15 or near-term medical emergency at a medical center. 

16 ‘‘(ii) An acquisition for an item not listed in the 

17 Federal supply schedule or as part of a national con18 tract and for which there is a valid clinical need. 

19 ‘‘(iii) An acquisition for a specialized health 

20 care item not listed in the Federal supply schedule 

21 or as part of a national contract for the special 

22 needs of an individual patient who has one of the 

23 special needs identified in section 1706(b) of this 

24 title and who has a valid clinical need for the item. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) An acquisition that is part of an approved 

2 sharing agreement between the Department of De3 fense and the Department of Veterans Affairs with 

4 demonstrable cost-per-item savings for an item listed 

5 on the Federal supply schedule or a national con6 tract. 

7 ‘‘(B) An acquisition referred to in any of clauses (i) 

8 through (v) of subparagraph (A) may be made only if the 

9 acquisition is specifically authorized in advance in writing 

10 by the Secretary. The authority of the Secretary under 

11 the preceding sentence with respect to contracts awarded 

12 by the Department may be delegated only to the Assistant 

13 Secretary for Acquisition, Construction, and Asset Man14 agement. 

15 ‘‘(3) Before entering into either a new Federal supply 

16 schedule contract or a new national contract, the Chief 

17 Acquisition Officer may amend any clause of the Federal 

18 Acquisition Regulation otherwise required to be included 

19 in the contract in such manner as the Chief Acquisition 

20 Officer determines necessary to protect the interests of the 

21 Government. 

22 ‘‘(4) In the case of an emergency acquisition of a 

23 health care item under paragraph (2)(B), the quantity of 

24 the item procured may not exceed the quantity of that 

25 item that meets the reasonably foreseeable need for the 


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1 item at the medical facility concerned until resupply can 

2 be achieved through an acquisition action other than an 

3 emergency acquisition. 

4 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURES TO ASSURE COMPLIANCE.—(1) 

5 The Secretary shall establish procedures to assure compli6 ance by each Department medical facility with the provi7 sions of this section and with applicable Federal and De8 partment acquisition regulations. 

9 ‘‘(2) The procedures established by the Secretary 

10 under paragraph (1) shall be designed to maximize the 

11 availability of health care items and the use of the Federal 

12 supply schedule by the Department. 

13 ‘‘(3) The procedures established by the Secretary 

14 under paragraph (1) shall include procedures designed to 

15 standardize items at the local, regional, or national level 

16 to provide special patient populations (as identified in sec17 tion 1706(b) of this title) with the range and types of 

18 health care items required to meet their clinical and qual19 ity-of-life needs. 

20 ‘‘(4) The Advisory Committee on Prosthetics and 

21 Special-Disabilities Programs established under section 

22 543 of this title shall review the procedures referred to 

23 in paragraph (3), including the implementation of those 

24 procedures. 


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1 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL GOALS.—(1) The Secretary shall estab2 lish annual goals for Department medical facilities for the 

3 purchase of health care items from Federal supply sched4 ule contracts and national contracts meeting the require5 ments of subsection (d). Such goals shall be designed to 

6 maximize the percentage of such purchases that are made 

7 through such contracts. 

8 ‘‘(2) Achievement of the goals established under this 

9 subsection shall be an element in the performance stand10 ards for employees of the Department who have the au11 thority and responsibility for achieving those goals. 

12 ‘‘(f) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROVISIONS OF

13 LAW.—A provision of law that is inconsistent with any 

14 provision of this section shall not apply, to the extent of 

15 the inconsistency, to the acquisition of a health care item 

16 for the Department. 

17 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—(1) Not later than December 31 each 

18 year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Vet19 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives 

20 a report on the acquisition of health care items during 

21 the preceding fiscal year. Each such report shall include, 

22 for the year covered by the report, the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) The total dollar amount of all items listed 

24 in Federal supply schedule 65 or 66 and the total 

25 dollar value of the exceptions to subsection (c)(1) 


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1 under each of clauses (i), (ii), (ii), (iv), and (v) of 

2 subsection (c)(2)(A), shown by medical facility. 

3 ‘‘(B) A detailed explanation for such exceptions, 

4 including— 

5 ‘‘(i) any uses of emergency acquisition au6 thority at Department medical facilities; 

7 ‘‘(ii) any authorizations under subsection 

8 (c)(2)(A) for acquisition of items not listed on 

9 the Federal supply schedules or on national 

10 contracts; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) any exceptions granted for special 

12 health care needs of veterans with disabilities 

13 described in section 1706(b) of this title. 

14 ‘‘(C) An analysis of sharing agreements be15 tween the Department and the Department of De16 fense, including the basic sharing initiative and the 

17 division of financial responsibility between the two 

18 Departments. 

19 ‘‘(D) The stated Department goal under each 

20 acquisition preference program, together with an as21 sessment of the performance of the Department to22 ward achievement of such goals, including any goals 

23 for contracting with businesses that are owned and 

24 controlled by veterans or veterans with service-con25 nected disabilities. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The Advisory Committee on Prosthetics and 

2 Special-Disabilities Programs of the Department shall 

3 submit comments on each report under paragraph (1) be4 fore the report is submitted under that paragraph, and 

5 the Secretary shall include those comments in the report 

6 as submitted. 

7 ‘‘(3) For the purposes of this subsection: 

8 ‘‘(A) The term ‘health care item’ includes any 

9 item other than services listed in any Federal Supply 

10 Classification other than Federal supply schedule 65 

11 or 66 over which the Department has been delegated 

12 authority. 

13 ‘‘(B) The term ‘national contract’ means a con14 tract for the acquisition of an item that is entered 

15 into by the National Acquisition Center of the De16 partment or another Department acquisition activ17 ity, as authorized by the Secretary, that is available 

18 for use by all Department medical facilities. 

19 ‘‘(C) The term ‘valid clinical need’ means a 

20 clinical need that is valid in the professional judg21 ment of an appropriate clinician. Such term applies 

22 to health care items, prosthetic appliances, sensory 

23 or mobility aids and supplies that are prescribed by 

24 a physician for special patient populations such as 

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1 putations, and other veterans included in section 

2 1706(b) of this title. 

3 ‘‘(D) The term ‘Federal supply schedule con4 tract’ means a contract that is awarded and admin5 istered by the National Acquisition Center of the 

6 Department, under a delegation of authority as of 

7 the date of the enactment of this section or a con8 tract that is awarded and administered by the De9 partment under regulations prescribed under section 

10 8130 of this title. 

11 ‘‘(E) The term ‘emergency acquisition’ means 

12 an acquisition necessary to meet an emergency need 

13 affecting the health or safety of a person being fur14 nished health care services by the Department.’’. 

15 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec16 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

17 by inserting after the item relating to section 8128 

18 the following new item: 

‘‘8129. Department-wide acquisition policy.’’. 

19 (b) DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The acquisi20 tion policy required by section 8129 of title 38, United 

21 States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall be fully im22 plemented by the date that is 18 months after the date 

23 of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF2 FAIRS TO ENTER INTO CERTAIN PERSONAL 

3 SERVICES CONTRACTS. 

4 (a) CONTRACTS FOR SCARCE MEDICAL SPECIALIST

5 SERVICES.—Section 7409(a) of title 38, United States 

6 Code, is amended, in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘, 

7 including personal services contracts,’’ after ‘‘contracts’’. 

8 (b) SHARING OF HEALTH CARE RESOURCES WITH

9 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—Section 8111(a) of such 

10 title is amended by inserting ‘‘, including personal services 

11 contracts,’’ after ‘‘contracts’’. 

12 (c) SHARING OF HEALTH CARE RESOURCES.—Sec13 tion 8153(a) of such title is amended by inserting ‘‘, in14 cluding a personal services contract,’’ after ‘‘contract’’. 

15 (d) DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS.—Not later than 

16 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

17 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall prescribe regulations 

18 to carry out the amendments made by this section. 

19 SEC. 6. AWARD AND ADMINISTRATION OF CERTAIN FED20 ERAL SUPPLY SCHEDULES BY SECRETARY OF 

21 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

22 (a) EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF COMPETITIVE

23 PROCEDURES.—Section 309(b) of the Federal Property 

24 and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 259) 

25 is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and 

4 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(6) the procedures established by the Sec8 retary of Veterans Affairs for the use of certain 

9 Federal supply schedules, pursuant to regulations 

10 prescribed under section 8130 of title 38, United 

11 States Code, if— 

12 ‘‘(A) the procedures provide that the use of 

13 any such supply schedule has been open to all 

14 responsible sources; and 

15 ‘‘(B) orders and contracts under such pro16 cedures result in the lowest cost alternative to 

17 meet the needs of the Government.’’. 

18 (b) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF19 FAIRS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 81 

21 of title 38, United States Code, as amended by sec22 tion 3, is further amended by adding at the end the 

23 following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 8130. Award and administration of certain Federal 

2 supply schedules 

3 ‘‘(a) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

4 regulations to provide procedures for soliciting, negoti5 ating, awarding, and administering the Federal supply 

6 schedules described in subsection (c). 

7 ‘‘(b) CONTRACT CLAUSE REQUIREMENTS.—The reg8 ulations prescribed under subsection (a) shall require that 

9 a contract entered into by the Secretary under a Federal 

10 supply schedule shall include pre- and post-award audit 

11 clauses, an economic price adjustment clause, a price re12 ductions clause, and a price adjustment for failure to pro13 vide accurate information clause. 

14 ‘‘(c) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply with 

15 respect to any Federal supply schedule for which the au16 thority to administer such schedule is transferred from the 

17 Administrator of General Services to the Secretary of Vet18 erans Affairs, whether such authority is transferred be19 fore, on, or after the date of the enactment of this sec20 tion.’’. 

21 (2) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

22 RULES AND REGULATIONS.—Until the Secretary of 

23 Veterans Affairs prescribes regulations under section 

24 8130(a) of title 38, United States Code (as added by 

25 paragraph (1)), the Secretary shall comply with the 

26 rules and regulations relating to the Federal supply 


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1 schedules prescribed by the Administrator of General 

2 Services that were in effect on the date of the enact3 ment of this Act. 

4 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec5 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

6 by inserting after the item relating to section 8130, 

7 as added by section 3, the following new item: 

‘‘8130. Administration of Federal supply schedule.’’. 

8 (4) DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS.—Not later 

9 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

10 this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall pre11 scribe the regulations required under section 8130 of 

12 title 38, United States Code, as added by paragraph 

13 (1). 

14 SEC. 7. IMPROVEMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF15 FAIRS SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACTING 

16 GOALS. 

17 (a) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Section 8127(c) of 

18 title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

20 end; 

21 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and 

22 inserting the following: ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

24 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(4) in the case of a contract for the purchase 

2 of a commercial item, the vendor of the item is a 

3 manufacturer or a regular dealer.’’. 

4 (b) COMPLAINT PROCESS FOR USE OF RESTRICTED

5 COMPETITION.—Subsection (d) of such section is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘Except as provided’’ and in8 serting ‘‘(1) Except as provided’’; and 

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

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(2) Any complaint regarding the noncompliance of 

12 a contracting officer with this subsection shall be sub13 mitted to the Secretary.’’. 

14 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—Subsection (e) of such section is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘only if the small business con17 cern and the veteran’’ and all that follows and in18 serting ‘‘only if—’’; and 

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

20 paragraphs: 

21 ‘‘(1) the small business concern and the veteran 

22 owner of the small business concern are listed in the 

23 database of veteran-owned businesses maintained by 

24 the Secretary under subsection (f); 


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1 ‘‘(2) the Secretary has performed the 

2 verification functions of the Secretary under para3 graph (4) of such subsection with respect to the 

4 small business concern; and 

5 ‘‘(3) the contract is only for the procurement of 

6 a good or service with an North American Industry 

7 Classification System code specified by the Secretary 

8 under paragraph (9) of that subsection for the small 

9 business concern.’’. 

10 (d) DATABASE.—Subsection (f) of such section is 

11 amended by adding at the end the following new para12 graphs: 

13 ‘‘(7) The Secretary may not include in the database 

14 a small business concern that is the vendor of a commer15 cial item unless the concern is the manufacturer or regular 

16 dealer of the item, unless the Secretary specifically pro17 vides for a waiver of such requirement for such concern. 

18 ‘‘(8) The Secretary shall establish specific criteria to 

19 be used in carrying out the verification functions under 

20 paragraph (4), including criteria requiring specific docu21 mentation and certifications from each small business con22 cern proposed to be included in the database. 

23 ‘‘(9) For each small business concern included in the 

24 database, the Secretary shall specify the North American 

25 Industry Classification System code or codes of the goods 


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1 and services that may be procured by the Department 

2 from such concern.’’. 

3 (e) DEFINITIONS.—Subsection (l) of such section is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following new items: 

5 ‘‘(3) The term ‘commercial item’ has the mean6 ing given that term in section 4(12) of the Office of 

7 Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 

8 203(12)) as long as items and services directly relat9 ing to the sale of such a commercial item are offered 

10 to commercial customers. 

11 ‘‘(4) The term ‘management and daily business 

12 operations’ includes— 

13 ‘‘(A) with respect to a contract for the pro14 vision of services, the services to be performed 

15 by a contract awarded under this section; and 

16 ‘‘(B) with respect to a contract for the pro17 vision of goods that are not manufactured by 

18 the small business concern in question, the pro19 vision of services relating directly to the sale of 

20 such goods. 

21 ‘‘(5) The term ‘regular dealer’ with respect to 

22 any contract means a person who owns, operates, or 

23 maintains a store, warehouse, or other establishment 

24 in which the commodities or goods of the general 

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1 quired under the contract are bought, kept in stock, 

2 and sold to the public in the usual course of busi3 ness.’’. 

4 (f) DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF CRITERIA.— 

5 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall estab7 lish criteria for the use of sole source contracts for Depart8 ment of Veterans Affairs contracts above the simplified 

9 acquisition threshold. 

Æ 


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