I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5250 

To use Federal purchasing power to create good jobs, rebuild the middle 

class, address income inequality, stimulate the economy, and to achieve 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 29, 2014 

Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To use Federal purchasing power to create good jobs, rebuild 

the middle class, address income inequality, stimulate 

the economy, and to achieve 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 ‘‘Restore Opportunity, 

5 Strengthen, and Improve the Economy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress of the United States 

8 finds the following: 


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1 (1) The disappearance of good jobs, the shrink2 ing of the middle class, and growing income inequal3 ity are the greatest domestic challenges confronting 

4 the Nation. 

5 (2) The United States Government is the larg6 est purchaser of goods and services in the Nation’s 

7 private-sector economy, spending over $1.5 trillion 

8 dollars annually at firms that employ a quarter of 

9 American workers. 

10 (3)(A) Federal purchasing power is currently 

11 creating millions of poverty-level jobs, subsidizing 

12 labor law-breakers, and funding ballooning executive 

13 compensation. 

14 (B) The Federal Government is the Nation’s 

15 leading creator of low-wage jobs in the private sec16 tor, funding more than 2,000,000 jobs paying under 

17 $12 per hour. 

18 (C) The Federal Government awards taxpayer 

19 dollars to a substantial number of firms that violate 

20 Federal labor, employment, and occupational safety 

21 laws. 

22 (D) Federal Government purchasing subsidizes 

23 the excessive salaries of private-sector executives 

24 who do business with the American people. 


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1 (4) When Federal purchasing power is used in 

2 such a manner, workers have less to spend on the 

3 necessities of life and are forced to rely on public as4 sistance. Lack of working purchasing power hurts 

5 job creation and undermines economic growth, ulti6 mately imposing significant costs on American tax7 payers. 

8 (5)(A) Federal purchasing power should be 

9 used to create good jobs, rebuild the middle class, 

10 and curb rising income inequality. 

11 (B) Federal purchasing power should be used 

12 to create good jobs for America. Good jobs allow 

13 workers and their families to live in dignity without 

14 relying on public assistance or private charity. Good 

15 jobs pay enough to provide for subsistence, health 

16 care, education, housing, and savings, as well as 

17 enough disposable income to allow workers to enjoy 

18 quality time off with their loved ones. 

19 (C) Federal purchasing power should be used to 

20 rebuild the middle class. A strong middle class stim21 ulates the economy by increasing consumer spending 

22 and job growth. 

23 (D) Federal purchasing power should be used 

24 to narrow the growing gulf between the richest one 

25 percent of the population and ordinary working famVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:33 Aug 01, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5250.IH H5250

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1 ilies that is threatening the survival of participatory 

2 democracy. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are the fol4 lowing: 

5 (1) To use Federal purchasing power to 

6 incentivize private-sector firms. 

7 (2) To create good jobs for America’s workers. 

8 (3) To rebuild America’s middle class. 

9 (4) To address America’s crisis of income in10 equality. 

11 (5) To invigorate the economy by increasing the 

12 purchasing power of working Americans. 

13 SEC. 3. GOOD JOBS MODEL EMPLOYER STANDARDS. 

14 For purposes of this Act, a Good Jobs Model Em15 ployer is one which meets the following standards: 

16 (1) Respects employees’ rights to bargain collec17 tively with their employers without being forced to 

18 take strike action to win better wages and working 

19 conditions. 

20 (2) Offers to each employee living wages, decent 

21 benefits including health care, paid leave for sickness 

22 and caregiving, and fair work schedules that are pre23 dictable and stable. 

24 (3) Affirmatively demonstrates an exemplary 

25 standard of compliance with workplace protection 


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1 laws, including laws governing labor relations, wages 

2 and hours, and health and safety, as well as other 

3 applicable labor laws. 

4 (4) Limits executive compensation to 50 times 

5 the median salary paid to the company’s workers. 

6 (5) Employs a workforce not less than 35 per7 cent of which reside within one or more Historically 

8 Underutilized Business Zones. 

9 (6) Subcontracts only with other Good Jobs 

10 Model Employers. 

11 SEC. 4. APPLICATION TO FEDERAL CONTRACTS AND AS12 SISTANCE. 

13 (a) ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARD OF PROCUREMENT

14 CONTRACTS.—In the award of a contract for the acquisi15 tion of supplies or services, an executive agency may not 

16 award the contract to a source that is not a Good Jobs 

17 Model Employer, unless there is no offer from a source 

18 that is a Good Jobs Model Employer. 

19 (b) ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARD OF FINANCIAL AND

20 NONFINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—An executive agency may 

21 not provide other forms of financial or nonfinancial assist22 ance to entities that are not model employers when there 

23 is a similarly situated Good Jobs Model Employer that 

24 could receive the assistance, unless doing so would subVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:17 Aug 01, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5250.IH H5250

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1 stantially undermine the value of the assistance to the 

2 public good. 

3 (c) INCORPORATION INTO FUTURE FEDERAL CON4 TRACTS AND ASSISTANCE AGREEMENTS.—Beginning on 

5 January 1, 2015, executive agencies shall incorporate into 

6 each new contract, contract-like instrument, or assistance 

7 agreement a clause requiring the contractor or recipient 

8 to conduct itself as a Good Jobs Model Employer for the 

9 duration of the contract. 

10 (d) EXCLUSIONS.—None of the provisions of this sec11 tion shall be interpreted to apply to— 

12 (1) direct Federal statutory entitlements; 

13 (2) mandatory awards; 

14 (3) direct awards to foreign governments or 

15 public international organizations; 

16 (4) benefits to an individual as a personal enti17 tlement; or 

18 (5) Federal employment. 

19 SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION. 

20 (a) GOOD JOBS MODEL EMPLOYER STANDARDS.— 

21 The Secretary of Labor shall promulgate regulations im22 plementing the Good Jobs Model Employer Standards of 

23 section 3(a) so as to effect the policy and purposes of this 

24 Act within 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

25 Act. The Secretary of Labor shall amend these regulations 


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1 as necessary so that they continue to effect the policy and 

2 purposes of this Act. 

3 (b) PROCUREMENT POLICY.—The Administrator of 

4 General Services, the Secretary of Defense, and the Ad5 ministrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Admin6 istration, in coordination with the Office of Federal Pro7 curement Policy, shall amend the Federal Acquisition Reg8 ulation within 180 days after the date of enactment of 

9 this Act to effect the policy and purposes of this Act, and 

10 subsequently as necessary to continue to effect the policy 

11 and purposes of this Act. 

12 (c) DEBARMENT OR SUSPENSION.— 

13 (1) An organization which acquires any form of 

14 financial or nonfinancial benefit or a contract from 

15 an executive agency through the operation of the 

16 procedure described in section 4 shall be placed on 

17 the Excluded Parties List enacted by Executive Or18 ders 12549 and 12689 for a period of at least 2 

19 years if it fails to remain a model employer for the 

20 duration of the benefit. 

21 (2) An organization which violates a Good Job 

22 Model Employer clause in a contract or agreement 

23 required by section 4(c) shall be placed on the Ex24 cluded Parties List enacted by Executive Orders 

25 12549 and 12689 for a period of 3 years. 


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1 (3) Parties which are suspended multiple times 

2 may be debarred permanently. 

3 SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY. 

4 If any provision of this Act, or applying such provi5 sion to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, 

6 the remainder of this Act and the application of the provi7 sions of such to any person or circumstance shall not be 

8 affected thereby. 

Æ 


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