I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1362 

To reform acquisition practices of the Federal Government. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 6, 2007 

Mr. WAXMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the 

Committee on Armed Services, 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 reform acquisition practices of the Federal Government. 

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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Accountability in Contracting Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

TITLE I—LIMITING THE USE OF ABUSE-PRONE CONTRACTS 

Sec. 101. Limitation on length of noncompetitive contracts. 

Sec. 102. Minimizing sole-source contracts. 

Sec. 103. Minimizing cost-reimbursement type contracts. 


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TITLE II—INCREASING CONTRACT OVERSIGHT 

Sec. 201. Public disclosure of justification and approval documents for noncompetitive contracts. 

Sec. 202. Disclosure of Government contractor overcharges. 

Sec. 203. Funding contract oversight. 

TITLE III—DETERRING CORRUPTION IN CONTRACTING 

Sec. 301. Additional provisions relating to procurement officials. 

1 TITLE I—LIMITING THE USE OF 

2 ABUSE-PRONE CONTRACTS 

3 SEC. 101. LIMITATION ON LENGTH OF NONCOMPETITIVE 

4 CONTRACTS. 

5 (a) REVISION OF FAR.—Not later than one year 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal 

7 Acquisition Regulation shall be revised to restrict the con8 tract period of any contract described in subsection (c) 

9 to the minimum contract period necessary— 

10 (1) to meet the urgent and compelling require11 ments of the work to be performed under the con12 tract; and 

13 (2) to enter into another contract for the re14 quired goods or services through the use of competi15 tive procedures. 

16 (b) CONTRACT PERIOD.—The regulations promul17 gated under subsection (a) shall require the contract pe18 riod to not exceed 240 days, unless the head of the execu19 tive agency concerned determines that exceptional cir20 cumstances apply. 


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1 (c) COVERED CONTRACTS.—This section applies to 

2 any contract in an amount greater than the simplified ac3 quisition threshold entered into by an executive agency 

4 using procedures other than competitive procedures pursu5 ant to the exception provided in section 303(c)(2) of the 

6 Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 

7 (41 U.S.C. 253(c)(2)) or section 2304(c)(2) of title 10, 

8 United States Code. 

9 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) The term ‘‘executive agency’’ has the mean11 ing provided in section 4(1) of the Office of Federal 

12 Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(1)). 

13 (2) The term ‘‘head of the executive agency’’ 

14 means the head of an executive agency except that, 

15 in the case of a military department, the term means 

16 the Secretary of Defense. 

17 SEC. 102. MINIMIZING SOLE-SOURCE CONTRACTS. 

18 (a) PLANS REQUIRED.—Subject to subsection (c), 

19 the head of each executive agency covered by title III of 

20 the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 

21 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251 et seq.) and the head of each agency 

22 covered by chapter 137 of title 10, United States Code, 

23 shall develop and implement a plan to minimize the use 

24 of contracts entered into using procedures other than com25 petitive procedures by the agency concerned. The plan 


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1 shall contain measurable goals and shall be completed and 

2 submitted to the Committee on Oversight and Government 

3 Reform of the House of Representatives, the Committee 

4 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

5 Senate, and the Committees on Appropriations of the 

6 House of Representatives and the Senate with a copy pro7 vided to the Comptroller General, not later than 1 year 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 (b) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW.—The Comp10 troller General shall review the plans provided under sub11 section (a) and submit a report to Congress on the plans 

12 not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment 

13 of this Act. 

14 (c) REQUIREMENT LIMITED TO CERTAIN AGEN15 CIES.—The requirement of subsection (a) shall apply only 

16 to those agencies that awarded contracts in a total amount 

17 of at least $1,000,000,000 in the fiscal year preceding the 

18 fiscal year in which the report is submitted. 

19 SEC. 103. MINIMIZING COST-REIMBURSEMENT TYPE CON20 TRACTS. 

21 (a) PLANS REQUIRED.—Subject to subsection (c), 

22 the head of each executive agency covered by title III of 

23 the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 

24 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251 et seq.) and the head of each agency 

25 covered by chapter 137 of title 10, United States Code, 


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1 shall develop and implement a plan to minimize the use 

2 of cost-reimbursement type contracts by the agency con3 cerned. The plan shall contain measurable goals and shall 

4 be completed and submitted to the Committee on Over5 sight and Government Reform of the House of Represent6 atives, the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern7 mental Affairs of the Senate, and the Committees on Ap8 propriations of the House of Representatives and the Sen9 ate with a copy provided to the Comptroller General, not 

10 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

11 Act. 

12 (b) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW.—The Comp13 troller General shall review the plans provided under sub14 section (a) and submit a report to Congress on the plans 

15 not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act. 

17 (c) REQUIREMENT LIMITED TO CERTAIN AGEN18 CIES.—The requirement of subsection (a) shall apply only 

19 to those agencies that awarded contracts in a total amount 

20 of at least $1,000,000,000 in the fiscal year preceding the 

21 fiscal year in which the report is submitted. 


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1 TITLE II—INCREASING 

2 CONTRACT OVERSIGHT 

3 SEC. 201. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF JUSTIFICATION AND AP4 PROVAL DOCUMENTS FOR NONCOMPETITIVE 

5 CONTRACTS. 

6 (a) CIVILIAN AGENCY CONTRACTS.—— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Federal 

8 Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 

9 (41 U.S.C. 253) is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(j)(1) In the case of a procurement permitted by 

12 subsection (c), the head of an executive agency shall make 

13 publicly available, within 14 days after the award of the 

14 contract, the documents containing the justification and 

15 approval required by subsection (f)(1) with respect to the 

16 procurement. 

17 ‘‘(2) The documents shall be made available on the 

18 website of the agency and through the Federal Procure19 ment Data System. 

20 ‘‘(3) This subsection does not require the public avail21 ability of information that is exempt from public disclosure 

22 under section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

23 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 303(f) 

24 of such Act is amended— 

25 (A) by striking paragraph (4); and 


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1 (B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 

2 paragraph (4). 

3 (b) DEFENSE AGENCY CONTRACTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2304 of title 10, 

5 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(l)(1) In the case of a procurement permitted by 

8 subsection (c), the head of an agency shall make publicly 

9 available, within 14 days after the award of the contract, 

10 the documents containing the justification and approval 

11 required by subsection (f)(1) with respect to the procure12 ment. 

13 ‘‘(2) The documents shall be made available on the 

14 website of the agency and through the Federal Procure15 ment Data System. 

16 ‘‘(3) This subsection does not require the public avail17 ability of information that is exempt from public disclosure 

18 under section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

19 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

20 2304(f) of such title is amended— 

21 (A) by striking paragraph (4); and 

22 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and 

23 (6) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively. 


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1 SEC. 202. DISCLOSURE OF GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR 

2 OVERCHARGES. 

3 (a) QUARTERLY REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

4 (1) The head of each Federal agency or depart5 ment shall submit to the chairman and ranking 

6 member of each committee specified in paragraph 

7 (2) on a quarterly basis a report that includes the 

8 following: 

9 (A) A list of audits or other reports issued 

10 during the applicable quarter that describe con11 tractor costs in excess of $1,000,000 that have 

12 been identified as unjustified, unsupported, 

13 questioned, or unreasonable under any contract, 

14 task or delivery order, or subcontract. 

15 (B) The specific amounts of costs identi16 fied as unjustified, unsupported, questioned, or 

17 unreasonable and the percentage of their total 

18 value of the contract, task or delivery order, or 

19 subcontract. 

20 (C) A list of audits or other reports issued 

21 during the applicable quarter that identify sig22 nificant or substantial deficiencies in the per23 formance of any contractor or in any business 

24 system of any contractor under any contract, 

25 task or delivery order, or subcontract. 


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1 (2) The report described in paragraph (1) shall 

2 be submitted to the Committee on Oversight and 

3 Government Reform of the House of Representa4 tives, the Committee on Homeland Security and 

5 Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committees 

6 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

7 and the Senate, and other committees of jurisdic8 tion. 

9 (3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an agency 

10 or department with respect to a calendar quarter if 

11 no audits or other reports described in paragraph 

12 (1) were issued during that quarter. 

13 (b) SUBMISSION OF INDIVIDUAL AUDITS.—The head 

14 of each Federal agency or department shall provide, within 

15 14 days after a request in writing by the chairman or 

16 ranking member of any of the committees described in 

17 subsection (a)(2), a full and unredacted copy of any audit 

18 or other report described in subsection (a)(1). 

19 SEC. 203. FUNDING CONTRACT OVERSIGHT. 

20 (a) CIVILIAN AGENCY CONTRACTS.—Title III of the 

21 Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 

22 (41 U.S.C. 251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

23 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 318. REQUIREMENT FOR 1 PERCENT OF CONTRACT 

2 AMOUNTS TO BE USED FOR CONTRACT PER3 SONNEL, ADMINISTRATION, OVERSIGHT, AND 

4 PLANNING. 

5 ‘‘In addition to the sums used for the purposes listed 

6 in this section as of the date of the enactment of this sec7 tion, each fiscal year, the head of an executive agency shall 

8 ensure that the agency uses an additional amount equal 

9 to 1 percent of the aggregate amount of contracts entered 

10 into by the agency during that fiscal year for the following 

11 purposes: 

12 ‘‘(1) Hiring and training of acquisition work13 force personnel. 

14 ‘‘(2) Contract planning. 

15 ‘‘(3) Contract administration and oversight. 

16 ‘‘(4) Contract audits and enforcement.’’. 

17 (b) DEFENSE CONTRACTS.—Chapter 141 of title 10, 

18 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

19 following new section: 

20 ‘‘§ 2410p. Requirement for 1 percent of contract 

21 amounts to be used for contract per22 sonnel, administration, oversight, and 

23 planning 

24 ‘‘In addition to the sums used for the purposes listed 

25 in this section as of the date of the enactment of this sec26 tion, each fiscal year, the head of an agency (as defined 


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1 in section 2302(1) of this title) shall ensure that the agen2 cy uses an additional amount equal to 1 percent of the 

3 aggregate amount of contracts entered into by the agency 

4 during that fiscal year for the following purposes: 

5 ‘‘(1) Hiring and training of acquisition work6 force personnel. 

7 ‘‘(2) Contract planning. 

8 ‘‘(3) Contract administration and oversight. 

9 ‘‘(4) Contract audits and enforcement.’’. 

10 TITLE III—DETERRING 

11 CORRUPTION IN CONTRACTING 

12 SEC. 301. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO PRO13 CUREMENT OFFICIALS. 

14 (a) ELIMINATION OF LOOPHOLES THAT ALLOW

15 FORMER FEDERAL OFFICIALS TO ACCEPT COMPENSA16 TION FROM CONTRACTORS OR RELATED ENTITIES.—Sec17 tion 27(d) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy 

18 Act (41 U.S.C. 423(d)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘or consultant’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘consultant, lawyer, or lobbyist’’; 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘one year’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘two years’’; and 

24 (C) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘per25 sonally made for the Federal agency—’’ and inVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:44 Mar 07, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1362.IH H1362

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1 serting ‘‘participated personally and substan2 tially in—’’; and 

3 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not prohibit a former offi6 cial of a Federal agency from accepting compensation 

7 from any division or affiliate of a contractor that does not 

8 produce the same or similar products or services as the 

9 entity of the contractor that is responsible for the contract 

10 referred to in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of such para11 graph if the agency’s designated ethics officer determines 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(A) the offer of compensation is not a reward 

14 for any action described in paragraph (1); and 

15 ‘‘(B) acceptance of the compensation is appro16 priate and will not affect the integrity of the pro17 curement process.’’. 

18 (b) REQUIREMENT FOR FEDERAL PROCUREMENT

19 OFFICERS TO DISCLOSE JOB OFFERS MADE ON BEHALF

20 OF RELATIVES.—Section 27(c)(1) of such Act (41 U.S.C. 

21 423(c)(1)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘that official’’ 

22 the following: ‘‘or for a relative of that official (as defined 

23 in section 3110 of title 5, United States Code)’’. 

24 (c) REQUIREMENT ON AWARD OF GOVERNMENT

25 CONTRACTS TO FORMER EMPLOYERS.—Section 27 of 


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1 such Act (41 U.S.C. 423) is amended by adding at the 

2 end the following new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITION ON INVOLVEMENT BY CERTAIN

4 FORMER CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES IN PROCURE5 MENTS.—An employee of the Federal Government who is 

6 a former employee of a contractor with the Federal Gov7 ernment shall not be personally and substantially involved 

8 with any award of a contract to the employee’s former em9 ployer, or the administration of such a contract, for the 

10 two-year period beginning on the date on which the em11 ployee leaves the employment of the contractor.’’. 

12 (d) REGULATIONS.—Section 27 of such Act (41 

13 U.S.C. 423) is further amended by adding at the end the 

14 following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(j) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator, in consulta16 tion with the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) promulgate regulations to carry out and 

19 ensure the enforcement of this section; and 

20 ‘‘(2) monitor and investigate individual and 

21 agency compliance with this section.’’. 

22 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

24 of this Act, except that the amendment made by subVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:44 Mar 07, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1362.IH H1362

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1 section (a)(1)(B) shall apply to individuals who terminate 

2 Government service after March 31, 2007. 

Æ 


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