Commercial Market Representatives Clarification Act

To amend the Small Business Act to clarify the responsibilities of Commercial Market Representatives, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the The Commercial Market Representatives Clarification Act 2. Responsibilities of Commercial Market Representatives Section 4(h) of the Small Business Act (as added by section 865 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 ( Public Law 114–92 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking Certification requirements for (2) in paragraph (2), by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively (and conforming the margins accordingly); (3) by amending clause (ii) (as so redesignated) to read as follows: (B) Application The requirements of clause (i) shall be included in any initial job posting for the position of a commercial market representative and shall apply to any person appointed as a commercial market representative after November 25, 2015. ; (4) in clause (i) (as so redesignated), by striking paragraph (2) subparagraph (A) (5) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively (and conforming the margins accordingly); (6) in subparagraph (A) (as so redesignated), by striking paragraph (2) subparagraph (B) (7) by inserting before subparagraph (A) (as so redesignated) the following: (1) Duties The principal duties of a Commercial Market Representative employed by the Administrator and reporting to the senior official appointed by the Administrator with responsibilities under sections 8, 15, 31, and 36 (or the designee of such official) shall be to advance the policies established in section 8(d)(1) relating to subcontracting. Such duties shall include— (A) helping prime contractors to find small business concerns that are capable of performing subcontracts; (B) for contractors awarded contracts containing the clause described in section 8(d)(3), providing— (i) counseling on the contractor’s responsibility to maximize subcontracting opportunities for small business concerns; (ii) instruction on methods and tools to identify potential subcontractors that are small business concerns; and (iii) assistance to increase awards to subcontractors that are small business concerns through visits, training, and reviews of past performance; (C) providing counseling on how a small business concern may promote its capacity to contractors awarded contracts containing the clause described in section 8(d)(3); and (D) conducting periodic reviews of contractors awarded contracts containing the clause described in section 8(d)(3) to assess compliance with subcontracting plans required under section 8(d)(6). (2) Certification requirements .

Summary: Commercial Market Representatives Clarification Act This bill amends the Small Business Act to specify the principal duties of Commercial Market Representatives, government contracting staff stationed at area Small Business Administration (SBA) offices and reporting to specified senior SBA officers. Such duties shall include: helping prime federal government contractors to find small business concerns capable of performing subcontracts; counseling such contractors on their responsibility to maximize subcontracting opportunities for small business concerns; instructing such contractors on methods and tools to identify potential subcontractors that are small business concerns; assisting such constractors to increase awards to small business subcontractors through visits, training, and reviews of past performance; giving counseling on how a small business concern may promote its capacity to such contractors; and conducting periodic reviews of such contractors to assess compliance with required subcontracting plans regarding small business subcontractors.