I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1859
To assure quality and best value with respect to Federal construction projects
by prohibiting the practice known as bid shopping.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 16, 2001
Mr. KANJORSKI (for himself, Mr. HORN, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr.
SANDERS, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. PALLONE, and Mr. AN-
DREWS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Government Reform
A BILL
To assure quality and best value with respect to Federal
construction projects by prohibiting the practice known
as bid shopping.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Construction Quality
Assurance Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Certain unfair and undesirable practices,
known as bid shopping, have arisen between contrac-
tors and subcontractors from time to time in con-
struction work for the Federal Government.
(2) Bid shopping threatens the integrity of the
competitive bid system, which well serves the con-
struction industry and the economy.
(3) Bid shopping deprives taxpayers of the full
benefits of fair competition among contractors and
subcontractors, and often results in poor quality of
material and workmanship to the detriment of the
public.
(4) Because when bid shopping occurs the cost
savings gained are not passed on to the Federal
Government, while the simultaneous reduction in
quality and value are passed on, the procurement
practices of the Federal Government should be modi-
fied to prohibit bid shopping.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘contract’’ means
any contract with the Federal Government, exceed-
ing $1,000,000 in amount, for the construction, al-
teration, or repair of any public building or public
work of the United States.
(2) BID SHOPPING.—The term ‘‘bid shopping’’
means the practice of a contractor asking, requiring,
or otherwise pressuring a subcontractor to lower
bids for subcontracts, or accepting lower bids from
subcontractors, after submitting a bid without pass-
ing the savings from the lower bids back to the Fed-
eral Government.
(3) 
CONTRACTOR.—The 
term 
‘‘contractor’’
means an individual or entity that has been awarded
a contract by the Federal Government.
(4) 
SUBCONTRACTOR.—The 
term 
‘‘subcon-
tractor’’ means an individual or entity with whom a
bidder on a contract proposes to enter into a sub-
contract for manufacturing, supplying, fabricating,
installing, or otherwise performing with respect to
the contract, whether the work is to be performed by
the subcontractor at the construction site or off the
site.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION AGAINST BID SHOPPING.
(a) IN GENERAL.—No contractor or subcontractor
shall participate in the practice of bid shopping with re-
spect to a contract.
(b) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—Any invitation to bid or
request for proposal issued by the Federal Government
with respect to a contract shall include a clause explicitly
prohibiting the practice of bid shopping and specifying the
penalties for violating the prohibition against bid shop-
ping.
SEC. 5. PENALTIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—A contracting officer who becomes
aware of a violation of the prohibition described in section
4(a) shall exercise the option of—
(1) canceling the contract; or
(2) imposing liquidated damages, the amount of
which shall be 3 times the difference between the
subcontractor’s final bid before the award of the
contract and the ultimate price of the subcontracted
work.
(b) GROUNDS FOR SUSPENSION OR DEBARMENT.—
The imposition of liquidated damages on a contractor with
respect to 2 contracts within a 5-year period shall be
deemed to be adequate evidence of the commission of an
offense indicating a lack of business integrity or business
honesty that seriously and directly affects the present re-
sponsibility of a Government contractor within the mean-
ing of part 9.4 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (De-
barment, Suspension, and Eligibility) (49 CFR 9.4).
SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION THROUGH THE FEDERAL ACQUI-
SITION REGULATION.
The Federal Acquisition Regulation shall be modified
to provide appropriate solicitation provisions, contract