Sec. 103. Scorecard program for evaluating Federal agency compliance with 
small business contracting goals. 
TITLE II—BUNDLING AND CONSOLIDATION OF CONTRACTING 
REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS 
Sec. 201. Data quality improvement. 
Sec. 202. Notice and justification requirements for bundling or consolidation of 
contract requirements. 
TITLE III—ENHANCING COMPETITION IN CONTRACTING FOR 
SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS 
Sec. 301. Joint venturing and teaming. 
Sec. 302. Limitations on reverse auctions. 
Sec. 303. Revision to the nonmanufacturer rule. 
TITLE IV—SMALL BUSINESS ACT PERSONNEL AMENDMENTS 
Sec. 401. Establishment of an Office of Hearings and Appeals in the Small 
Business Administration. 
Sec. 402. Training requirements for Procurement Center Representatives. 
Sec. 403. Training requirements for Business Opportunity Specialists. 
TITLE V—SIZE STANDARDS FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS 
Sec. 501. Petitions for reconsideration of size standards for small business con-
cerns. 
TITLE I—GOALING FOR SMALL 
BUSINESS CONCERNS 
SEC. 101. AMENDMENT TO GOVERNMENTWIDE GOAL FOR 
SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN PRO-
CUREMENT CONTRACTS. 
Section 15(g)(1)(A)(i) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 644(g)(1)(A)(i) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: ‘‘In meeting this goal, the Government shall 
ensure the participation of small business concerns from 
a wide variety of industries and from a broad spectrum 
of small business concerns within each industry.’’ 
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SEC. 102. INCLUDING SUBCONTRACTING GOALS IN AGENCY 
RESPONSIBILITIES. 
Section 1633(b) of the National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (Public Law 112–239; 126 
Stat. 2076; 15 U.S.C. 631 note) is amended by striking 
‘‘assume responsibility for of the agency’s success in 
achieving small business contracting goals and percent-
ages’’ and inserting ‘‘assume responsibility for the agen-
cy’s success in achieving each of the small business prime 
contracting and subcontracting goals and percentages’’. 
SEC. 103. SCORECARD PROGRAM FOR EVALUATING FED-
ERAL AGENCY COMPLIANCE WITH SMALL 
BUSINESS CONTRACTING GOALS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 
30, 2016, the Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration, in consultation with the Federal 
agencies, shall— 
(A) develop a methodology for calculating 
a score to be used to evaluate the compliance of 
each Federal agency with meeting the goals es-
tablished pursuant to section 15(g)(1)(B) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)(1)(B)); 
and 
(B) develop a scorecard based on such 
methodology. 
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(2) AGENCY ANNUAL GOAL.—In developing the 
methodology for calculating a score described in 
paragraph (1)(A), the Administrator shall consider 
each annual goal established by each Federal agency 
pursuant to section 15(g)(1)(B) of the Small Busi-
ness Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)(1)(B)). 
(3) USE OF SCORECARD.—Beginning in fiscal 
year 2017, the Administrator shall establish and 
carry out a program to use the scorecard developed 
under paragraph (1) to evaluate whether each Fed-
eral agency is creating the maximum practicable op-
portunities for the award of prime contracts and 
subcontracts to small business concerns, small busi-
ness concerns owned and controlled by service-dis-
abled veterans, qualified HUBZone small business 
concerns, small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by socially and economically disadvantaged 
individuals, and small business concerns owned and 
controlled by women, by assigning a score to each 
Federal agency. If the Administrator fails to estab-
lish and carry out this program before the end of 
fiscal year 2017, the Administrator may not exercise 
the authority under section 7(a)(25)(A) until such 
time as the program is implemented. 
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(4) CONTENTS OF SCORECARD.—The scorecard 
developed under paragraph (1) shall include, for 
each Federal agency, the following information: 
(A) A determination of whether the Fed-
eral agency met the each of the prime contract 
goals 
established 
pursuant 
to 
section 
15(g)(1)(B) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 644(g)(1)(B)) with respect to small 
business concerns, small business concerns 
owned and controlled by service-disabled vet-
erans, qualified HUBZone small business con-
cerns, small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by socially and economically disadvan-
taged individuals, and small business concerns 
owned and controlled by women. 
(B) A determination of whether the Fed-
eral agency met the each of the subcontract 
goals 
established 
pursuant 
to 
section 
15(g)(1)(B) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 644(g)(1)(B)) with respect to small 
business concerns, small business concerns 
owned and controlled by service-disabled vet-
erans, qualified HUBZone small business con-
cerns, small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by socially and economically disadvan-
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taged individuals, and small business concerns 
owned and controlled by women. 
(C) The number of small business con-
cerns, small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by service-disabled veterans, qualified 
HUBZone small business concerns, small busi-
ness concerns owned and controlled by socially 
and economically disadvantaged individuals, and 
small business concerns owned and controlled 
by women awarded prime contracts in each 
North American Industrial Classification Sys-
tem code during the fiscal year and a compari-
son to the number awarded contracts during 
the prior fiscal year, if available. 
(D) The number of small business con-
cerns, small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by service-disabled veterans, qualified 
HUBZone small business concerns, small busi-
ness concerns owned and controlled by socially 
and economically disadvantaged individuals, and 
small business concerns owned and controlled 
by women awarded subcontracts in each North 
American Industrial Classification System code 
during the fiscal year and a comparison to the 
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number awarded contracts during the prior fis-
cal year, if available. 
(E) Any other factors that the Adminis-
trator deems important to achieve the max-
imum practicable utilization of small business 
concerns, small business concerns owned and 
controlled by service-disabled veterans, qualified 
HUBZone small business concerns, small busi-
ness concerns owned and controlled by socially 
and economically disadvantaged individuals, and 
small business concerns owned and controlled 
by women. 
(5) WEIGHTED FACTORS.—In using the score-
card to evaluate and assign a score to a Federal 
agency, the Administrator shall base— 
(A) Fifty percent of the score on the dollar 
value of prime contracts described in paragraph 
(4)(A); and 
(B) Fifty percent of the score on the infor-
mation provided in subparagraphs (B) through 
(E) of paragraph (4), weighted in a manner de-
termined by the Administrator to encourage the 
maximum practicable opportunity for the award 
of prime contracts and subcontracts to small 
business concerns, small business concerns 
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owned and controlled by service-disabled vet-
erans, qualified HUBZone small business con-
cerns, small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by socially and economically disadvan-
taged individuals, and small business concerns 
owned and controlled by women. 
(6) PUBLICATION.—The scorecard used by the 
Administrator under this section shall be submitted 
to the President and Congress along with the report 
submitted under section 15(h)(2) of the Small Busi-
ness Act (15 U.S.C. 644(h)(2)). 
(7) REPORT.—After the Administrator submits 
the scorecard for fiscal year 2018, but not later than 
March 31, 2019, the Administrator shall report to 
the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Small Busi-
ness and Entrepreneurship of the Senate. Such re-
port shall include the following: 
(A) Any increase in the dollar amount of 
prime contracts and subcontracts awarded to 
small business concerns, small business con-
cerns owned and controlled by service-disabled 
veterans, qualified HUBZone small business 
concerns, small business concerns owned and 
controlled by socially and economically dis-
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terminating the program established under this 
section. 
(8) GAO REPORT
ON
SCORECARD
METHOD-
OLOGY.—Not later than September 30, 2018, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall sub-
mit to the Committee on Small Business of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 
a report that— 
(A) evaluates whether the methodology 
used to calculate a score under this section ac-
curately and effectively— 
(i) measures the compliance of each 
Federal agency with meeting the goals es-
tablished pursuant to section 15(g)(1)(B) 
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
644(g)(1)(B)); and 
(ii) encourages Federal agencies to ex-
pand opportunities for small business con-
cerns, small business concerns owned and 
controlled by service-disabled veterans, 
qualified HUBZone small business con-
cerns, small business concerns owned and 
controlled by socially and economically dis-
advantaged individuals, and small business 
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concerns owned and controlled by women 
to compete for and win Federal procure-
ment contracts across North American In-
dustrial Classification System Codes; and 
(B) if warranted, makes recommendations 
on how to improve such methodology to improve 
its accuracy and effectiveness. 
(9) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
(A) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Admin-
istrator’’ means the Administrator of the Small 
Business Administration. 
(B) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Fed-
eral agency’’ has the meaning given the term 
‘‘agency’’ by section 551(1) of title 5, United 
States Code, but does not include the United 
States Postal Service or the Government Ac-
countability Office. 
(C) SCORECARD.—The term ‘‘scorecard’’ 
shall mean any summary using a rating system 
to evaluate a Federal agency’s efforts to meet 
goals established under section 15(g)(1)(B) of 
the 
Small 
Business 
Act 
(15 
U.S.C. 
644(g)(1)(B)) that— 
(i) includes the measures described in 
paragraph (4); and 
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(ii) assigns a score to each Federal 
agency evaluated. 
(D) SMALL BUSINESS ACT DEFINITIONS.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘‘small 
business concern’’, ‘‘small business concern 
owned and controlled by service-disabled 
veterans’’, ‘‘qualified HUBZone small busi-
ness concern’’, and ‘‘small business con-
cern owned and controlled by women’’ shall 
have the meanings given such terms under 
section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 632). 
(ii) 
SMALL
BUSINESS
CONCERNS 
OWNED
AND
CONTROLLED
BY
SOCIALLY 
AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED IN-
DIVIDUALS.—The term ‘‘small business 
concern owned and controlled by socially 
and economically disadvantaged individ-
uals’’ has the meaning given that term 
under section 8(d)(3)(C) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(3)(C)). 
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TITLE II—BUNDLING AND CON-
SOLIDATION 
OF 
CON-
TRACTING 
REQUIREMENTS 
FOR SMALL BUSINESS CON-
CERNS 
SEC. 201. DATA QUALITY IMPROVEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 15(s) of the Small Busi-
ness Act (15. U.S.C. 644(s)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para-
graph (6); and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol-
lowing new paragraphs: 
‘‘(4) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than the 
first day of fiscal year 2017, the Administrator of 
the Small Business Administration shall implement 
the plan described in this subsection. If the Adminis-
trator fails to implement the plan by such date, the 
Administrator may not exercise the authority under 
section 7(a)(25)(A) until the plan is implemented. 
‘‘(5) CERTIFICATION.—The Administrator shall 
annually provide to the Committee on Small Busi-
ness of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of 
the Senate certification of the accuracy and com-
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pleteness of data reported on bundled and consoli-
dated contracts.’’. 
(b) GAO STUDY.— 
(1) STUDY.—Not later than the first day of fis-
cal year 2018, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall initiate a study on the effective-
ness of the plan described in section 15(s) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(s)) that shall as-
sess whether contracts were accurately labeled as 
bundled or consolidated. 
(2) CONTRACTS
EVALUATED.—For the pur-
poses of conducting the study described in para-
graph (1), the Comptroller General of the United 
States— 
(A) shall evaluate, for work in each of sec-
tors 23, 33, 54, and 56 (as defined by the 
North American Industry Classification Sys-
tem), not fewer than 100 contracts in each sec-
tor; 
(B) shall evaluate only those contracts— 
(i) awarded by an agency listed in sec-
tion 901(b) of title 31, United States 
Code; and 
(ii) that have a Base and Exercised 
Options Value, an Action Obligation, or a 
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Base and All Options Value (as such terms 
are defined in the Federal procurement 
data 
system 
described 
in 
section 
1222(a)(4)(A) of title 41, United States 
Code, or any successor system); and 
(C) shall not evaluate contracts that have 
used any set aside authority. 
(3) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after 
initiating the study required by paragraph (1), the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall re-
port to the Committee on Small Business of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 
on the results from such study and, if warranted, 
any recommendations on how to improve the quality 
of data reported on bundled and consolidated con-
tracts. 
SEC. 202. NOTICE AND JUSTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS 
FOR BUNDLING OR CONSOLIDATION OF CON-
TRACT REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) NOTICE OF CONTRACT CONSOLIDATION FOR AC-
QUISITION STRATEGIES.—Section 44(c)(2) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657q(c)(2)) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
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‘‘(C) NOTICE.—Not later than 7 days after 
making a determination that an acquisition 
strategy involving a consolidation of contract 
requirements is necessary and justified under 
subparagraph (A), the senior procurement exec-
utive or Chief Acquisition Officer shall publish 
a notice on a public website that such deter-
mination has been made. Any solicitation for a 
procurement related to the acquisition strategy 
may not be published earlier than 7 days after 
such notice is published. Along with the publi-
cation of the solicitation, the senior procure-
ment executive or Chief Acquisition Officer 
shall publish a justification for the determina-
tion, which shall include the information in sub-
paragraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1).’’. 
(b) NOTICE
OF CONTRACT CONSOLIDATION
FOR 
PROCUREMENT STRATEGIES.—Section 15(e)(3) of such 
Act (15 U.S.C. 644(e)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(3) STRATEGY SPECIFICATIONS.—If the head 
of a contracting agency determines that an acquisi-
tion plan for a procurement involves a substantial 
bundling of contract requirements, the head of a 
contracting agency shall publish a notice on a public 
website that such determination has been made not 
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later than 7 days after making such determination. 
Any solicitation for a procurement related to the ac-
quisition plan may not be published earlier than 7 
days after such notice is published. Along with the 
publication of the solicitation, the head of a con-
tracting agency shall publish a justification for the 
determination, which shall include the following in-
formation: 
‘‘(A) The specific benefits anticipated to be 
derived from the bundling of contract require-
ments and a determination that such benefits 
justify the bundling. 
‘‘(B) An identification of any alternative 
contracting approaches that would involve a 
lesser degree of bundling of contract require-
ments. 
‘‘(C) An assessment of— 
‘‘(i) the specific impediments to par-
ticipation by small business concerns as 
prime contractors that result from the 
bundling of contract requirements; and 
‘‘(ii) the specific actions designed to 
maximize small business participation as 
subcontractors (including suppliers) at var-
ious tiers under the contract or contracts 
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that are awarded to meet the require-
ments.’’. 
(c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 44(c)(1) of 
such Act (15 U.S.C. 657q(c)(1)) is amended by striking 
‘‘Subject to paragraph (4), the head’’ and inserting ‘‘The 
head’’. 
TITLE 
III—ENHANCING 
COM-
PETITION IN CONTRACTING 
FOR SMALL BUSINESS CON-
CERNS 
SEC. 301. JOINT VENTURING AND TEAMING. 
(a) JOINT VENTURE OFFERS
FOR BUNDLED
OR 
CONSOLIDATED CONTRACTS.—Section 15(e)(4) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(e)(4)) is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(4) CONTRACT TEAMING.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a solici-
tation of offers for a bundled or consolidated 
contract that is issued by the head of an agen-
cy, a small business concern may submit an 
offer that provides for use of a particular team 
of subcontractors or a joint venture of small 
business concerns for the performance of the 
contract. 
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‘‘(B) EVALUATION OF OFFERS.—The head 
of the agency shall evaluate the offer of a team 
or a joint venture of small business concerns in 
the same manner as other offers, with due con-
sideration to the capabilities of all of the pro-
posed subcontractors or members of the joint 
venture as follows: 
‘‘(i) TEAMS.—When evaluating an 
offer of a small business prime contractor 
whose offer includes a proposed team of 
small business subcontractors, the head of 
the agency shall consider the capabilities 
and past performance of each first tier 
subcontractor that is part of the team as 
the capabilities and past performance of 
the team. 
‘‘(ii) JOINT VENTURES.—When evalu-
ating an offer of a joint venture of small 
business concerns, if the joint venture does 
not have sufficient capabilities or past per-
formance to be considered for award of a 
contract opportunity, the head of the agen-
cy shall consider the capabilities and past 
performance of each member of the joint 
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venture as the capabilities past perform-
ance of the joint venture. 
‘‘(C) STATUS AS A SMALL BUSINESS CON-
CERN.—Participation of a small business con-
cern in a team or a joint venture under this 
paragraph shall not affect the status of that 
concern as a small business concern for any 
other purpose.’’. 
(b) TEAM AND JOINT VENTURES OFFERS FOR MUL-
TIPLE AWARD CONTRACTS.—Section 15(q)(1) of such Act 
(15 U.S.C. 644(q)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘AND JOINT 
VENTURE’’ before ‘‘REQUIREMENTS’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘Each Federal agency’’ and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Each Federal agen-
cy’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(B) TEAMS.—When evaluating an offer of 
a small business prime contractor whose offer 
includes a proposed team of small business sub-
contractors for any multiple award contract 
above the substantial bundling threshold of the 
Federal agency, the head of the agency shall 
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consider the capabilities and past performance 
of each first tier subcontractor that is part of 
the team as the capabilities and past perform-
ance of the offeror. 
‘‘(C) JOINT VENTURES.—When evaluating 
an offer of a joint venture of small business 
concerns for any multiple award contract above 
the substantial bundling threshold of the Fed-
eral agency, if the joint venture does not have 
sufficient capabilities or past performance to be 
considered for award of a contract opportunity, 
the head of the agency shall consider the capa-
bilities and past performance of each member of 
the joint venture as the capabilities and past 
performance of the joint venture.’’. 
(c) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this section, the Administrator of the 
Small Business Administration shall issue any regulations 
necessary to carry out the amendments made by this sec-
tion. 
SEC. 302. LIMITATIONS ON REVERSE AUCTIONS. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that, when used appropriately, reverse auctions may 
improve the Federal Government’s procurement of com-
mercially available commodities by increasing competition, 
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‘‘(1) DECISIONS
REGARDING
USE
OF
A
RE-
VERSE AUCTION.—The following decisions are the 
responsibility of the contracting officer and may not 
be delegated to any person except for another con-
tracting officer who meets the training requirements 
of paragraph (2): 
‘‘(A) A decision to use reverse auction 
methods as part of the competition for award of 
a contract. 
‘‘(B) Any decision made after the decision 
described in subsection (A) regarding the ap-
propriate evaluation criteria, the inclusion of 
vendors, the acceptability of vendor submissions 
(including decisions regarding timeliness), and 
the selection of the winner. 
‘‘(2) TRAINING REQUIRED.—Only a contracting 
officer who has received training on the appropriate 
use and supervision of reverse auction methods of 
contracting may supervise or use such methods in a 
procurement for a contract. The training shall be 
provided by, or similar to the training provided by, 
the Defense Acquisition University as described in 
section 824 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘Buck’ 
McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2015 (Public Law 113–291). 
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‘‘(3) NUMBER
OF
OFFERS; 
REVISIONS
TO 
BIDS.—A Federal agency may not award a contract 
using a reverse auction method if only one offer is 
received or if offerors do not have the ability to sub-
mit revised bids with lower prices throughout the 
course of the auction. 
‘‘(4) TECHNICALLY
ACCEPTABLE
OFFERS.—A 
Federal agency awarding a contract using a reverse 
auction method shall evaluate the technical accept-
ability of offers only as technically acceptable or un-
acceptable. 
‘‘(5) USE
OF
PRICE
RANKINGS.—A Federal 
agency may not award a contract using a reverse 
auction method if at any time during the award 
process the Federal agency misinforms an offeror 
about the price ranking of the offeror’s last offer 
submitted in relation to offers submitted by other 
offerors. 
‘‘(6) USE OF THIRD-PARTY AGENTS.—If a Fed-
eral agency uses a third party agent to assist with 
the award of contracts using a reverse auction meth-
od, the Federal agency shall ensure that— 
‘‘(A) inherently governmental functions (as 
such term is used in section 2303 of title 41, 
United States Code) are not performed by pri-
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vate contractors, including by the third party 
agent; 
‘‘(B) information on the past contract per-
formance of offerors created by the third party 
agent and shared with the Federal agency is 
collected, maintained, and shared in compliance 
with section 1126 of title 41, United States 
Code; 
‘‘(C) information on whether an offeror is 
a responsible source (as defined in section 113 
of title 41, United States Code) that is created 
by the third party agent and shared with the 
Federal agency is shared with the offeror and 
complies with section 8(b)(7) of this Act; and 
‘‘(D) disputes between the third party 
agent and an offeror may not be used to justify 
a determination that an offeror is not a respon-
sible source (as defined in section 113 of title 
41, United States Code) or to otherwise restrict 
the ability of an offeror to compete for the 
award of a contract or task or delivery order. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) CONTRACTING OFFICER.—The term ‘con-
tracting officer’ has the meaning given that term in 
section 2101(1) of title 41, United States Code. 
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‘‘(2) COVERED CONTRACT.—The term ‘covered 
contract’ means a contract— 
‘‘(A) for design and construction services; 
‘‘(B) for goods purchased to protect Fed-
eral employees, members of the Armed Forces, 
or civilians from bodily harm; or 
‘‘(C) for goods or services other than those 
goods or services described in subparagraph (A) 
or (B)— 
‘‘(i) to be awarded based on factors 
other than price and technical responsi-
bility; or 
‘‘(ii) if awarding the contract requires 
the contracting officer to conduct discus-
sions with the offerors about their offer. 
‘‘(3) DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES.— 
The term ‘design and construction services’ means— 
‘‘(A) site planning and landscape design; 
‘‘(B) architectural and interior design; 
‘‘(C) engineering system design; 
‘‘(D) performance of construction work for 
facility, infrastructure, and environmental res-
toration projects; 
‘‘(E) delivery and supply of construction 
materials to construction sites; 
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‘‘(F) construction, alteration, or repair, in-
cluding painting and decorating, of public build-
ings and public works; and 
‘‘(G) architectural and engineering services 
as defined in section 1102 of title 40, United 
States Code. 
‘‘(4) REVERSE
AUCTION.—The term ‘reverse 
auction’ means, with respect to procurement by an 
agency, an auction between a group of offerors who 
compete against each other by submitting offers for 
a contract or task or delivery order with the ability 
to submit revised offers with lower prices throughout 
the course of the auction.’’. 
SEC. 303. REVISION TO THE NONMANUFACTURER RULE. 
(a) PROCUREMENT CONTRACTS.—Section 8(a)(17) 
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)(17)) is 
amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘any pro-
curement contract’’ and all that follows through 
‘‘section 15’’ and inserting ‘‘any procurement con-
tract, which contract has as its principal purpose the 
supply of a product to be let pursuant to this sub-
section or subsection (m), or section 15(a), 31, or 
36,’’; and 
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(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—This paragraph shall not 
apply to a contract that has as its principal purpose 
the acquisition of services or construction.’’. 
(b) SUBCONTRACTOR CONTRACTS.—Section 46(a)(4) 
of such Act (15 U.S.C. 657s(a)(4)) is amended by striking 
‘‘for supplies from a regular dealer in such supplies’’ and 
inserting ‘‘which is principally for supplies from a regular 
dealer in such supplies, and which is not a contract prin-
cipally for services or construction,’’. 
TITLE IV—SMALL BUSINESS ACT 
PERSONNEL AMENDMENTS 
SEC. 401. ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OFFICE OF HEARINGS 
AND APPEALS IN THE SMALL BUSINESS AD-
MINISTRATION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OFFICE OF HEARINGS 
AND APPEALS IN THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRA-
TION.—Section 5 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
634) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(i) OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
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‘‘(A) OFFICE.—There is established in the 
Administration an Office of Hearings and Ap-
peals— 
‘‘(i) to impartially decide matters re-
lating to program decisions of the Admin-
istrator— 
‘‘(I) for which Congress requires 
a hearing on the record; or 
‘‘(II) that the Administrator des-
ignates for hearing by regulation; and 
‘‘(ii) which shall contain the office of 
the Administration that handles requests 
submitted pursuant to sections 552 of title 
5, United States Code (commonly referred 
to as the ‘Freedom of Information Act’) 
and maintains records pursuant to section 
552a of title 5, United States Code (com-
monly referred to as the ‘Privacy Act of 
1974’). 
‘‘(B) JURISDICTION.—The Office of Hear-
ings and Appeals shall only hear appeals of 
matters as described in the this Act, the Small 
Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 
661 et seq.), and title 13 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations. 
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‘‘(C) ASSOCIATE
ADMINISTRATOR.—The 
head of the Office of Hearings and Appeals 
shall be the Chief Hearing Officer appointed 
under section 4(b)(1), who shall be responsible 
to the Administrator. 
‘‘(2) CHIEF HEARING OFFICER DUTIES.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Chief Hearing 
Officer shall— 
‘‘(i) be a career appointee in the Sen-
ior Executive Service and an attorney li-
censed by a State, commonwealth, territory 
or possession of the United States, or the 
District of Columbia; and 
‘‘(ii) be responsible for the operation 
and management of the Office of Hearings 
and Appeals. 
‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE
DISPUTE
RESOLU-
TION.—The Chief Hearing Officer may assign a 
matter for mediation or other means of alter-
native dispute resolution. 
‘‘(3) HEARING OFFICERS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Hear-
ings and Appeals shall appoint Hearing Officers 
to carry out the duties described in paragraph 
(1)(A)(i). 
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‘‘(B) CONDITIONS
OF
EMPLOYMENT.—A 
Hearing Officer appointed under this para-
graph— 
‘‘(i) shall serve in the excepted service 
as an employee of the Administration 
under section 2103 of title 5, United 
States Code, and under the supervision of 
the Chief Hearing Officer; 
‘‘(ii) shall be classified at a position to 
which section 5376 of title 5, United 
States Code, applies; and 
‘‘(iii) shall be compensated at a rate 
not exceeding the maximum rate payable 
under such section. 
‘‘(C) 
AUTHORITY; 
POWERS.—Notwith-
standing section 556(b) of title 5, United States 
Code, a Hearing Officer— 
‘‘(i) shall have the authority to hear 
claims arising under section 554 of such 
title; 
‘‘(ii) shall have the powers described 
in section 556(c) of such title; and 
‘‘(iii) shall conduct hearings and issue 
decisions in the manner described under 
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sections 555, 556, and 557 of such title, as 
applicable. 
‘‘(D) TREATMENT
OF
CURRENT
PER-
SONNEL.—An individual serving as a Judge in 
the Office of Hearings and Appeals (as that po-
sition and office are designated in section 
134.101 of title 13, Code of Federal Regula-
tions) on the effective date of this subsection 
shall be considered as qualified to be and redes-
ignated as a Hearing Officer. 
‘‘(4) HEARING
OFFICER
DEFINED.—In this 
subsection, the term ‘Hearing Officer’ means an in-
dividual appointed or redesignated under this sub-
section who is an attorney licensed by a State, com-
monwealth, territory or possession of the United 
States, or the District of Columbia.’’. 
(b) ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR AS CHIEF HEARING 
OFFICER.—Section 4(b)(1) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 
633(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘One such Associate Administrator shall be the Chief 
Hearing Officer, who shall administer the Office of Hear-
ings and Appeals established under section 5(i).’’. 
(c) REPEAL OF REGULATION.—Section 134.102(t) of 
title 13, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on Janu-
ary 1, 2015 (relating to types of hearings within the juris-
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diction of the Office of Hearings and Appeals) shall have 
no force or effect. 
SEC. 402. TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FOR PROCUREMENT 
CENTER REPRESENTATIVES. 
Section 15(l)(5)(A)(iii) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 644(l)(5)(A)(iii)) is amended by striking ‘‘except 
that’’ and all that follows through the period at the end 
and inserting the following: ‘‘except that— 
‘‘(I) any person serving in such a 
position on or before January 3, 
2013, may continue to serve in that 
position for a period of 5 years with-
out the required certification; and 
‘‘(II) any person hired for such 
position after January 3, 2013, may 
have up to one calendar year from the 
date of employment to obtain the re-
quired certification.’’. 
SECTION 403. TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FOR BUSINESS 
OPPORTUNITY SPECIALISTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 633) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS BUSINESS OP-
PORTUNITY SPECIALISTS.—A Business Opportunity Spe-
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cialist described under section 7(j)(10)(D) shall have a 
Level I Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting 
(or any successor certification) or the equivalent Depart-
ment of Defense certification, except that— 
‘‘(1) a Business Opportunity Specialist who was 
serving on or before January 3, 2013, may continue 
to serve as a Business Opportunity Specialist for a 
period of 5 years beginning on such date without 
such a certification; and 
‘‘(2) any person hired as a Business Oppor-
tunity Specialist after January 3, 2013, may have 
up to one calendar year from the date of employ-
ment to obtain the required certification.’’. 
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
7(j)(10)(D)(i) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 636(j)(10)(D)(i)) is 
amended by striking the second sentence. 
TITLE V—SIZE STANDARDS FOR 
SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS 
SEC. 501. PETITIONS FOR RECONSIDERATION OF SIZE 
STANDARDS 
FOR 
SMALL 
BUSINESS 
CON-
CERNS. 
Section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
632(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(9) PETITIONS
FOR
RECONSIDERATION
OF 
SIZE STANDARDS.— 
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tion precedent to judicial review of any such 
size standard.’’. 
Æ 
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