I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2568 
To amend the Small Business Act to ensure fairness and transparency in 
contracting with small business concerns. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 21, 2009 
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. GENE GREEN of 
Texas, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. CARDOZA, Ms. BORDALLO, 
Mr. FILNER, and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Small Business, and in addition 
to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to 
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Small Business Act to ensure fairness and 
transparency in contracting with small business concerns. 
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 ‘‘Fairness and Trans-
parency in Contracting Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
19:15 May 24, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2568.IH
H2568
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
(1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 
and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 
(2) the term ‘‘parent company’’, relating to a 
business concern, means a person other than an in-
dividual that owns not less than 51 percent of that 
business concern; 
(3) the terms ‘‘small business concern’’, ‘‘small 
business concern owned and controlled by veterans’’, 
‘‘small business concern owned and controlled by 
service-disabled veterans’’, and ‘‘small business con-
cern owned and controlled by women’’ have the 
meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632), as amended by this 
Act; and 
(4) the term ‘‘small business concern owned 
and controlled by socially and economically disadvan-
taged individuals’’ has the meaning given that term 
in section 8(d)(3)(C) of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 637(d)(3)(C)). 
SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to modify the definitions 
relating to whether a business concern qualifies as a small 
business concern, to establish additional requirements that 
ensure that no publically traded business concern, sub-
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
19:15 May 24, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2568.IH
H2568
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
sidiary of a publically traded business concern, foreign- 
owned business concern, or subsidiary of a foreign-owned 
business concern is considered a small business concern 
for the purpose of Federal Government contracting and 
subcontracting, including for procurement goals. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN AND 
STATUS REVIEW. 
Section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
632(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—In this subsection, the 
term ‘independently owned and operated’ does not 
include a business concern— 
‘‘(i) that is— 
‘‘(I) an issuer of a class of securities 
registered or that is required to be reg-
istered pursuant to section 12 of the Secu-
rities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 
78l) or that is required to file reports pur-
suant to section 15(d) of that Act (15 
U.S.C. 78o(d)); or 
‘‘(II) owned by an issuer of a class of 
securities registered or that is required to 
be registered pursuant to section 12 of the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
19:15 May 24, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2568.IH
H2568
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
U.S.C. 78l) or that is required to file re-
ports pursuant to section 15(d) of that Act 
(15 U.S.C. 78o(d)); or 
‘‘(ii) more than 50 percent of which is 
owned, directly or indirectly, by one or more in-
dividuals that are not United States citizens. 
‘‘(B) ENTITIES.—In determining ownership of 
a business concern, any interest in the business con-
cern that is owned by a person that is not an indi-
vidual (including a corporation, partnership, estate 
or trust) shall be considered owned proportionately 
by or for the individuals that own that person.’’. 
SEC. 5. NOTIFICATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall no-
tify the head of each Federal department or agency re-
garding this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 
(b) TO CONTRACTORS.—Not later than 6 months 
after receiving notice under subsection (a), the head of a 
Federal department or agency shall notify any contractor 
of that department or agency regarding this Act and the 
amendments made by this Act. 
SEC. 6. REPORTING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 
end of each fiscal year, the Administrator shall publish 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
19:15 May 24, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2568.IH
H2568
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
a report regarding prime contracts with the Federal Gov-
ernment awarded to business concerns that were identified 
as small business concerns for the purposes of achieving 
the small business contracting goals of the Federal Gov-
ernment during the previous fiscal year. 
(b) CONTENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each report under sub-
section (a) shall, for the fiscal year before the year 
in which that report is published, include— 
(A) the name of each small business con-
cern, small business concern owned and con-
trolled by socially and economically disadvan-
taged individuals, small business concern owned 
and controlled by women, small business con-
cern owned and controlled by veterans, and 
small business concern owned and controlled by 
service-disabled veterans that was awarded a 
prime contract with the Federal Government; 
and 
(B) for each small business concern de-
scribed in subparagraph (A), the total dollar 
amount of prime contracts with the Federal 
Government awarded to that small business 
concern in descending order. 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
19:15 May 24, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2568.IH
H2568
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
(2) PARENT COMPANIES.—If a small business 
concern described in paragraph (1)(A) has a parent 
company, the Administrator shall report information 
relating to any prime contract with the federal gov-
ernment of that small business concern und the 
name of that parent company. 
(c) AVAILABILITY.—The Administrator shall make 
each report under subsection (a) available on the website 
of the Administration in a manner that is easily accessible 
by members of the public. 
SEC. 7. LIST OF CONTRACTORS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal department and 
agency shall publish on the website of that department or 
agency a list of each business concern that received a con-
tract award because that business concern was identified 
as a small business concern. 
(b) LIST CONTENTS.—A list published under sub-
section (a) shall— 
(1) list business concerns in the order of the 
total amount in dollars of contracts between the 
Federal Government and that business concern, be-
ginning with the largest total value; 
(2) include the total amount in dollars of con-
tracts between the Federal Government and each 
business concern on such list; and 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
19:15 May 24, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2568.IH
H2568
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
(3) include the name of any parent company of 
a business concern on such list. 
SEC. 8. CONTRACTING DATABASES. 
The Administrator shall, by regulation, establish pro-
cedures to ensure that the Central Contractor Registration 
database and any successor database provide an adequate 
warning regarding criminal penalties established under 
section 16(d) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
645(d)) for misrepresenting the status of a business con-
cern or person in order to obtain certain contracts with 
the Federal Government. 
SEC. 9. ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) COMPLAINTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person may file a com-
plaint with the Administrator and the head of the 
affected department or agency about the classifica-
tion of a business concern as a small business con-
cern and the Administrator and the head of the af-
fected department or agency shall resolve any com-
plaint filed under this paragraph in a timely man-
ner. 
(2) REPORTS.—The Administrator shall annu-
ally submit to Congress a report describing any com-
plaints described in paragraph (1) that were filed 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
19:15 May 24, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2568.IH
H2568
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
during the relevant year and the resolution of any 
such complaint. 
(b) DEBARMENT.—The head of each Federal depart-
ment or agency shall issue or amend the contracting rules 
and regulations for that department or agency to ensure 
that a business concern shall be debarred from receiving 
a Federal contract for a period of not less than 5 years 
if that business concern— 
(1) fraudulently represents that it is a small 
business concern as part of a bid for a small busi-
ness contract with that department or agency; or 
(2) violates this Act or an amendment made by 
this Act. 
Æ 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
19:15 May 24, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H2568.IH
H2568
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS