Title: Construction Consensus Procurement Improvement Act of 2019
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Construction Consensus Procurement Improvement Act of 2019
This bill prohibits the use of reverse auctions for awarding federal contracts for construction and design services. Generally, a reverse auction is one in which there are multiple sellers lowering their bids to win a supply or service contract.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1434 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1434

  To prohibit the use of reverse auctions for design and construction 
             services procurements, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 13, 2019

Mr. Portman (for himself and Ms. Hirono) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit the use of reverse auctions for design and construction 
             services procurements, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Construction Consensus Procurement 
Improvement Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON USE OF A REVERSE AUCTION FOR THE AWARD OF A 
              CONTRACT FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES.

    (a) Finding.--Congress finds that, in contrast to a traditional 
auction in which the buyers bid up the price, sellers bid down the 
price in a reverse auction.
    (b) Prohibition.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulation shall be 
amended to prohibit the use of reverse auctions for awarding contracts 
for design and construction services.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``design and construction services'' means--
                    (A) site planning and landscape design;
                    (B) architectural and engineering services (as 
                defined in section 1102 of title 40, United States 
                Code);
                    (C) interior design;
                    (D) performance of substantial construction work 
                for facility, infrastructure, and environmental 
                restoration projects;
                    (E) delivery and supply of construction materials 
                to construction sites; or
                    (F) construction or substantial alteration of 
                public buildings or public works.
            (2) The term ``reverse auction'' means, with respect to any 
        procurement by an executive agency--
                    (A) a real-time auction conducted through an 
                electronic medium among 2 or more offerors who compete 
                by submitting bids for a supply or service contract, or 
                a delivery order, task order, or purchase order under 
                the contract, with the ability to submit revised lower 
                bids at any time before the closing of the auction; and
                    (B) the award of the contract, delivery order, task 
                order, or purchase order to the offeror, in whole or in 
                part, based on the price obtained through the auction 
                process.
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