Title: Small Business Payment for Performance Act of 2019
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Small Business Payment for Performance Act of 2019
This bill allows a small business performing a construction contract awarded by a federal agency to request an equitable adjustment if the agency's contracting officer directs a change in the contract's performance without the agreement of the small business.
The agency must provide the small business with an interim partial payment to cover additional costs resulting from such a change, and the small business must pay a first tier subcontractor or supplier the portion of the partial payment that is attributable to additional costs incurred due to the change.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2344 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2344

 To amend the Small Business Act to provide interim partial payment to 
small business contractors that request an equitable adjustment due to 
    a change in the terms of a construction contract, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 18, 2019

Mr. Stauber (for himself and Mr. Veasey) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Small Business Act to provide interim partial payment to 
small business contractors that request an equitable adjustment due to 
    a change in the terms of a construction contract, 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 ``Small Business Payment for 
Performance Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. EQUITABLE ADJUSTMENTS TO CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS.

    (a) In General.--The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after section 15 the following new section:

``SEC. 15A. EQUITABLE ADJUSTMENTS TO CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS.

    ``(a) Request for an Equitable Adjustment.--A small business 
concern performing a construction contract that was awarded by an 
agency may submit a request for an equitable adjustment to the 
contracting officer of such agency if the contracting officer directs a 
change in the terms of the contract performance without the agreement 
of the small business concern. Such request shall--
            ``(1) be timely made pursuant to the terms of the contract; 
        and
            ``(2) specify the estimated amount required to cover 
        additional costs resulting from such change in the terms of the 
        contract performance.
    ``(b) Amount.--Upon receipt of a request for equitable adjustment 
under subsection (a), the agency shall provide to the small business 
concern an interim partial payment in an amount that is at least 50 
percent of the estimated amount under subsection (a)(2).
    ``(c) Limitation.--Any interim partial payment made under this 
section shall not be deemed to be an action to definitize the request 
for an equitable adjustment.
    ``(d) Flow-Down of Interim Partial Payment Amounts.--A small 
business concern that requests an equitable adjustment under this 
section shall pay to a first tier subcontractor or supplier the portion 
of each interim partial payment received that is attributable to the 
increased costs of performance incurred by the first tier subcontractor 
or supplier due to the change in the terms of the contract performance. 
A first tier subcontractor or supplier that receives a portion of an 
interim partial payment under this section shall pay to a subcontractor 
or supplier at any tier the appropriate portion of such payment.''.
    (b) Implementation.--The Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration shall implement the requirements of this section not 
later than the earlier of the following dates:
            (1) The first day of the first full fiscal year beginning 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) October 1, 2021.
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