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]
[S. 2853 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2853

 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 13, 2019

  Ms. McSally introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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:

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

    ``(a) Request for an Equitable Adjustment.--
            ``(1) In general.--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 the agency if the contracting officer directs a 
        change in the terms of the contract performance without the 
        agreement of the small business concern.
            ``(2) Requirements.--A request submitted under paragraph 
        (1) shall--
                    ``(A) be timely made pursuant to the terms of the 
                contract; and
                    ``(B) specify the estimated amount required to 
                cover additional costs resulting from the 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 not less than 
50 percent of the estimated amount under subsection (a)(2)(B).
    ``(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.--
            ``(1) Payment to first tier subcontractor or supplier.--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.
            ``(2) Payment to other subcontractor or supplier.--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 the payment.''.
    (b) Implementation.--The Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration shall implement the requirements of this section not 
later than the earlier of--
            (1) the first day of the first full fiscal year beginning 
        after the date of enactment of this Act; or
            (2) October 1, 2021.
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