Title: Department of Veterans Affairs Contracting Preference Consistency Act of 2020
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Department of Veterans Affairs Contracting Preference Consistency Act
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to give preference to nonprofit firms that employ the blind and significantly disabled when contracting for covered products and services that are included on the procurement list maintained by the U.S. AbilityOne Commission. The commission provides employment opportunities for people who are blind or have significant disabilities.
A covered product or service is one that was included on the commission's procurement list on or before December 22, 2006, or a product or service that (1) is a replacement for a product or service on the commission's procurement list, (2) is essentially the same and meets the same requirements as the product or service being replaced, and (3) meets the VA's quality standards and delivery schedule.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4920 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4920

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for an exception to 
   certain small business contracting requirements applicable to the 
    Department of Veterans Affairs procurement of certain goods and 
services covered under the Ability One program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 30, 2019

 Mr. Takano (for himself, Mr. David P. Roe of Tennessee, Ms. Meng, Mr. 
Brindisi, Mr. Higgins of New York, Mr. Cleaver, Mrs. Brooks of Indiana, 
Mrs. Walorski, Ms. Foxx of North Carolina, Mr. Pence, and Ms. Kendra S. 
Horn of Oklahoma) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for an exception to 
   certain small business contracting requirements applicable to the 
    Department of Veterans Affairs procurement of certain goods and 
services covered under the Ability One program, 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 ``Department of Veterans Affairs 
Contracting Preference Consistency Act''.

SEC. 2. EXCEPTION TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SMALL BUSINESS 
              CONTRACTING REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN GOODS AND SERVICES 
              COVERED UNDER ABILITY ONE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (d) of section 8127 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Except'' and inserting ``(1) Except'';
            (2) by inserting ``in paragraph (2) and'' before ``in 
        subsections (b) and (c)''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(2)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), with respect to the 
procurement of a covered product or service, a contracting officer of 
the Department shall procure such product or service from a source 
designated under chapter 85 of title 41, and in accordance with the 
regulations prescribed under such chapter.
    ``(B) In this paragraph, the term `covered product or service' 
means--
            ``(i) a product or service that--
                    ``(I) is included on the procurement list under 
                section 8503(a) of title 41; and
                    ``(II) was included on such procurement list on or 
                before December 22, 2006; or
            ``(ii) a product or service that--
                    ``(I) is a replacement for a product or service 
                described under clause (i);
                    ``(II) is essentially the same and meeting the same 
                requirement as the product or service being replaced; 
                and
                    ``(III) a contracting officer determines meets the 
                quality standards and delivery schedule of the 
                Department.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Such section is further amended in each 
of subsections (b) and (c), by striking ``For'' and inserting ``Except 
as provided in subsection (d)(2), for''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to a contract entered into on or after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
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