Title: Stop Price Gouging the Military Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Stop Price Gouging the Military Act
This bill modifies Department of Defense acquisitions and negotiation processes to address transparency and pricing, including by requiring contractors to provide cost or pricing information for cost-reimbursement contracts, regardless of the number of offers.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8007 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8007

         To prevent price gouging at the Department of Defense.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 9, 2022

Mr. Garamendi introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on 
Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
         To prevent price gouging at the Department of Defense.

    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 ``Stop Price Gouging the Military 
Act''.

SEC. 2. STRENGTHENING TRUTH IN NEGOTIATIONS ACT PROVISIONS.

    (a) Required Cost or Pricing Data and Certification.--Section 
3702(a)(1) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking 
``only expected to receive one bid shall be required'' and replacing 
with ``only expected to have one offeror, or for which award of a cost-
reimbursement contract is contemplated regardless of the number of 
offers received, shall be required''.
    (b) Exceptions.--Section 3703(a) of title 10, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``adequate 
        competition'' and all that follows through ``bids'' and 
        inserting ``adequate price competition, except for the award of 
        a cost-reimbursement contract, that results in at least two 
        responsive and viable competing offerors''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``based on adequate 
        price competition that results in at least two responsive and 
        responsible offers'' after ``commercial service''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment Related to Civilian Contracts.--Section 
3503(a)(2) of title 41, United States Code is by inserting after 
``commercial service'' the following: ``based on adequate price 
competition that results in at least two responsive and responsible 
offers''.

SEC. 3. REVISION OF DEFINITION OF TERM ``COMMERCIAL ITEM'' FOR PURPOSES 
              OF FEDERAL PROCUREMENT STATUTES PROVIDING PROCEDURES FOR 
              PROCUREMENT OF COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

    (a) Elimination of ``of a Type'' Criterion.--Section 103 of title 
41, United States Code, is amended by striking ``of a type'' each place 
it appears.
    (b) Elimination of Items and Services Merely Offered for Sale, 
Lease, or License.--
            (1) Items.--Section 103(1)(B) of title 41, United States 
        Code, is amended by striking ``, or offered for sale, lease, or 
        license,''.
            (2) Services.--Section 103a(2) of title 41, United States 
        Code, is amended by striking ``offered and''.

SEC. 4. PROGRESS PAYMENT INCENTIVE PILOT.

    (a) Pilot Program.--The Secretary of Defense, acting through the 
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, shall 
establish and implement a pilot program, to be known as the ``Progress 
Payment Incentive Pilot Program'', to make accelerated progress 
payments contingent upon responsiveness to Department of Defense goals 
for effectiveness, efficiency, and increasing small business contract 
opportunities.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the pilot program is to reward 
Department of Defense contractors who meet contract delivery dates, 
respond to Department solicitations for required certified cost or 
pricing data, meet small business contracting goals, and provide 
subcontracting opportunities for AbilityOne contracts.
    (c) Progress Payments.--
            (1) Limitations for large contractors.--Except as provided 
        under paragraph (2), under the pilot program, the Department of 
        Defense may not award to large business contractors progress 
        payments in excess of 50 percent.
            (2) Exceptions.--The Department of Defense may increase the 
        rate of progress payments, up to a total of 95 percent, by the 
        following percentages:
                    (A) 10 percent if the relevant division of the 
                contractor met contract delivery dates for contract end 
                items and contract data requirement lists or 
                performance milestone schedule, as the case may be, at 
                least 95 percent of the time during the preceding 
                Government fiscal year.
                    (B) 10 percent if the division does not have open 
                level III or IV corrective action requests.
                    (C) 7.5 percent if all applicable contractor 
                business systems are acceptable, without significant 
                deficiencies.
                    (D) 10 percent if at least 95 percent of the time 
                during the preceding Government fiscal year, when 
                responding to solicitations that required submission of 
                certified cost or pricing data, the division met the 
                due date in the request for proposal.
                    (E) 5 percent if the contractor discloses first 
                tier subcontractor data, the prime contractor's 
                beneficial owners, and total compensation for recipient 
                executives.
                    (F) 5 percent if the contractor has met its small 
                business subcontracting goals during the preceding 
                Government fiscal year.
                    (G) 3 percent if the contractor has provided 
                subcontracting opportunities for the blind and severely 
                disabled.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Beneficial owners.--The term ``beneficial owner'' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 847 of the National 
        Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-
        92; 133 Stat. 1505; 10 U.S.C. 2509 note).
            (2) Compensation for recipient executives.--The term 
        ``compensation for recipient executives'' refers to the names 
        and total compensation of the five most highly compensated 
        officers of the entity pursuant to section 2(b)(1) of the 
        Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 
        (Public Law 109-282; 31 U.S.C. 6101 note).
            (3) First tier subcontractor.--The term ``first tier 
        subcontractor'' means a subcontractor who has a subcontract 
        directly with the prime contractor.
            (4) Large defense contractor.--The term ``large defense 
        contractor'' means a contractor (other than an institute of 
        higher education or a federally funded research and development 
        center) that received more than $10,000,000 in annual revenue 
        from the Department of Defense contracts or licenses in any of 
        the previous three years.
            (5) Progress payments.--The term ``progress payments'' 
        means payments provided for under section 3804 of title 10, 
        United States Code.
                                 <all>