Federal

Transparency in Government Contracts Act

Source: Congress.gov · 676 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill requires the Small Business Administration to break down data about federal contracts awarded to small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (people who face barriers to starting or growing businesses because of their race, ethnicity, gender or economic status). The bill also requires similar breakdowns for subcontracts (contracts with other companies to help complete a larger contract) awarded to these same types of small businesses. ##

Who It Affects

- The Small Business Administration (federal agency managing small business programs) - Small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals - Federal agencies awarding contracts to small businesses - The public seeking information about federal contract awards ##

Key Provisions

- The Small Business Administration must break down contract data by the race, ethnicity and gender of the owners, or by the type of business structure, for small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (Sec. 2(a)(1)(C)) - The Small Business Administration must indicate in reports whether small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals participate in a program under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (a federal program providing support to disadvantaged entrepreneurs) (Sec. 2(a)(1)(C)) - The Small Business Administration must also break down subcontract data by the race, ethnicity and gender of owners or business type, to the extent practicable (reasonably possible) (Sec. 2(a)(2)) - The Small Business Administration must indicate whether subcontractors participate in the section 8(a) program (Sec. 2(a)(2)) ##

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, the Small Business Administration must provide more detailed information about which small businesses owned by disadvantaged individuals receive federal contracts and subcontracts. These reports will show breakdowns by the owners' race, ethnicity and gender rather than combining all such businesses together. The reports will also show which of these businesses participate in the section 8(a) federal assistance program. ##

Important Definitions

None explicitly defined in the bill text. ##

Effective Date

The changes apply to reports produced after the date this bill is signed into law (Sec. 2(b)).

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1744 To require the Small Business Administration to disaggregate data on Federal contracts awarded to small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals in certain reports, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 23, 2023 Mr. CASTRO of Texas (for himself, Ms. TOKUDA, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. BLU- MENAUER, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. CASAR, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. LIEU, Ms. NORTON, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. BROWN, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. OMAR, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mrs. RAMI- REZ, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mrs. WATSON COLE- MAN, Mr. CARSON, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, and Ms. JACKSON LEE) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business A BILL To require the Small Business Administration to disaggregate data on Federal contracts awarded to small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals in certain reports, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1744.IH H1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1744 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transparency in Gov- 2 ernment Contracts Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. DISAGGREGATE DATA ON CONTRACTS AWARDED TO 4 SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN OWNED AND 5 CONTROLLED BY SOCIALLY AND ECONOMI- 6 CALLY DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 15(h) of the Small Busi- 8 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 644(h)) is amended— 9 (1) in paragraph (2)(E)(iv)— 10 (A) in subclause (VII), by striking ‘‘and’’ 11 at the end; 12 (B) in subclause (VIII), by adding ‘‘and’’ 13 at the end; and 14 (C) by adding at the end the following new 15 subclause: 16 ‘‘(IX) disaggregated by— 17 ‘‘(aa) the race, ethnicity, 18 and gender, or by the type of en- 19 tity, as applicable, of the socially 20 and economically disadvantaged 21 individuals that own such small 22 business concerns owned and 23 controlled by socially and eco- 24 nomically disadvantaged individ- 25 uals; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1744.IH H1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1744 IH ‘‘(bb) whether the small 1 business concerns owned and 2 controlled by socially and eco- 3 nomically disadvantaged partici- 4 pates in a program under section 5 8(a) of this title;’’; and 6 (2) by adding at the end the following new 7 paragraph: 8 ‘‘(5) DISAGGREGATE CERTAIN SUBCONTRACT 9 AWARD DATA.—In each report required by para- 10 graph (2), the Administrator shall, to the extent 11 practicable, disaggregate the data required by para- 12 graph (2)(F) for subcontracts awarded to small 13 business concerns owned and controlled by socially 14 and economically disadvantaged individuals by— 15 ‘‘(A) the race, ethnicity, and gender, or by 16 the type of entity, as applicable, of the socially 17 and economically disadvantaged individuals that 18 own such small business concerns owned and 19 controlled by socially and economically dis- 20 advantaged individuals; and 21 ‘‘(B) whether the small business concern 22 owned and controlled by socially and economi- 23 cally disadvantaged individuals participates in a 24 program under section 8(a) of this title.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1744.IH H1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1744 IH (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub- 1 section (a) shall apply only with respect to reports re- 2 quired by section 15(h)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 3 U.S.C. 644(h)(2)) after the date of the enactment of this 4 Act. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:20 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1744.IH H1744 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.