PRICE Act of 2019

II Calendar No. 618 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3038 [Report No. 116–315] To promote innovative acquisition techniques and procurement strategies, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 12, 2019 Mr. PETERS (for himself, Ms. ERNST, Mr. ENZI, and Mr. CARPER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs DECEMBER 14, 2020 Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, without amendment A BILL To promote innovative acquisition techniques and procurement strategies, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Rigorous 4 and Innovative Cost Efficiencies for Federal Procurement 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3038 RS and Acquisitions Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘PRICE Act of 1 2019’’. 2 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 3 Congress finds that— 4 (1) small business participation in the Federal 5 marketplace is key to ensuring a strong industrial 6 base; 7 (2) the Business Opportunity Development Re- 8 form Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–656) sets forth 9 the requirement for the President to establish Gov- 10 ernment-wide goals for procurement contracts 11 awarded to small businesses; 12 (3) each year, the Small Business Administra- 13 tion works with each Federal agency to set their re- 14 spective contracting goals and publishes a scorecard 15 to ensure that the total of all Federal agency goals 16 meets the required targets for the Federal Govern- 17 ment; 18 (4) the Department has received among the 19 highest scorecard letter grades 10 years in a row 20 and is the largest Federal agency to have such a 21 track record; 22 (5) in virtually every segment of the economy of 23 the United States, including the homeland security 24 community, there are small businesses working to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3038 RS support the mission and playing a critical role in de- 1 livering efficient and innovative solutions to the ac- 2 quisition needs of the Federal Government; 3 (6) the Procurement Innovation Lab of the De- 4 partment— 5 (A) is aimed at experimenting with innova- 6 tive acquisition techniques across the Homeland 7 Security enterprise; 8 (B) provides a forum to test new ideas, 9 share lessons learned, and promote best prac- 10 tices; 11 (C) fosters cultural changes that promote 12 innovation and managed risk taking through a 13 continuous cycle of testing, obtaining feedback, 14 sharing information, and retesting where appro- 15 priate; and 16 (D) aims to make the acquisition process 17 more smooth and innovative within the con- 18 struct of the Federal Acquisition Regulation for 19 both the Federal Government and contractors; 20 and 21 (7) despite progress in the adoption of new and 22 better business practices by many Federal agencies, 23 the overall adoption of modernized business practices 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3038 RS and advanced technologies across the Federal Gov- 1 ernment remains slow and uneven. 2 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this Act: 4 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 5 trator’’ means the Administrator for Federal Pro- 6 curement Policy. 7 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 8 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 9 mittees’’ means— 10 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 11 and Governmental Affairs and the Committee 12 on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 13 Senate; and 14 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security, 15 the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and 16 the Committee on Small Business of the House 17 of Representatives. 18 (3) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 19 Chief Acquisition Officers Council established under 20 section 1311 of title 41, United States Code. 21 (4) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 22 means the Department of Homeland Security. 23 (5) HOMELAND SECURITY ENTERPRISE.—The 24 term ‘‘Homeland Security enterprise’’ has the mean- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3038 RS ing given the term in section 2211(h) of the Home- 1 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 661(h)). 2 (6) SCORECARD.—The term ‘‘scorecard’’ means 3 the scorecard described in section 868(b) of the Na- 4 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 5 2016 (15 U.S.C. 644 note). 6 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 7 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 8 (8) SMALL BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘small busi- 9 ness’’ means— 10 (A) a qualified HUBZone small business 11 concern, a small business concern, a small busi- 12 ness concern owned and controlled by service- 13 disabled veterans, or a small business concern 14 owned and controlled by women, as those terms 15 are defined in section 3 of the Small Business 16 Act (15 U.S.C. 632); 17 (B) a small business concern owned and 18 controlled by socially and economically dis- 19 advantaged individuals, as defined in section 20 8(d)(3)(C) of the Small Business Act (15 21 U.S.C. 637(d)(3)(C)); or 22 (C) a small business concern uncondition- 23 ally owned by an economically disadvantaged 24 Indian tribe or an economically disadvantaged 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3038 RS Native Hawaiian organization that qualifies as 1 a socially and economically disadvantaged small 2 business concern, as defined in section 8(a)(4) 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 4 637(a)(4)). 5 (9) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 6 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary for Manage- 7 ment of the Department. 8 SEC. 4. PROCUREMENT INNOVATION LAB REPORT. 9 (a) REPORT.—The Under Secretary shall publish an 10 annual report on a website of the Department on Procure- 11 ment Innovation Lab projects that have used innovative 12 techniques within the Department to accomplish— 13 (1) improving or encouraging better competi- 14 tion; 15 (2) reducing time to award; 16 (3) cost savings; 17 (4) better mission outcomes; or 18 (5) meeting the goals for contracts awarded to 19 small business concerns under section 15(g) of the 20 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)). 21 (b) EDUCATION.—The Under Secretary shall develop 22 and disseminate guidance and offer training for con- 23 tracting officers, contracting specialists, program man- 24 agers, and other personnel of the Department, as deter- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3038 RS mined appropriate by the Under Secretary, concerning 1 when and how to use the innovative procurement tech- 2 niques of the Department. 3 (c) BEST PRACTICES.—The Under Secretary shall 4 share best practices across the Department and make 5 available to other Federal agencies information to improve 6 procurement methods and training, as determined appro- 7 priate by the Under Secretary. 8 (d) SUNSET.—This section shall cease to be effective 9 on the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment 10 of this Act. 11 SEC. 5. COUNCIL. 12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 45 days after 13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 14 convene the Council to examine best practices for acquisi- 15 tion innovation in contracting in the Federal Government, 16 including small business contracting in accordance with 17 the goals established under section 15(g) of the Small 18 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)). 19 (b) WORKING GROUP.—The Council may form a 20 working group to address the requirements of this section, 21 which, if formed, shall— 22 (1) be chaired by the Administrator or a des- 23 ignee of the Administrator; and 24 (2) be composed of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3038 RS (A) the Chief Procurement Officer of the 1 Department; 2 (B) Council members from— 3 (i) the General Services Administra- 4 tion; 5 (ii) the Department of Defense; 6 (iii) the Department of the Treasury; 7 (iv) the Department of Veterans Af- 8 fairs; 9 (v) the Department of Health and 10 Human Services; 11 (vi) the Small Business Administra- 12 tion; and 13 (vii) such other Federal agencies as 14 determined by the chair of the Council 15 from among Federal agencies that have 16 demonstrated significant, sustained 17 progress using innovative acquisition prac- 18 tices and technologies, including for small 19 business contracting, during each of the 3 20 years preceding the date of enactment of 21 this Act; and 22 (C) other employees, as determined appro- 23 priate by the chair of the Council, of Federal 24 agencies with the requisite senior experience to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3038 RS make recommendations to improve Federal 1 agency efficiency, effectiveness, and economy, 2 including in promoting small business con- 3 tracting. 4 (c) DUTIES OF THE COUNCIL.—The Council, or a 5 working group formed under subsection (b), shall— 6 (1) convene not later than 90 days after the 7 date of enactment of this Act and thereafter on a 8 quarterly basis until the Council submits the report 9 required under subsection (d)(1); and 10 (2) conduct outreach with the workforce and 11 the public in meeting the requirements under sub- 12 section (d)(1). 13 (d) REPORT.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 15 the date of enactment of this Act, the Council shall 16 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 17 a report that describes— 18 (A) innovative acquisition practices and 19 applications of technologies that have worked 20 well in achieving better procurement outcomes, 21 including increased efficiency, improved pro- 22 gram outcomes, better customer experience, and 23 meeting or exceeding the goals under section 24 15(g) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3038 RS 644(g)), and the reasons why those practices 1 have succeeded; 2 (B) steps to identify and adopt trans- 3 formational commercial business practices, 4 modernized data analytics, and advanced tech- 5 nologies that allow decision making to occur in 6 a more friction-free buying environment and 7 improve customer experience; and 8 (C) any recommendations for statutory 9 changes to accelerate the adoption of innovative 10 acquisition practices. 11 (2) BRIEFING.—Not later than 18 months after 12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 13 shall brief the appropriate congressional committees 14 on the means by which the findings and rec- 15 ommendations of the report have been disseminated 16 under paragraph (3). 17 (3) PUBLICATION AND DISSEMINATION OF RE- 18 PORT FINDINGS.—To promote more rapid adoption 19 of acquisition best practices, the Administrator 20 shall— 21 (A) publish the report required under 22 paragraph (1) on the website of the Office of 23 Management and Budget and on the Innovation 24 Hub on the Acquisition Gateway or any suc- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3038 RS cessor Government-wide site available for in- 1 creasing awareness of resources dedicated to 2 procurement innovation; and 3 (B) encourage the head of each Federal 4 agency to maintain a site on the website of the 5 Federal agency for acquisition and contracting 6 professionals, program managers, members of 7 the public, and others as appropriate that is— 8 (i) dedicated to acquisition innovation; 9 and 10 (ii) identifies— 11 (I) resources, including the ac- 12 quisition innovation advocate and in- 13 dustry liaison of the Federal agency; 14 (II) learning assets for the work- 15 force, including the findings and rec- 16 ommendations made in the report re- 17 quired under paragraph (1); 18 (III) events to build awareness 19 and understanding of innovation ac- 20 tivities; 21 (IV) award recognition programs 22 and recent recipients; and 23 (V) upcoming plans to leverage 24 innovative practices and technologies. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3038 RS (e) EXPERTS.—In carrying out the duties of the 1 Council under this section, the Council is encourage to 2 consult with governmental and nongovernmental experts. 3 (f) TERMINATION.—The duties of the Council as set 4 forth in this section shall terminate 30 days after the date 5 on which the Council conducts the briefing required under 6 subsection (d)(2). 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS Calendar No. 618 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3038 [Report No. 116–315] A BILL To promote innovative acquisition techniques and procurement strategies, and for other purposes. DECEMBER 14, 2020 Reported without amendment VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S3038.RS S3038 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS