Requires each Federal agency to assist the Ombudsman to ensure compliance with Federal procurement goals for small businesses, certain procurement policies, and Federal prime contractor small business subcontracting plans. Requires a Federal agency to submit a goal attainment plan upon failure to meet small business procurement goals.
Requires each Office director to: (1) have experience assisting small businesses with Federal procurement; (2) not currently serve as the chief procurement officer of such agency; (3) have no other duties; and (4) attend meetings of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Council. Establishes such Council.
Increases, from the current 23 percent to up to 30 percent for FY 2006 and thereafter, the Federal small business procurement goal.
[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5314 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5314
To provide for a Small and Disadvantaged Business Ombudsman for
Procurement in the Small Business Administration, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 26, 2002
Mr. Wynn (for himself, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mrs. Christensen, Mr.
Cummings, Mr. Scott, Mr. Davis of Illinois, and Mrs. Clayton)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Small Business
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for a Small and Disadvantaged Business Ombudsman for
Procurement in the Small Business Administration, 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 and Disadvantaged Business
Ombudsman Act''.
SEC. 2. SBA SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS OMBUDSMAN FOR PROCUREMENT.
Section 30 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'';
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and
adding a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) `SDB Ombudsman' means the Small and Disadvantaged
Business Ombudsman for Procurement, designated under subsection
(e); and
``(4) `Major Federal agency' means an agency of the United
States Government that, in the previous fiscal year, entered
into contracts with non-Federal entities to provide the agency
with a total of not less than $200,000,000 in goods or
services.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(e) SBA Small and Disadvantaged Business Ombudsman for
Procurement.--
``(1) Appointment.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of the Small and Disadvantaged
Business Ombudsman Act, the Administrator shall
designate a Small and Disadvantaged Business Ombudsman
for Procurement (referred to in this section as the
`SDB Ombudsman').
``(B) Qualifications.--The SDB Ombudsman shall be--
``(i) highly qualified, with experience
assisting small business concerns with Federal
procurement; and
``(ii) designated from among employees of
the Federal Government, to the extent
practicable.
``(C) Line of authority.--The SDB Ombudsman shall
report directly to the Administrator.
``(D) Senior executive service.--The SDB Ombudsman
shall be paid at an annual rate not less than the
minimum rate, nor more than the maximum rate, for the
Senior Executive Service under chapter 53 of title 5,
United States Code.
``(2) Duties.--The SDB Ombudsman shall--
``(A) work with each Federal agency with
procurement authority to ensure that small business
concerns are treated fairly in the procurement process;
``(B) establish a procedure for receiving comments
from small business concerns and personnel of the
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
of each Federal agency regarding the activities of
agencies and prime contractors that are not small
business concerns on Federal procurement contracts; and
``(C) establish a procedure for addressing the
concerns received under subparagraph (B).
``(3) Annual report.--
``(A) In general.--No later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this subsection, and annually
thereafter, the SDB Ombudsman shall provide a report to
the Committee on Small Business of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate.
``(B) Contents.--The report required under
subparagraph (A) shall contain--
``(i) information from the Federal
Procurement Data System pertaining to
contracting and subcontracting goals of the
Federal Government and each Federal agency with
procurement authority;
``(ii) a copy of the report submitted to
the SDB Ombudsman by each major Federal agency
and an evaluation of the goal attainment plans
submitted to the SDB Ombudsman pursuant to
paragraph (5);
``(iii) an evaluation of the success or
failure of each major Federal agency in
attaining its small business procurement goals,
including a ranking by agency on the attainment
of such goals;
``(iv) a summary of the efforts of each
major Federal agency to promote contracting
opportunities for small business concerns by--
``(I) educating and training
procurement officers on the importance
of small business concerns to the
economy and to Federal contracting; and
``(II) conducting outreach
initiatives to promote prime and
subcontracting opportunities for small
business concerns;
``(v) an assessment of the knowledge of the
procurement staff of each major Federal agency
concerning programs that promote small business
contracting;
``(vi) substantiated comments received from
small business concerns and personnel of the
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business
Utilization of each Federal agency regarding
the treatment of small business concerns by
Federal agencies on Federal procurement
contracts;
``(vii) an analysis of the responsiveness
of each Federal agency to small business
concerns with respect to Federal contracting
and subcontracting;
``(viii) an assessment of the compliance of
each Federal agency with section 15(k) of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k); and
``(ix) a description of any discrimination
faced by small business concerns based on their
status as small business concerns or the gender
or the social or economic status of their
owners.
``(C) Notice and comment.--
``(i) In general.--The SDB Ombudsman shall
provide notice to each Federal agency
identified in the report prepared under
subparagraph (A) that such agency has 60 days
to submit comments on the draft report to the
SDB Ombudsman before the final report is
submitted to Congress under subparagraph (A).
``(ii) Inclusion of outside comments.--
``(I) In general.--The final report
prepared under this paragraph shall
contain a section in which Federal
agencies are given an opportunity to
respond to the report contents with
which they disagree.
``(II) No response.--If no response
is received during the 60-day comment
period from a particular agency
identified in the report, the final
report under this paragraph shall
indicate that the agency was afforded
an opportunity to comment.
``(D) Confidentiality.--In preparing the report
under this paragraph, the SDB Ombudsman shall keep
confidential all information that may expose a small
business concern or an employee of an Office of Small
and Disadvantaged Business Utilization to possible
retaliation from the agency or prime contractor
identified by the small business concern, unless the
small business concern or employee of the Office of
Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization consents
in writing to the release of such information.
``(4) Interagency coordination.--Each Federal agency,
through its Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business
Utilization, shall assist the SDB Ombudsman to ensure
compliance with--
``(A) the Federal procurement goals established
pursuant to section 15(g);
``(B) the procurement policy outlined in section
8(d), which states that small business concerns should
be given the maximum practicable opportunity to
participate in Federal contracts;
``(C) Federal prime contractors small business
subcontracting plans negotiated under section
8(d)(4)(B);
``(D) the responsibilities outlined under section
15(k); and
``(E) any other provision of this Act.
``(5) Goal attainment plan.--If a major Federal agency
fails to meet any small business procurement goal under this
Act in any fiscal year, such agency shall submit a goal
attainment plan to the SDB Ombudsman not later than 90 days
after the end of the fiscal year in which the goal was not met,
containing--
``(A) a description of the circumstances that
contributed to the failure of the agency to reach its
small business procurement goals; and
``(B) a detailed plan for meeting the small
business procurement goals in the fiscal year
immediately following the fiscal year in which the goal
was not met.
``(6) Effect on other offices.--Nothing in this section is
intended to replace or diminish the activities of the Office of
Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization or any similar
office in any Federal agency.
``(7) Administrative resources.--To enable the SDB
Ombudsman to carry out the duties required by this subsection,
the Administrator shall provide the SDB Ombudsman with
sufficient--
``(A) personnel;
``(B) office space; and
``(C) dedicated financial resources, which are
specifically identified in the annual budget request of
the Administration.''.
SEC. 3. OFFICE OF SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS UTILIZATION.
(a) Director.--Section 15(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
644(k)) is amended--
(1) in the first sentence, by inserting ``(except for the
Administration)'' after ``Federal agency'';
(2) by striking paragraph (2), and inserting the following:
``(2) be well qualified, with experience assisting small
business concerns with Federal procurement, and receive basic
pay at a rate not to exceed the rate of pay for grade 15 of the
General Schedule, under section 5332 of title 5, United States
Code;'';
(3) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
``(3) be appointed by the head of such agency, be
responsible to, and report only to, the head or deputy head of
such agency for policy matters, personnel matters, budgetary
matters, and all other matters;'';
(4) in paragraph (9), by striking ``, and'' and inserting a
semicolon;
(5) in paragraph (10)--
(A) by striking ``or section 8(a) of this Act or
section 2323 of title 10, United States Code. Such
recommendations'' and inserting ``section 8(a), or
section 2323 of title 10, United States Code, which
recommendations''; and
(B) by striking the period at the end and inserting
a semicolon; and
(6) by striking the undesignated matter after paragraph
(10) and inserting the following:
``(11) not concurrently serve as the chief procurement
officer for such agency; and
``(12) if the officer is employed by a major Federal agency
(as defined in section 30)--
``(A) have no other job duties beyond those
described under this subsection;
``(B) receive basic pay at a rate equal to the rate
of pay for grade 15 of the General Schedule, under
section 5332 of title 5, United States Code; and
``(C) attend the meetings of the Office of Small
and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Council.''.
(b) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
Council.--
(1) Establishment.--There is established an interagency
council to be known as the ``Office of Small and Disadvantaged
Business Utilization Council'' (in this subsection referred to
as the ``Council'').
(2) Membership.--The Council shall be composed of--
(A) the Director of Small and Disadvantaged
Business Utilization from each Federal agency;
(B) the Small and Disadvantaged Business Ombudsman
for Procurement, as an ex officio member; and
(C) other individuals, as ex officio members, as
the Council considers necessary.
(3) Leadership.--
(A) Chairperson.--The members of the Council shall
elect a chairperson, who shall serve for a 1-year,
renewable term.
(B) Other positions.--The members of the Council
may elect other leadership positions, as necessary,
from among its members.
(C) Voting.--Each member of the Council, except for
ex officio members, shall have voting rights on the
Council.
(4) Meetings.--
(A) Frequency.--The Council shall meet not less
frequently than once every 2 months.
(B) Issues.--At the meetings under subparagraph
(A), the Council shall discuss issues faced by each
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization,
including--
(i) personnel matters;
(ii) barriers to small business
participation in Federal procurement;
(iii) agency compliance with section 15(k)
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)),
as amended by this Act; and
(iv) any other matter that the Council
considers necessary to further the mission of
each Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business
Utilization.
(5) Funding limitation.--The Small Business Administration
shall not provide the Council with financial assistance to
carry out the provisions of this section.
SEC. 4. GOVERNMENTWIDE SMALL BUSINESS GOAL.
Section 15(g)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)(1)) is
amended in the second sentence, by striking ``23 percent of the total
value of all prime contract awards for each fiscal year.'' and
inserting ``26 percent of the total value of all prime contract awards
for fiscal year 2004, not less than 28 percent of the total value of
all prime contract awards for fiscal year 2005, and not less than 30
percent of the total value of all prime contract awards for fiscal year
2006 and each fiscal year thereafter.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.
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