Bridge Contract Transparency and Accountability Act of 2018

Bridge Contract Transparency and Accountability Act of 2018

This bill directs the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to submit reports to Congress on the policies, practices, and uses of bridge contracts across the federal government. (A bridge contract is generally an extension to an existing contract or a new short-term contract awarded to an incumbent contractor to avoid a lapse in service caused by a delay in awarding a follow-on contract.)

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to provide for: (1) a common definition of bridge contracts, and (2) the appropriate use of such contracts.

Federal agencies must develop policies and procedures that seek to minimize the use of bridge contracts.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2413 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2413

   To provide for the appropriate use of bridge contracts in Federal 
                  procurement, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 8, 2018

Mrs. McCaskill introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for the appropriate use of bridge contracts in Federal 
                  procurement, 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 ``Bridge Contract Transparency and 
Accountability Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. REVISIONS TO FEDERAL PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator for Federal Procurement 
Policy, in consultation with the Administrator of the General Services 
Administration, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report on governmentwide policies, practices, and uses of 
bridge contracts.
    (b) Amendment of Federal Acquisition Regulation and Related 
Guidance.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory 
        Council shall, based on the findings of the review under this 
        section, amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation--
                    (A) to provide for a common definition of bridge 
                contracts, with consideration given to--
                            (i) extensions to existing contracts beyond 
                        the base and option years to avoid lapses in 
                        service caused by delays in awarding subsequent 
                        contracts; and
                            (ii) new short-term contracts awarded on a 
                        sole source basis to avoid lapses in service 
                        caused by delays in awarding subsequent 
                        contracts; and
                    (B) to provide for the appropriate use of such 
                contracts, including, as appropriate, parameters 
                related to duration and cost.
            (2) Guidance.--The Administrator for Federal Procurement 
        Policy, in consultation with the Administrator of General 
        Services, may issue guidance to executive agencies regarding 
        the use of bridge contracts, including with respect to duration 
        and cost, and related guidance to implement the policies 
        described under paragraph (1).

SEC. 3. AGENCY TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTS.

    (a) Guidance on Information Collection.--Not later than 30 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator for 
Federal Procurement Policy shall issue guidance for executive agencies 
to collect information on the use of bridge contracts. The guidance 
shall include an interim definition of bridge contracts for agencies to 
use in their reporting until the Federal Acquisition Regulation is 
amended pursuant to section 2(b)(1).
    (b) Reporting to Office of Federal Procurement Policy.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than September 30, 2019, and by 
        September 30 of each subsequent year thereafter until 2025, the 
        head of each executive agency shall submit to the Administrator 
        for Federal Procurement Policy a report on the use by the 
        agency of bridge contracts.
            (2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
        shall include the following elements:
                    (A) The common definition for bridge contracts used 
                by contracting offices of the executive agency.
                    (B) The total number of bridge contracts entered 
                into during the previous 5 fiscal years.
                    (C) The estimated value of each contract that 
                required the use of a bridge contract and the cost of 
                the bridge contract or contracts.
                    (D) The reasons for and cost of each bridge 
                contract.
                    (E) The types of services or goods being acquired 
                under each bridge contract.
                    (F) The length of the initial contract that 
                required the use of a bridge contract, including the 
                base and any exercised option years, and the cumulative 
                length of any bridge contract or contracts related to 
                the initial contract.
                    (G) A description of how many of the contracts that 
                required bridge contracts were subsequently recompeted 
                and how many of those recompeted contracts were the 
                subject of a bid protest.
                    (H) A description of existing statutory, 
                regulatory, or agency guidance that the agency followed 
                to execute the bridge contracts.
                    (I) Any other matters determined to be relevant by 
                the Office of Federal Procurement Policy or the General 
                Services Administration.
            (3) Publication.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
        shall be posted on a publicly available website of the 
        executive agency.
            (4) Quarterly notifications.--
                    (A) In general.--On a quarterly basis as determined 
                under guidance prescribed by the Administrator for 
                Federal Procurement Policy, each executive agency shall 
                submit a list of bridge contracts issued during the 
                prior quarter to the Office of Federal Procurement 
                Policy to be compiled by the Administrator into a 
                single report and presented to the appropriate 
                congressional committees.
                    (B) Information required.--The lists submitted 
                under subparagraph (A) shall include unique contract 
                identifiers, beginning and end dates of initial 
                contracts, beginning and end dates of bridge contracts, 
                and the reasons or rationale for the use of each bridge 
                contract.
    (c) Governmentwide Report.--Not later than March 31, 2019, and by 
March 31 of each subsequent year until 2025, the Administrator for 
Federal Procurement Policy shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report summarizing the use by executive 
agencies of bridge contracts, including any recommendations for 
legislation to ensure accountability and transparency in the use of 
bridge contracts.
    (d) Public Notice.--Each executive agency shall provide public 
notice within 30 days after entering into a bridge contract, including 
the information required to be reported in subsection (b)(2) to the 
extent it is available.

SEC. 4. AGENCY POLICIES.

    (a) In General.--The head of each executive agency shall develop 
policies and procedures, to the greatest extent practicable, that seek 
to minimize the use of bridge contracts while providing for 
continuation of services to be performed through contracts and ensure 
appropriate planning by contracting officials.
    (b) Required Elements.--The policies developed under subsection (a) 
shall include the following elements:
            (1) Sufficient time and planning to review contract 
        requirements, compete contracts as appropriate, enter into 
        contracts, and consider the possibility of bid protests.
            (2) For contracts that do not meet timeliness standards or 
        which require entering into bridge contracts, contracting 
        officials shall notify the chief acquisition officer of the 
        executive agency and the head of the executive agency.
            (3) The Chief Acquisition Officer must approve any bridge 
        contract that lasts longer than six months, and the head of the 
        agency must approve any bridge contract that lasts longer than 
        one year.
    (c) Exceptions.--The policies developed under this section do not 
apply to--
            (1) service contracts in support of contingency operations, 
        humanitarian assistance, or disaster relief;
            (2) service contracts in support of national security 
        emergencies declared with respect to named operations; or
            (3) service contracts entered into pursuant to 
        international agreements.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs and the Committee on 
                Appropriations of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Oversight and Government 
                Reform and the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
                of Representatives.
            (2) Executive agency.--The term ``executive agency'' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 133 of title 41, United 
        States Code.
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