[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2912 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2912
To provide authority for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan
Reconstruction to suspend and debar contractors under certain
circumstances.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 1, 2013
Mr. Chaffetz (for himself, Mr. Coffman, Mr. Tierney, and Ms. Speier)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and
Government 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 provide authority for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan
Reconstruction to suspend and debar contractors under certain
circumstances.
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 ``Afghanistan Suspension and Debarment
Reform Act''.
SEC. 2. SUSPENSION AND DEBARMENT AUTHORITY FOR SPECIAL INSPECTOR
GENERAL FOR AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION UNDER CERTAIN
CIRCUMSTANCES.
(a) Suspension and Debarment Process.--Section 1229(g) of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (Public Law
110-181; 5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(3) Suspension and debarment.--
``(A) Referral of case to lead agency.--In carrying
out the duties, responsibilities, and authorities set
forth under this section, the Inspector General (or the
Inspector General's designee) may refer a potential
suspension or debarment case described in subparagraph
(B) to the lead agency for that suspension or
debarment. If such a referral is made, the Inspector
General shall notify the Interagency Committee on
Debarment and Suspension and the congressional
committees described in subparagraph (G) of the
referral. If the Inspector General is unable to
determine which agency is the lead agency for purposes
of a referral under this subparagraph, the Inspector
General shall request the Interagency Committee to
resolve the issue of which agency is the lead agency,
in accordance with section 873 of the Duncan Hunter
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009
(Public Law 110-417; 31 U.S.C. 6101 note).
``(B) Covered cases.--
``(i) A potential suspension or debarment
case described in this subparagraph is a case
involving a person that is an Afghan national
or foreign national or foreign company
operating in Afghanistan that has received in
the past, is receiving, or may receive in the
future, funds from any--
``(I) covered prime contract; or
``(II) covered subcontract.
``(ii) In this subparagraph:
``(I) The term `covered prime
contract' means a prime contract that
is a contract described in subsection
(i)(2).
``(II) The term `covered
subcontract' means a subcontract that
is a contract described in subsection
(i)(2) under a covered prime contract.
``(C) Acceptance or declination of case.--Not later
than 30 days after the date of referral of a suspension
or debarment case under subparagraph (A), the lead
agency shall--
``(i) accept or decline the case; and
``(ii) submit to the Inspector General and
the Interagency Committee a written
notification and rationale for accepting or
declining the case.
``(D) Determination by interagency committee if
lead agency declines case.--If the lead agency declines
to accept a suspension or debarment case referred under
subparagraph (A) or fails to respond to the referral,
the Interagency Committee shall make a determination,
not later than 45 days after the date of the referral
of the case under subparagraph (A), regarding whether
the Inspector General shall act as lead agency in the
case. The Interagency Committee shall submit to the
congressional committees described in subparagraph (G)
a written notification of the determination.
``(E) Determination by lead agency if lead agency
accepts case.--If the lead agency accepts a suspension
or debarment case referred under subparagraph (A), the
agency shall make a determination, not later than 60
days after the date of the referral of the case under
subparagraph (A), to either suspend or debar the person
that is the subject of the case or decline to suspend
or debar the person. If the lead agency declines to
suspend or debar the person, the lead agency shall, not
later than 15 days after the determination, submit to
the congressional committees described in subparagraph
(G) a written notification and rationale for the
determination to decline to suspend or debar the
person.
``(F) Suspension and debarment authority of
inspector general.--
``(i) In general.--If the Interagency
Committee determines under subparagraph (D)
that the Inspector General may act as lead
agency in a suspension or debarment case
referred under subparagraph (A), then the
Inspector General (or the Inspector General's
designee) may suspend or debar a person from
procurement or nonprocurement activities of the
Federal Government in accordance with
regulations implementing the suspension and
debarment system of the Federal Government,
including the Federal Acquisition Regulation
and the Office of Management and Budget
guidelines to agencies on governmentwide
debarment and suspension (nonprocurement) in
part 180 of title 2 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.
``(ii) Exception.--In exercising the
authority provided under clause (i), the
Inspector General (or the Inspector General's
designee) may, with respect to a particular
contract, grant, or other procurement or
nonprocurement activity, grant an exception
that permits a person debarred or suspended
pursuant to clause (i) to submit an offer for
or be awarded the contract, grant, or other
activity. If such an exception is granted, the
Inspector General shall submit to the
congressional committees described in
subparagraph (G) a written notification and
rationale for the exception.
``(G) Committees described.--The committees
described in this subparagraph are the following:
``(i) The Committees on Foreign Affairs and
on Oversight and Government Reform of the House
of Representatives.
``(ii) The Committees on Foreign Relations
and on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate.''.
(b) Definition of Interagency Committee.--Section 1229(m) of such
Act (Public Law 110-181; 5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end
the following new paragraph:
``(3) Interagency committee on debarment and suspension.--
The term `Interagency Committee on Debarment and Suspension' or
`Interagency Committee' means the committee constituted under
sections 4 and 5 of Executive Order No. 12549.''.
(c) Deadline for Publication of Rules.--The Director of the Office
of Management and Budget shall publish any interim final rules
submitted to the Office to implement the amendments made by this Act in
the Federal Register within 30 days after the date of submission.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY AND REPORT.
(a) Study.--After the termination of the Office of Special
Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction under section
1229(o)(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2008 (Public Law 110-181; 122 Stat. 380; 5 U.S.C. App.), the
Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on the
authority and process provided under section 1229(g)(3) of such Act (as
added by section 2 of this Act).
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report
on the study carried out under subsection (a), with such
recommendations as the Comptroller General considers appropriate with
respect to the suspension and debarment system of the Federal
Government.
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