[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4317 Introduced in House (IH)]
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114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4317
To amend the Small Business Act to establish a pilot program providing
past performance ratings for other small business subcontractors, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 5, 2016
Mr. Hanna (for himself and Mr. Takai) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Small Business
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Small Business Act to establish a pilot program providing
past performance ratings for other small business subcontractors, 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 ``Promoting Reliable Subcontractors
Act of 2016'' or as the ``PROS Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. PROVIDING SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTORS RATINGS FOR PAST
PERFORMANCE ON A CONTRACT.
Section 8(d) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(17) Pilot program providing past performance ratings for
other small business subcontractors.--
``(A) Establishment.--The Administrator shall
establish a pilot program for a small business concern
performing as a first tier subcontractor for a covered
contract (as defined in subparagraph 13(A)) to request
a past performance rating in the system used by the
Federal Government to monitor or record contractor past
performance.
``(B) Application.--A small business concern
described in subparagraph (A) shall submit an
application to the appropriate official for a past
performance rating. Such application shall include
written evidence of the past performance factors for
which the small business concern seeks a rating and a
suggested rating.
``(C) Determination.--The appropriate official
shall submit the application from the small business
concern to the contracting officer (or a designee of
such officer) for the covered contract and to the prime
contractor for review. The contracting officer (or
designee) and the prime contractor shall, not later
than 30 days after receipt of the application, submit
to the appropriate official a response regarding the
application.
``(i) Agreement on rating.--If the
contracting officer (or designee) and the prime
contractor agree on a past performance rating,
or if either the contracting officer (or
designee) or the prime contractor fail to
respond and the responding individual agrees
with the rating of the applicant small business
concern, the appropriate official shall enter
the agreed-upon past performance rating in the
system described in subparagraph (A).
``(ii) Disagreement on rating.--If the
contracting officer (or designee) and the prime
contractor fail to respond within 30 days or if
they disagree about the rating, or if either
the contracting officer (or designee) or the
prime contractor fail to respond and the
responding individual disagrees with the rating
of the applicant small business concern, the
contracting officer (or designee) or the prime
contractor shall submit a notice contesting the
application to appropriate official. The
appropriate official shall follow the
requirements of subparagraph (D).
``(D) Procedure for rating.--Not later than 14
calendar days after receipt of a notice under
subparagraph (C)(ii), the appropriate official shall
submit such notice to the applicant small business
concern. Such concern may submit comments, rebuttals,
or additional information relating to the past
performance of such concern not later 14 calendar days
after receipt of such notice. The appropriate official
shall enter the into the system described in
subparagraph (A) a rating that is neither favorable nor
unfavorable along with the initial application from the
small business concern, the responses of the
contracting officer (or designee) and the prime
contractor, and any additional information provided by
the small business concern.
``(E) Use of information.--A small business
subcontractor may use a past performance rating given
under this paragraph to establish its past performance
for a prime contract.
``(F) Duration.--The pilot program established
under this paragraph shall terminate 3 years after the
date on which the first small business concern receives
a past performance rating for performance as a first
tier subcontractor.
``(G) Report.--The Comptroller General of the
United States shall begin an assessment of the pilot
program 1 year after the establishment of such program.
Not later than 6 months after beginning such
assessment, the Comptroller General shall submit a
report to the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on
Small Business of the House of Representatives, which
shall include--
``(i) the number of small business concerns
that have received past performance ratings
under the pilot program;
``(ii) the number of applications in which
the contracting officer (or designee) or the
prime contractor contested the application of
the small business concern;
``(iii) any suggestions or recommendations
the Comptroller General or the small business
concerns participating in the program have to
address disputes between the small business
concern, the contracting officer (or designee),
and the prime contractor on past performance
ratings; and
``(iv) any suggestions or recommendation
the Comptroller General has to improve the
operation of the pilot program.
``(H) Appropriate official defined.--In this
paragraph, the term `appropriate official' means a
Commercial Market Representative or other individual
designated by the senior official appointed by the
Administrator with responsibilities under sections 8,
15, 31 and 36.''.
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