[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5199 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 535
114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5199
[Report No. 114-691]
To amend title 41, United States Code, to improve the manner in which
Federal contracts for construction and design services are awarded, and
to prohibit the use of reverse auctions for design and construction
services procurements.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 11, 2016
Mr. Meadows introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
July 14, 2016
Additional sponsors: Mr. Mulvaney and Mr. Grothman
July 14, 2016
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 41, United States Code, to improve the manner in which
Federal contracts for construction and design services are awarded, and
to prohibit the use of reverse auctions for design and construction
services procurements.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Construction
Consensus Procurement Improvement Act of 2016''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Congressional findings.
Sec. 3. Design-build construction process improvement.
Sec. 4. Prohibition on the use of a reverse auction for the award of a
contract for design and construction
services.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The acquisition procedures that are often used
effectively to procure products and other forms of services are
not always appropriate for procurement of design and
construction services.
(2) Federal procurement officials often adopt contracting
techniques from the private sector and have used those
techniques effectively to procure products and services.
(3) Design-build is a procurement technique Federal
officials have adopted from the private sector that has worked
well for procurement of design and construction services.
(4) The current statutory framework for design-build could
benefit from legislative refinement.
(5) Reverse auctions are another procurement technique
Federal officials have adopted from the private sector and used
successfully to award contracts for the purchase of products
that are commercially equivalent to commodities.
(6) Despite their success in other contexts, reverse
auctions are generally inappropriate for procurement of design
and construction services, given the unique nature of each such
project.
SEC. 3. DESIGN-BUILD CONSTRUCTION PROCESS IMPROVEMENT.
(a) Civilian Contracts.--
(1) In general.--Section 3309(b) of title 41, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(b) Criteria for Use.--
``(1) Contracts with a value of at least $750,000
$3,000,000.--Two-phase selection procedures shall be used for
entering into a contract for the design and construction of a
public building, facility, or work when a contracting officer
determines that the project has a value of $750,000 $3,000,000
or greater, as adjusted for inflation in accordance with
section 1908 of this title.
``(2) Contracts with a value less than $750,000
$3,000,000.--For projects that a contracting officer determines
have a value of less than $750,000 $3,000,000, the contracting
officer shall make a determination whether two-phase selection
procedures are appropriate for use for entering into a contract
for the design and construction of a public building, facility,
or work when--
``(A) the contracting officer anticipates that 3 or
more offers will be received for the contract;
``(B) design work must be performed before an
offeror can develop a price or cost proposal for the
contract;
``(C) the offeror will incur a substantial amount
of expense in preparing the offer; and
``(D) the contracting officer has considered
information such as--
``(i) the extent to which the project
requirements have been adequately defined;
``(ii) the time constraints for delivery of
the project;
``(iii) the capability and experience of
potential contractors;
``(iv) the suitability of the project for
use of the two-phase selection procedures;
``(v) the capability of the agency to
manage the two-phase selection process; and
``(vi) other criteria established by the
agency.''.
(2) Annual reports.--
(A) In general.--Not later than November 30 of
2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, the head of each
agency shall compile an annual report of each instance
in which the agency awarded a design-build contract
pursuant to section 3309 of title 41, United States
Code, during the fiscal year ending in such calendar
year, in which--
(i) more than 5 finalists were selected for
phase-two requests for proposals; or
(ii) the contract or order was awarded
without using two-phase selection procedures.
(B) Public availability.--The Director of the
Office of Management and Budget shall facilitate public
access to the reports, including by posting them on a
publicly available Internet website. A notice of the
availability of each report shall be published in the
Federal Register.
(b) GAO Reports.--Not later than 270 days after the deadline for
the final reports required under subsection (f) of section 3309 of
title 41, United States Code, as added by subsection (a)(1), the
Comptroller General of the United States shall issue a report analyzing
the compliance of the various Federal agencies with the requirements of
such section.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF A REVERSE AUCTION FOR THE AWARD OF A
CONTRACT FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES.
(a) Finding.--Congress finds that, in contrast to a traditional
auction in which the buyers bid up the price, sellers bid down the
price in a reverse auction.
(b) Prohibition.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, in
consultation with the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy,
shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to prohibit the use of
reverse auctions as part of the two-phase selection procedure for
awarding contracts for construction and design services.
(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
(1) the term ``design and construction services'' means--
(A) site planning and landscape design;
(B) architectural and engineering services
(including surveying and mapping defined in section
1101 of title 40, United States Code);
(C) interior design;
(D) performance of substantial construction work
for facility, infrastructure, and environmental
restoration projects;
(E) delivery and supply of construction materials
to construction sites; or
(F) construction or substantial alteration of
public buildings or public works; and
(2) the term ``reverse auction'' means, with respect to
procurement by an agency--
(A) a real-time auction conducted through an
electronic medium among 2 or more offerors who compete
by submitting bids for a supply or service contract
with the ability to submit revised lower bids at any
time before the closing of the auction; and
(B) the award of the contract, delivery order, task
order, or purchase order to the offeror, in whole or in
part, based on the price obtained through the auction
process.
Union Calendar No. 535
114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5199
[Report No. 114-691]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 41, United States Code, to improve the manner in which
Federal contracts for construction and design services are awarded, and
to prohibit the use of reverse auctions for design and construction
services procurements.
_______________________________________________________________________
July 14, 2016
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed