[Pages H7212-H7214]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

FEDERAL IMPROVEMENT IN TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENT ACT

Mr. BURLISON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 9595) to improve Federal technology procurement, and for
other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 9595

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 ``Federal Improvement in
Technology Procurement Act'' or the ``FIT Procurement Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Acquisition workforce.--The term ``acquisition
workforce'' means employees of an executive agency who are
responsible for procurement, contracting, program or project
management that involves the performance of acquisition-
related functions, or others as designated by the Chief
Acquisition Officer, senior procurement executive, or head of
the contracting activity.
(2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy.
(3) Chief acquisition officer.--The term ``Chief
Acquisition Officer'' means a Chief Acquisition Officer
appointed pursuant to section 1702 of title 41, United States
Code.
(4) Cross-functional.--The term ``cross-functional'' means
a structure in which individuals with different functional
expertise or from different areas of an organization work
together as a team.
(5) Executive agency.--The term ``executive agency'' has
the meaning given the term in section 133 of title 41, United
States Code.
(6) Experiential learning.--The term ``experiential
learning'' means on-the-job experiences or simulations that
serve to enhance workforce professional skills.
(7) Information and communications technology.--The term
``information and communications technology''--
(A) has the meaning given the term in section 4713(k) of
title 41, United States Code; and
(B) includes information and communications technologies
covered by any definition contained in the Federal
Acquisition Regulation, including a definition added after
the date of the enactment of this Act by the Federal
Acquisition Regulatory Council pursuant to notice and
comment.
(8) Relevant committees of congress.--The term ``relevant
committees of Congress'' means the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of
Representatives.
(9) Senior procurement executive.--The term ``senior
procurement executive'' means a senior procurement executive
designated pursuant to section 1702(c) of title 41, United
States Code.
(10) Small business.--The term ``small business'' has the
meaning given the term ``small business concern'' in section
3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).

SEC. 3. ACQUISITION WORKFORCE.

(a) Experiential Learning.--Not later than 18 months after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal
Acquisition Institute shall establish a pilot program to
consider the incorporation of experiential learning into the
Federal Credentials Program, the Federal Acquisition
Certification-Contracting Officer's Representative Program,
and the Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and
Project Managers Program, or any successor program.
(b) Training on Information and Communications Technology
Acquisition.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal
Acquisition Institute, in coordination with the
Administrator, the Administrator of General Services, and the
Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government, and in
consultation with the heads of other executive agencies as
determined to be appropriate by the Director of the Federal
Acquisition Institute, shall develop and implement or
otherwise provide a cross-functional information and
communications technology acquisition training program for
acquisition workforce members involved in acquiring
information and communications technology. The training shall
do the following:
(A) Include learning objectives related to market research,
communicating with industry and industry perspectives on the
procurement process, including how investment decisions are
impacted by Government communication and engagement,
developing requirements, acquisition planning, best practices
for developing and executing outcome-based contracts, and
source selection strategy, evaluating proposals, and awarding
and administering contracts for information and
communications technology.
(B) Include learning objectives that provide a basic
understanding of key technologies executive agencies need,
such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence and
artificial intelligence-enabled applications, and
cybersecurity solutions.
(C) Include learning objectives that encourage the use of
commercial or commercially available off-the-shelf
technologies to the greatest extent practicable.
(D) Include case studies of lessons learned from Federal
information and communications technology procurements and
contracts, and related matters as determined to

[[Page H7213]]

be relevant by the Director of the Federal Acquisition
Institute.
(E) Include experiential learning opportunities, and
opportunities to practice acquisition teaming involving
collaboration of team members with varied relevant domain
expertise to complete acquisition-related tasks, including
tasks with accelerated timelines.
(F) Include continuous learning recommendations and
resources to keep the skills of acquisition workforce members
current, including tools that help adopt or adapt the use of
innovative acquisition practices or other flexible business
practices commonly used in commercial buys.
(G) Be made available to acquisition workforce members
designated by a Chief Acquisition Officer, senior procurement
executive, or head of the contracting activity to participate
in the training program.
(H) Inform executive agencies about streamlined and
alternative procurement methods for procurement of
information and communications technology, including--
(i) simplified procedures for certain commercial products
and commercial services in accordance with subpart 13.5 of
the Federal Acquisition Regulation, prize competitions under
the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Public Law
111-358), competitive programs that encourage businesses to
engage in Federal research or research and development with
the potential for commercialization, and joint venture
partnerships;
(ii) innovative procurement techniques designed to
streamline the procurement process and lower barriers to
entry, such as use of oral presentations and product
demonstrations instead of lengthy written proposals,
appropriately leveraging performance and outcomes-based
contracting, and other techniques discussed on the Periodic
Table of Acquisition Innovations or other similar successor
knowledge management portals; and
(iii) information on appropriate use, examples and
templates, and any other information determined relevant by
the Administrator to assist contracting officers and other
members of the acquisition workforce in using the procedures
described in clauses (i) and (ii).
(I) Incorporate learning objectives to identify and
mitigate waste, fraud, and abuse and ensure the protection of
established privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties in the
procurement process.
(2) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal
Acquisition Institute shall provide to the relevant
committees of Congress, the Chief Acquisition Officers
Council, and the Chief Information Officers Council--
(A) a report on the progress of the Director in developing
and implementing or otherwise providing the information and
communications technology acquisition training described in
paragraph (1); and
(B) a list of any acquisition training that the Director
determines to be outdated or no longer necessary.
(3) Duration.--The training program shall be updated as
appropriate, but at least every 2 years after implementation,
and offered for a minimum of 6 years following the date of
implementation of the training program.
(c) Acquisition Workforce Training Fund.--Section
1703(i)(3) of title 41, United States Code, is amended by
striking ``Five percent'' and inserting ``Seven and a half
percent''.
(d) Harmonization of Acquisition Workforce Training
Requirements.--Section 2 of the Artificial Intelligence
Training for the Acquisition Workforce Act (Public Law 117-
207; 41 U.S.C. 1703 note) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(4), by striking ``Director.--The term
`Director' means the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget.'' and inserting ``Administrator.--The term
`Administrator' means the Administrator of General
Services.''.
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Director, in
coordination with the Administrator of General Services and
any other person determined relevant by the Director'' and
inserting ``Administrator, in coordination with the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget'';
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``Director'' and
inserting ``Administrator'';
(C) in paragraph (5), by striking ``Director'' and
inserting ``Administrator''; and
(D) in paragraph (6), by striking ``Director'' and
inserting ``Administrator''.

SEC. 4. INNOVATIVE PROCUREMENT METHODS.

(a) Increase in Simplified Acquisition Threshold.--Section
134 of title 41, United States Code, is amended by striking
``$250,000'' and inserting ``$500,000''.
(b) Increase in Micro Purchase Threshold.--Section
1902(a)(1) of title 41, United States Code, is amended by
striking ``$10,000'' and inserting ``$25,000.''.
(c) Advances for Commercial Technology Subscriptions and
Tenancy.--Section 3324(d) of title 31, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by inserting ``or commercially available content''
after ``publication''; and
(B) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``;
and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) charges for information and communications technology
subscriptions, reservations, or tenancy, which means the
sharing of computing resources in a private or public
environment, including cloud environments, for which the
ordering agency defines appropriate access and security
standards.''.

SEC. 5. INCREASING COMPETITION IN FEDERAL CONTRACTING.

(a) Use of Past Performance.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall issue
guidance, including examples and templates where appropriate,
on--
(A) when a wider range of projects, such as commercial or
non-government, as well as Government projects, should be
accepted as relevant past performance, in order to have
increased competition among eligible firms with capability to
perform a requirement, such as a requirement without much
precedent;
(B) a means by which an agency may validate non-government
past performance references, such as by requiring an official
of an entity providing past performance references to attest
to their authenticity and by providing verifiable contact
information for the references; and
(C) use of alternative evaluation methods other than past
performance that may be appropriate for a requirement without
much precedent, such as demonstrations and testing of
technologies as part of the proposal process.
(2) Supplement not supplant.--The guidance issued under
paragraph (1) shall supplement existing Federal and agency
policy and procedures for consideration of past performance
and other evaluation factors and methods.
(b) Enhancing Competition in Federal Procurement.--
(1) Council recommendations.--Not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator
shall convene the Chief Acquisition Officers Council (in this
section referred to as the ``Council''), to make
recommendations to identify and eliminate specific,
unnecessary procedural barriers that disproportionately
affect the ability of small businesses to compete for Federal
contracts, with a focus on streamlining documentation and
qualification requirements unrelated to the protection of
privacy and civil liberties.
(2) Consultation.--The Council shall obtain input from the
public, including from the APEX Accelerators program
(formerly known as Procurement Technical Assistance Center
network) and other contractor representatives, to identify
Federal procurement policies and regulations that are
obsolete, overly burdensome or restrictive, not adequately
harmonized, or otherwise serve to create barriers to small
business participation in Federal contracting or
unnecessarily increase bid and proposal costs.
(3) Examination of actions.--The Council shall consider the
input obtained under paragraph (2) and any other information
determined to be relevant by the Council to identify
legislative, regulatory, and other actions to increase
competition and remove barriers to small business
participation in the procurement process.
(4) Implementation.--Not later than 2 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in
consultation with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council,
the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, and other executive
agencies as appropriate, shall implement the regulatory and
other non-legislative actions identified under paragraph (3),
as determined necessary by the Administrator, to remove
barriers to entry for small businesses seeking to participate
in Federal Government procurement.
(5) Briefing.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall brief the
relevant committees of Congress on the legislative actions
identified under paragraph (3), and the actions implemented
under paragraph (4).
(c) Consideration of Cost-Efficiency and Quality.--The
Administrator shall advocate for and prioritize contracting
policies that ensure that cost-efficiency and quality of
goods and services are key determining factors in awarding
Federal contracts.

SEC. 6. COMPTROLLER GENERAL ASSESSMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS
PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL PROCUREMENT.

Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall
submit to Congress and make publicly available a report
that--
(1) assesses the current level of small business
participation in Federal procurement, identifying barriers,
opportunities, and the impact of existing policies on the
ability of small businesses to compete in Federal
procurement;
(2) catalogs and evaluates the effectiveness of programs
intended to support small business participation in Federal
procurement; and
(3) analyzes trends in small business involvement in
Federal technology projects, including data on contract
awards, the diversity of sectors represented, and the
geographic distribution of small business contractors.

SEC. 7. CONFLICT OF INTEREST PROCEDURES.

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council and the
Administrator shall update the Federal Acquisition Regulation
as necessary to provide additional guidance to executive
agencies to address personal and organizational conflicts of
interest involving members of the acquisition workforce.

[[Page H7214]]

SEC. 8. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDING.

No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated for
the purpose of carrying out this Act.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Burlison) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.

General Leave

Mr. BURLISON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. BURLISON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 9595, the FIT Procurement Act.
This bill streamlines the procurement process for small businesses and
small transactions and would enable the government to take full
advantage of commercial best practices.
This legislation achieves this in three ways: first, by increasing
the micro purchase threshold, or the MPT, from $10,000 to $25,000;
second, by increasing the simplified acquisition threshold, or the SAT,
from $250,000 to $500,000; and, third, by authorizing advance payments
for certain types of software and cloud computing.
On the first, I would note that purchases under the MPT, which
currently account for a tiny fraction of overall government contract
spending, do not require the involvement of a Federal contracting
officer. For this reason, raising the MPT from $10,000 to $25,000 is
estimated by George Mason's Baroni Center for Government Contracting to
save more than $40 million annually in Federal administrative costs.
This allows contracting officers to focus more time on larger
acquisitions, where the potential for waste, fraud, and abuse is far
greater.
Further, purchases above the MPT and below the SAT are subject to
simplified procedures in order to reduce administrative costs and
promote opportunities for small businesses.
By increasing the SAT from $250,000 to $500,000, this bill provides
opportunities for small businesses and reduces administrative burdens
for smaller government contracts.
Finally, by allowing for advance payments for software services, this
bill saves taxpayer dollars by allowing Federal agencies to access the
discounts that are currently available through upfront payments to the
private sector.
I thank Chairman Comer and his staff for working with me on this
effort in the Oversight Committee, and I thank Senators Peters and Cruz
for leading the Senate companion to this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 9595, the FIT Procurement Act. This bill is
modeled after a bipartisan Senate bill led by Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Gary Peters, along with Senator
Cruz.
The act streamlines and simplifies Federal procurement to help
agencies acquire commercial technology in a timelier way and to make it
easier for businesses to compete for contracts.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to support this bill today. I associate
myself with the remarks of the distinguished gentleman from Missouri. I
urge passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BURLISON. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill,
which will streamline the procurement process for small businesses and
small transactions, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Burlison) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 9595.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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