Section 644 · Awards or contracts

(a) Small business procurements (1) In general For purposes of this chapter, small business concerns shall receive any award or contract if such award or contract is, in the determination of the Administrator and the contracting agency, in the interest of— (A) maintaining or mobilizing the full productive capacity of the United States; (B) war or national defense programs; or (C) assuring that a fair proportion of the total purchases and contracts for goods and services of the Government in each industry category (as defined under paragraph (2)) are awarded to small business concerns. (2) Industry category defined (A) In general In this subsection, the term “industry category” means a discrete group of similar goods and services, as determined by the Administrator in accordance with the North American Industry Classification System codes used to establish small business size standards, except that the Administrator shall limit an industry category to a greater extent than provided under the North American Industry Classification System codes if the Administrator receives evidence indicating that further segmentation of the industry category is warranted— (i) due to special capital equipment needs; (ii) due to special labor requirements; (iii) due to special geographic requirements, except as provided in subparagraph (B); (iv) due to unique Federal buying patterns or requirements; or (v) to recognize a new industry. (B) Exception for geographic requirements The Administrator may not further segment an industry category based on geographic requirements unless— (i) the Government typically designates the geographic area where work for contracts for goods or services is to be performed; (ii) Government purchases comprise the major portion of the entire domestic market for such goods or services; and (iii) it is unreasonable to expect competition from business concerns located outside of the general geographic area due to the fixed location of facilities, high mobilization costs, or similar economic factors. (3) Determinations with respect to awards or contracts Determinations made pursuant to paragraph (1) may be made for individual awards or contracts, any part of an award or contract or task order, or for classes of awards or contracts or task orders. (4) Increasing prime contracting opportunities for small business concerns (A) Description of covered proposed procurements The requirements of this paragraph shall apply to a proposed procurement that includes in its statement of work goods or services currently being supplied or performed by a small business concern and, as determined by the Administrator— (i) is in a quantity or of an estimated dollar value which makes the participation of a small business concern as a prime contractor unlikely; (ii) in the case of a proposed procurement for construction, seeks to bundle or consolidate discrete construction projects; or (iii) is a solicitation that involves an unnecessary or unjustified bundling of contract requirements. (B) Notice to procurement center representatives With respect to proposed procurements described in subparagraph (A), at least 30 days before issuing a solicitation and concurrent with other processing steps required before issuing the solicitation, the contracting agency shall provide a copy of the proposed procurement to the procurement center representative of the contracting agency (as described in subsection ( l )) along with a statement explaining— (i) why the proposed procurement cannot be divided into reasonably small lots (not less than economic production runs) to permit offers on quantities less than the total requirement; (ii) why delivery schedules cannot be established on a realistic basis that will encourage the participation of small business concerns in a manner consistent with the actual requirements of the Government; (iii) why the proposed procurement cannot be offered to increase the likelihood of the participation of small business concerns; (iv) in the case of a proposed procurement for construction, why the proposed procurement cannot be offered as separate discrete projects; or (v) why the contracting agency has determined that the bundling of contract requirements is necessary and justified. (C) Alternatives to increase prime contracting opportunities for small business concerns If the procurement center representative believes that the proposed procurement will make the participation of small business concerns as prime contractors unlikely, the procurement center representative, within 15 days after receiving the statement described in subparagraph (B), shall recommend to the contracting agency alternative procurement methods for increasing prime contracting opportunities for small business concerns. (D) Failure to agree on an alternative procurement method If the procurement center representative and the contracting agency fail to agree on an alternative procurement method, the Administrator shall submit the matter to the head of the appropriate department or agency for a determination. (5) Contracts for sale of government property With respect to a contract for the sale of Government property, small business concerns shall receive any such contract if, in the determination of the Administrator and the disposal agency, the award of such contract is in the interest of assuring that a fair proportion of the total sales of Government property be made to small business concerns. (6) Sale of electrical power or other property Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to change any preferences or priorities established by law with respect to the sale of electrical power or other property by the Federal Government. (7) Costs exceeding fair market price A contract may not be awarded under this subsection if the cost of the contract to the awarding agency exceeds a fair market price.

(e) Procurement strategies; contract bundling (1) In general To the maximum extent practicable, procurement strategies used by a Federal department or agency having contracting authority shall facilitate the maximum participation of small business concerns as prime contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers, and each such Federal department or agency shall— (A) provide opportunities for the participation of small business concerns during acquisition planning processes and in acquisition plans; and (B) invite the participation of the appropriate Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization in acquisition planning processes and provide that Director access to acquisition plans. (2) Market research (A) In general Before proceeding with an acquisition strategy that could lead to a contract containing consolidated procurement requirements, the head of an agency shall conduct market research to determine whether consolidation of the requirements is necessary and justified. (B) Factors For purposes of subparagraph (A), consolidation of the requirements may be determined as being necessary and justified if, as compared to the benefits that would be derived from contracting to meet those requirements if not consolidated, the Federal Government would derive from the consolidation measurably substantial benefits, including any combination of benefits that, in combination, are measurably substantial. Benefits described in the preceding sentence may include the following: (i) Cost savings. (ii) Quality improvements. (iii) Reduction in acquisition cycle times. (iv) Better terms and conditions. (v) Any other benefits. (C) Reduction of costs not determinative The reduction of administrative or personnel costs alone shall not be a justification for bundling of contract requirements unless the cost savings are expected to be substantial in relation to the dollar value of the procurement requirements to be consolidated. (3) Strategy specifications If the head of a contracting agency determines that an acquisition plan for a procurement involves a substantial bundling of contract requirements, the head of a contracting agency shall publish a notice on a public website that such determination has been made not later than 7 days after making such determination. Any solicitation for a procurement related to the acquisition plan may not be published earlier than 7 days after such notice is published. Along with the publication of the solicitation, the head of a contracting agency shall publish a justification for the determination, which shall include the following information: (A) The specific benefits anticipated to be derived from the bundling of contract requirements and a determination that such benefits justify the bundling. (B) An identification of any alternative contracting approaches that would involve a lesser degree of bundling of contract requirements. (C) An assessment of— (i) the specific impediments to participation by small business concerns as prime contractors that result from the bundling of contract requirements; and (ii) the specific actions designed to maximize participation of small business concerns as subcontractors (including suppliers) at various tiers under the contract or contracts that are awarded to meet the requirements. (4) Contract teaming (A) In general In the case of a solicitation of offers for a bundled or consolidated contract that is issued by the head of an agency, a small business concern that provides for use of a particular team of subcontractors or a joint venture of small business concerns may submit an offer for the performance of the contract. (B) Evaluation of offers The head of the agency shall evaluate an offer described in subparagraph (A) in the same manner as other offers, with due consideration to the capabilities of all of the proposed subcontractors or members of the joint venture as follows: (i) Teams When evaluating an offer of a small business prime contractor that includes a proposed team of small business subcontractors, the head of the agency shall consider the capabilities and past performance of each first tier subcontractor that is part of the team as the capabilities and past performance of the small business prime contractor. (ii) Joint ventures When evaluating an offer of a joint venture of small business concerns, if the joint venture does not demonstrate sufficient capabilities or past performance to be considered for award of a contract opportunity, the head of the agency shall consider the capabilities and past performance of each member of the joint venture as the capabilities and past performance of the joint venture. (C) Status as a small business concern Participation of a small business concern in a team or a joint venture under this paragraph shall not affect the status of that concern as a small business concern for any other purpose. (5) Past performance ratings of joint ventures for small business concerns With respect to evaluating an offer for a prime contract made by a small business concern that previously participated in a joint venture with another business concern (whether or not such other business concern was a small business concern), the Administrator shall establish regulations— (A) allowing the small business concern to elect to use the past performance of the joint venture if the small business concern has no relevant past performance of its own; (B) requiring the small business concern, when making an election under subparagraph (A)— (i) to identify to the contracting officer the joint venture of which the small business concern was a member; and (ii) to inform the contracting officer what duties and responsibilities the small business concern carried out as part of the joint venture; and (C) requiring a contracting officer, if the small business concern makes an election under subparagraph (A), to consider the past performance of the joint venture when evaluating the past performance of the small business concern, giving due consideration to the information provided under subparagraph (B)(ii).

(f) Contracting preference for small business concerns in a major disaster area (1) Definition In this subsection, the term “disaster area” means the area for which the President has declared a major disaster, during the period of the declaration. (2) Contracting preference An agency shall provide a contracting preference for a small business concern located in a disaster area if the small business concern will perform the work required under the contract in the disaster area. (3) Credit for meeting contracting goals If an agency awards a contract to a small business concern under the circumstances described in paragraph (2), the value of the contract shall be doubled for purposes of determining compliance with the goals for procurement contracts under subsection (g)(1)(A).

(g) Goals for participation of small business concerns in procurement contracts (1) Governmentwide goals.— (A) Establishment.— The President shall annually establish Governmentwide goals for procurement contracts awarded to small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women in accordance with the following: (i) The Governmentwide goal for participation by small business concerns shall be established at not less than 23 percent of the total value of all prime contract awards for each fiscal year. In meeting this goal, the Government shall ensure the participation of small business concerns from a wide variety of industries and from a broad spectrum of small business concerns within each industry. (ii) The Governmentwide goal for participation by small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans shall be established at not less than 5 percent of the total value of all prime contract and subcontract awards for each fiscal year. (iii) The Governmentwide goal for participation by qualified HUBZone small business concerns shall be established at not less than 3 percent of the total value of all prime contract and subcontract awards for each fiscal year. (iv) The Governmentwide goal for participation by small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals shall be established at not less than 5 percent of the total value of all prime contract and subcontract awards for each fiscal year. (v) The Governmentwide goal for participation by small business concerns owned and controlled by women shall be established at not less than 5 percent of the total value of all prime contract and subcontract awards for each fiscal year. (B) Achievement of governmentwide goals.— Each agency shall have an annual goal that presents, for that agency, the maximum practicable opportunity for small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women to participate in the performance of contracts let by such agency. The Small Business Administration and the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy shall, when exercising their authority pursuant to paragraph (2), insure that the cumulative annual prime contract goals for all agencies meet or exceed the annual Governmentwide prime contract goal established by the President pursuant to this paragraph. (2) (A) The head of each Federal agency shall, after consultation with the Administration, establish goals for the participation by small business concerns, by small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, by qualified HUBZone small business concerns, by small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and by small business concerns owned and controlled by women in procurement contracts of such agency. Such goals shall separately address prime contract awards and subcontract awards for each category of small business covered. (B) Goals established under this subsection shall be jointly established by the Administration and the head of each Federal agency and shall realistically reflect the potential of small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women to perform such contracts and to perform subcontracts under such contracts. Contracts excluded from review by procurement center representatives pursuant to subsection ( l )(9)(B) shall not be considered when establishing these goals. (C) Whenever the Administration and the head of any Federal agency fail to agree on established goals, the disagreement shall be submitted to the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy for final determination. (D) After establishing goals under this paragraph for a fiscal year, the head of each Federal agency shall develop a plan for achieving such goals at both the prime contract and the subcontract level, which shall apportion responsibilities among the agency’s acquisition executives and officials. In establishing goals under this paragraph, the head of each Federal agency shall make a consistent effort to annually expand participation by small business concerns from each industry category in procurement contracts and subcontracts of such agency, including participation by small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women. (E) The head of each Federal agency, in attempting to attain expanded participation under subparagraph (D), shall consider— (i) contracts awarded as the result of unrestricted competition; and (ii) contracts awarded after competition restricted to eligible small business concerns under this section and under the program established under section 637(a) of this title . (F) (i) Each procurement employee or program manager described in clause (ii) shall communicate to the subordinates of the procurement employee or program manager the importance of achieving goals established under subparagraph (A). (ii) A procurement employee or program manager described in this clause is a senior procurement executive, senior program manager, or Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization of a Federal agency having contracting authority. (3) First tier subcontracts that are awarded by Management and Operating contractors sponsored by the Department of Energy and by site support prime contractors at the National Energy Technology Laboratory to small business concerns, small businesses 1 concerns owned and controlled by service disabled veterans, qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women, shall be considered toward the annually established agency and Government-wide goals for procurement contracts awarded.

(h) Reporting on goals for procurement contracts awarded to small business concerns (1) Agency reports At the conclusion of each fiscal year, the head of each Federal agency shall submit to the Administrator a report describing— (A) the extent of the participation by small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans (including service-disabled veterans), qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women in the procurement contracts of such agency during such fiscal year; (B) whether the agency achieved the goals established for the agency under subsection (g)(2) with respect to such fiscal year; (C) any justifications for a failure to achieve such goals; and (D) a remediation plan with proposed new practices to better meet such goals, including analysis of factors leading to any failure to achieve such goals. (2) Reports by Administrator Not later than 60 days after receiving a report from each Federal agency under paragraph (1) with respect to a fiscal year, the Administrator shall submit to the President and Congress, and to make available on a public Web site, a report that includes— (A) a copy of each report submitted to the Administrator under paragraph (1); (B) a determination of whether each goal established by the President under subsection (g)(1) for such fiscal year was achieved; (C) a determination of whether each goal established by the head of a Federal agency under subsection (g)(2) for such fiscal year was achieved; (D) the reasons for any failure to achieve a goal established under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (g) for such fiscal year and a description of actions planned by the applicable agency to address such failure, including the Administrator’s comments and recommendations on the proposed remediation plan; and (E) for the Federal Government and each Federal agency, an analysis of the number and dollar amount of prime contracts awarded during such fiscal year to— (i) small business concerns— (I) in the aggregate; (II) through sole source contracts; (III) through competitions restricted to small business concerns; (IV) through unrestricted competition; (V) that were purchased by another entity after the initial contract was awarded and as a result of the purchase, would no longer be deemed to be small business concerns for purposes of the initial contract; and (VI) that were awarded using a procurement method that restricted competition to small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, small business concerns owned and controlled by women, or a subset of any such concerns; (ii) small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans— (I) in the aggregate; (II) through sole source contracts; (III) through competitions restricted to small business concerns; (IV) through competitions restricted to small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans; (V) through unrestricted competition; (VI) that were purchased by another entity after the initial contract was awarded and as a result of the purchase, would no longer be deemed to be small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans for purposes of the initial contract; and (VII) that were awarded using a procurement method that restricted competition to qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, small business concerns owned and controlled by women, or a subset of any such concerns; (iii) qualified HUBZone small business concerns— (I) in the aggregate; (II) through sole source contracts; (III) through competitions restricted to small business concerns; (IV) through competitions restricted to qualified HUBZone small business concerns; (V) through unrestricted competition where a price evaluation preference was used; (VI) through unrestricted competition where a price evaluation preference was not used; (VII) that were purchased by another entity after the initial contract was awarded and as a result of the purchase, would no longer be deemed to be qualified HUBZone small business concerns for purposes of the initial contract; and (VIII) that were awarded using a procurement method that restricted competition to small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, small business concerns owned and controlled by women, or a subset of any such concerns; (iv) small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals— (I) in the aggregate; (II) through sole source contracts; (III) through competitions restricted to small business concerns; (IV) through competitions restricted to small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals; (V) through unrestricted competition; (VI) by reason of that concern’s certification as a small business owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals; (VII) that were purchased by another entity after the initial contract was awarded and as a result of the purchase, would no longer be deemed to be small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals for purposes of the initial contract; and (VIII) that were awarded using a procurement method that restricted competition to small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by women, or a subset of any such concerns; (v) small business concerns owned by an Indian tribe (as such term is defined in section 637(a)(13) of this title ) other than an Alaska Native Corporation— (I) in the aggregate; (II) through sole source contracts; (III) through competitions restricted to small business concerns; (IV) through competitions restricted to small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals; (V) through unrestricted competition; and (VI) that were purchased by another entity after the initial contract was awarded and as a result of the purchase, would no longer be deemed to be small business concerns owned by an Indian tribe other than an Alaska Native Corporation for purposes of the initial contract; (vi) small business concerns owned by a Native Hawaiian Organization— (I) in the aggregate; (II) through sole source contracts; (III) through competitions restricted to small business concerns; (IV) through competitions restricted to small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals; (V) through unrestricted competition; and (VI) that were purchased by another entity after the initial contract was awarded and as a result of the purchase, would no longer be deemed to be small business concerns owned by a Native Hawaiian Organization for purposes of the initial contract; (vii) small business concerns owned by an Alaska Native Corporation— (I) in the aggregate; (II) through sole source contracts; (III) through competitions restricted to small business concerns; (IV) through competitions restricted to small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals; (V) through unrestricted competition; and (VI) that were purchased by another entity after the initial contract was awarded and as a result of the purchase, would no longer be deemed to be small business concerns owned by an Alaska Native Corporation for purposes of the initial contract; and (viii) small business concerns owned and controlled by women— (I) in the aggregate; (II) through competitions restricted to small business concerns; (III) through competitions restricted using the authority under section 637(m)(2) of this title ; (IV) through competitions restricted using the authority under section 637(m)(2) of this title and in which the waiver authority under section 637(m)(3) of this title was used; (V) through sole source contracts awarded using the authority under subsection 2 637(m)(7) of this title; (VI) through sole source contracts awarded using the authority under section 637(m)(8) of this title ; (VII) by industry for contracts described in subclause (III), (IV), (V), or (VI); (VIII) through unrestricted competition; (IX) that were purchased by another entity after the initial contract was awarded and as a result of the purchase, would no longer be deemed to be small business concerns owned and controlled by women for purposes of the initial contract; and (X) that were awarded using a procurement method that restricted competition to small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, or a subset of any such concerns; and (F) for the Federal Government, the number, dollar amount, and distribution with respect to the North American Industry Classification System of subcontracts awarded during such fiscal year to small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, qualified HUBZone small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned and controlled by women, provided that such information is publicly available through data systems developed pursuant to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–282), or otherwise available as provided in paragraph (3). (3) Procurement data (A) Federal Procurement Data System (i) In general To assist in the implementation of this section, the Administrator shall have access to information collected through the Federal Procurement Data System, Federal Subcontracting Reporting System, or any new or successor system. (ii) GSA report On the date that the Administrator makes available the report required under paragraph (2), the Administrator of the General Services Administration shall submit to the President and Congress, and shall make available on a public website, a report in the same form and manner, and including the same information, as the report required under paragraph (2). The report shall include all procurements made for the period covered by the report and may not exclude any contract awarded. (B) Agency procurement data sources To assist in the implementation of this section, the head of each contracting agency shall provide, upon request of the Administrator, procurement information collected through agency data collection sources in existence at the time of the request. Contracting agencies shall not be required to establish new data collection systems to provide such data. (4) Best in class small business participation reporting (A) Addendum In addition to the requirements under paragraph (2) and for each best in class designation, the Administrator shall include in the report required by such paragraph— (i) the total amount of spending Governmentwide in such designation; and (ii) the number of small business concerns awarded contracts and the dollar amount of such contracts awarded within each such designation to each of the following— (I) qualified HUBZone small business concerns; (II) small business concerns owned and controlled by women; (III) small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans; and (IV) small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. (B) Best in class defined The term “best in class” has the meaning given such term by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. (C) Effective date The Administrator shall report on the information described by subparagraph (A) beginning on the date that such information is available in the Federal Procurement Data System, the System for Award Management, or any successor to such systems.

(j) Small business reservation (1) Each contract for the purchase of goods and services that has an anticipated value greater than the micro-purchase threshold, but not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold shall be reserved exclusively for small business concerns unless the contracting officer is unable to obtain offers from two or more small business concerns that are competitive with market prices and are competitive with regard to the quality and delivery of the goods or services being purchased. (2) In carrying out paragraph (1), a contracting officer shall consider a responsive offer timely received from an eligible small business offeror. (3) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall be construed as precluding an award of a contract with a value not greater than $100,000 under the authority of subsection (a) of section 637 of this title , section 712 3 of the Business Opportunity Development Reform Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–656; 15 U.S.C. 644 note), or section 7102 of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994.

(k) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization; Director There is hereby established in each Federal agency having procurement powers an office to be known as the “Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization”. The management of each such office shall be vested in an officer or employee of such agency, with experience serving in any combination of the following roles: program manager, deputy program manager, or assistant program manager for Federal acquisition program; chief engineer, systems engineer, assistant engineer, or product support manager for Federal acquisition program; Federal contracting officer; small business technical advisor; contracts administrator for Federal Government contracts; attorney specializing in Federal procurement law; small business liaison officer; officer or employee who managed Federal Government contracts for a small business; or individual whose primary responsibilities were for the functions and duties of section 637, 644, 657a, 657f, or 657q of this title. Such officer or employee— (1) shall be known as the “Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization” for such agency; (2) shall be appointed by the head of such agency to a position that is a Senior Executive Service position (as such term is defined under section 3132(a) of title 5 ), except that, for any agency in which the positions of Chief Acquisition Officer and senior procurement executive (as such terms are defined under section 657q(a) of this title) are not Senior Executive Service positions, the Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization may be appointed to a position compensated at not less than the minimum rate of basic pay payable for grade GS–15 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5 (including comparability payments under section 5304 of title 5 ); (3) shall be responsible only to (including with respect to performance appraisals), and report directly and exclusively to, the head of such agency or to the deputy of such head, except that the Director for the Office of the Secretary of Defense shall be responsible only to (including with respect to performance appraisals), and report directly and exclusively to, such Secretary or the Secretary’s designee; (4) shall be responsible for the implementation and execution of the functions and duties under sections 637, 644, 657a, 657f, and 657q of this title which relate to such agency; (5) shall identify proposed solicitations that involve significant bundling of contract requirements, and work with the agency acquisition officials and the Administration to revise the procurement strategies for such proposed solicitations where appropriate to increase the probability of participation by small businesses as prime contractors, or to facilitate small business participation as subcontractors and suppliers, if a solicitation for a bundled contract is to be issued; (6) shall assist small business concerns to obtain payments, required late payment interest penalties, or information regarding payments due to such concerns from an executive agency or a contractor, in conformity with chapter 39 of title 31 or any other protection for contractors or subcontractors (including suppliers) that is included in the Federal Acquisition Regulation or any individual agency supplement to such Government-wide regulation,4 (7) shall have supervisory authority over personnel of such agency to the extent that the functions and duties of such personnel relate to functions and duties under sections 637, 644, 657a, 657f, and 657q of this title; (8) shall assign a small business technical adviser to each office to which the Administration has assigned a procurement center representative— (A) who shall be a full-time employee of the procuring activity and shall be well qualified, technically trained and familiar with the supplies or services purchased at the activity; and (B) whose principal duty shall be to assist the Administration procurement center representative in his duties and functions relating to sections 637, 644, 657a, 657f, and 657q of this title, 4 (9) shall cooperate, and consult on a regular basis, with the Administration with respect to carrying out the functions and duties described in paragraph (4) of this subsection; (10) shall make recommendations to contracting officers as to whether a particular contract requirement should be awarded pursuant to subsection (a) or section 637, 644, 657a, or 657f of this title, and the failure of the contracting officer to accept any such recommendations shall be documented and included within the appropriate contract file; (11) shall review and advise such agency on any decision to convert an activity performed by a small business concern to an activity performed by a Federal employee; (12) shall provide to the Chief Acquisition Officer and senior procurement executive of such agency advice and comments on acquisition strategies, market research, and justifications related to section 657q of this title; (13) may provide training to small business concerns and contract specialists, except that such training may only be provided to the extent that the training does not interfere with the Director carrying out other responsibilities under this subsection; (14) shall receive unsolicited proposals and, when appropriate, forward such proposals to personnel of the activity responsible for reviewing such proposals; (15) shall carry out exclusively the duties enumerated in this chapter, and shall, while the Director, not hold any other title, position, or responsibility, except as necessary to carry out responsibilities under this subsection; (16) shall submit, each fiscal year, to the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report describing— (A) the training provided by the Director under paragraph (13) in the most recently completed fiscal year; (B) the percentage of the budget of the Director used for such training in the most recently completed fiscal year; (C) the percentage of the budget of the Director used for travel in the most recently completed fiscal year; and (D) any failure of the agency to comply with section 637, 644, 657a, or 657f of this title; (17) shall, when notified by a small business concern prior to the award of a contract that the small business concern believes that a solicitation, request for proposal, or request for quotation unduly restricts the ability of the small business concern to compete for the award— (A) submit the notice of the small business concern to the contracting officer and, if necessary, recommend ways in which the solicitation, request for proposal, or request for quotation may be altered to increase the opportunity for competition; (B) inform the advocate for competition of such agency (as established under section 1705 of title 41 or section 3249 of title 10) of such notice; and (C) ensure that the small business concern is aware of other resources and processes available to address unduly restrictive provisions in a solicitation, request for proposal, or request for quotation, even if such resources and processes are provided by such agency, the Administration, the Comptroller General, or a procurement technical assistance program established under chapter 388 of title 10; (18) shall review summary data provided by purchase card issuers of purchases made by the agency greater than the micro-purchase threshold (as defined under section 1902 of title 41) and less than the simplified acquisition threshold to ensure that the purchases have been made in compliance with the provisions of this chapter and have been properly recorded in the Federal Procurement Data System, if the method of payment is a purchase card issued by the Department of Defense pursuant to section 4754 of title 10 or by the head of an executive agency pursuant to section 1909 of title 41; (19) shall provide assistance to a small business concern awarded a contract or subcontract under this chapter or under title 10 or title 41 in finding resources for education and training on compliance with contracting regulations (including the Federal Acquisition Regulation) after award of such a contract or subcontract; (20) shall review all subcontracting plans required by paragraph (4) or (5) of section 637(d) of this title to ensure that the plan provides maximum practicable opportunity for small business concerns to participate in the performance of the contract to which the plan applies; 5 (21) shall consult with the appropriate personnel from the relevant Federal agency to assist small business concerns participating in a SBIR or STTR program under section 638 of this title with researching applicable solicitations for the award of a Federal contract (particularly with the Federal agency that has a funding agreement, as defined under section 638 of this title , with the concern) to market the research developed by such concern under such SBIR or STTR program. This subsection shall not apply to the Administration.

(l) Procurement center representatives (1) Assignment and role.— The Administrator shall assign to each major procurement center a procurement center representative with such assistance as may be appropriate. (2) Activities.— A procurement center representative is authorized to— (A) attend any provisioning conference or similar evaluation session during which determinations are made as to whether requirements are to be procured through other than full and open competition and make recommendations with respect to such requirements to the members of such conference or session; (B) review, at any time, barriers to small business participation in Federal contracting previously imposed on goods and services through acquisition method coding or similar procedures, and recommend to personnel of the appropriate activity the prompt reevaluation of such barriers; (C) review barriers to small business participation in Federal contracting arising out of restrictions on the rights of the United States in technical data, and, when appropriate, recommend that personnel of the appropriate activity initiate a review of the validity of such an asserted restriction; (D) review any bundled or consolidated solicitation or contract in accordance with this chapter; (E) have access to procurement records and other data of the procurement center commensurate with the level of such representative’s approved security clearance classification, with such data provided upon request in electronic format, when available; (F) receive unsolicited proposals from small business concerns and transmit such proposals to personnel of the activity responsible for reviewing such proposals, who shall furnish the procurement center representative with information regarding the disposition of any such proposal; (G) consult with the Director the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization of that agency and the agency personnel described in paragraph 6 (7) and (8) of subsection (k) with regard to agency insourcing decisions covered by subsection (k)(11); (H) be an advocate for the maximum practicable utilization of small business concerns in Federal contracting, including by advocating against the consolidation or bundling of contract requirements when not justified; (I) assist small business concerns with finding resources for education and training on compliance with contracting regulations (including the Federal Acquisition Regulation) after award of a contract or subcontract; (J) consult with the appropriate personnel from the relevant Federal agency, to assist small business concerns participating in a SBIR or STTR program under section 9 with Phase III; 5 (K) carry out any other responsibility assigned by the Administrator. (3) Appeals.— A procurement center representative is authorized to appeal the failure to act favorably on any recommendation made pursuant to paragraph (2). Such appeal shall be filed and processed in the same manner and subject to the same conditions and limitations as an appeal filed by the Administrator pursuant to subsection (a). (4) The Administration shall assign and co-locate at least two small business technical advisers to each major procurement center in addition to such other advisers as may be authorized from time to time. The sole duties of such advisers shall be to assist the procurement center representative for the center to which such advisers are assigned in carrying out the functions described in paragraph (2) and the representatives referred to in subsection (k)(6). (5) Position requirements.— (A) In general.— A procurement center representative assigned under this subsection shall— (i) be a full-time employee of the Administration; (ii) be fully qualified, technically trained, and familiar with the goods and services procured by the major procurement center to which that representative is assigned; and (iii) have the certification described in subparagraph (C). (B) Compensation.— The Administrator shall establish personnel positions for procurement center representatives assigned under this subsection, which are classified at a grade level of the General Schedule sufficient to attract and retain highly qualified personnel. (C) Certification requirements.— (i) In general.— Consistent with the requirements of clause (ii), a procurement center representative shall have a Level III Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (or any successor certification) or the equivalent Department of Defense certification, except that any person serving in such a position on or before January 3, 2013, may continue to serve in that position for a period of 5 years without the required certification. (ii) Delay of certification requirements.— (I) Timing.— The certification described in clause (i) is not required for any person serving as a procurement center representative until the date that is one calendar year after the date such person is appointed as a procurement center representative. (II) Application.— The requirements of subclause (I) shall— (aa) be included in any initial job posting for the position of a procurement center representative; and (bb) apply to any person appointed as a procurement center representative after January 3, 2013. (6) Major procurement center defined.— For purposes of this subsection, the term “major procurement center” means a procurement center that, in the opinion of the Administrator, purchases substantial dollar amounts of goods or services, including goods or services that are commercially available. (7) Training.— (A) Authorization.— At such times as the Administrator deems appropriate, the breakout procurement center representative 7 shall conduct familiarization sessions for contracting officers and other appropriate personnel of the procurement center to which such representative is assigned. Such sessions shall acquaint the participants with the provisions of this subsection and shall instruct them in methods designed to further the purposes of such subsection. (B) Limitation.— A procurement center representative may provide training under subparagraph (A) only to the extent that the training does not interfere with the representative carrying out other activities under this subsection. (8) Annual briefing and report.— A procurement center representative shall prepare and personally deliver an annual briefing and report to the head of the procurement center to which such representative is assigned. Such briefing and report shall detail the past and planned activities of the representative and shall contain such recommendations for improvement in the operation of the center as may be appropriate. The head of such center shall personally receive such briefing and report and shall, within 60 calendar days after receipt, respond, in writing, to each recommendation made by such representative. (9) Scope of review.— The Administrator— (A) may not limit the scope of review by the procurement center representative for any solicitation of a contract or task order without regard to whether the contract or task order or part of the contract or task order is set aside for small business concerns, whether 1 or more contracts or task order awards are reserved for small business concerns under a multiple award contract, or whether or not the solicitation would result in a bundled or consolidated contract (as defined in subsection (s)) or a bundled or consolidated task order; and (B) shall, unless the contracting agency requests a review, limit the scope of review by the procurement center representative for any solicitation of a contract or task order if such solicitation is awarded by or for the Department of Defense and— (i) is conducted pursuant to section 2762 of title 22 ; (ii) is a humanitarian operation as defined in section 401(e) of title 10 ; (iii) is for a contingency operation, as defined in section 101(a)(13) of title 10 ; (iv) is to be awarded pursuant to an agreement with the government of a foreign country in which Armed Forces of the United States are deployed; or (v) both the place of award and the place of performance are outside of the United States and its territories.

(m) Additional duties of procurement center representatives All procurement center representatives (including those referred to in subsection (k)(6)), in addition to such other duties as may be assigned by the Administrator, shall increase, insofar as possible, the number and dollar value of procurements that may be used for the programs established under this section and section 637(a) of this title .

(p) Access to data (1) Bundled or consolidated contract defined In this subsection, the term “bundled or consolidated contract” has the meaning given in subsection (s). (2) Database Not later than 180 days after December 21, 2000, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall develop and shall thereafter maintain a database containing data and information regarding— (A) each bundled contract awarded by a Federal agency; and (B) each small business concern that has been displaced as a prime contractor as a result of the award of such a contract. (3) Analysis For each bundled contract that is to be recompeted as a bundled contract, the Administrator shall determine— (A) the amount of savings and benefits (in accordance with subsection (e)) achieved under the bundling of contract requirements; and (B) whether such savings and benefits will continue to be realized if the contract remains bundled, and whether such savings and benefits would be greater if the procurement requirements were divided into separate solicitations suitable for award to small business concerns. (4) Annual report on bundled or consolidated contracts (A) In general Not later than 1 year after December 21, 2000, and annually in March thereafter, the Administration shall transmit a report on bundled or consolidated contracts to the Committees on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Senate. (B) Contents Each report transmitted under subparagraph (A) shall include— (i) data on the number, arranged by industrial classification, of small business concerns displaced as prime contractors as a result of the award of bundled or consolidated contracts by Federal agencies; and (ii) a description of the activities with respect to previously bundled or consolidated contracts of each Federal agency during the preceding year, including— (I) data on the number and total dollar amount of all contract requirements that were included in bundled or consolidated contracts; and (II) with respect to each bundled or consolidated contract, data or information on— (aa) the justification for the bundling of contract requirements or the consolidation of contract requirements (as applicable); (bb) the cost savings realized by the bundling of contract requirements or the consolidation of contract requirements (as applicable) over the life of the contract; (cc) the extent to which maintaining contract requirements in a bundled or consolidated contract is projected to result in continued cost savings; (dd) the extent to which the bundling of contract requirements or the consolidation of contract requirements (as applicable) complied with the contracting agency’s small business subcontracting plan, including the total dollar value awarded to small business concerns as subcontractors and the total dollar value previously awarded to small business concerns as prime contractors; and (ee) the impact of the bundling of contract requirements or the consolidation of contract requirements (as applicable) on small business concerns unable to compete as prime contractors for the contract and on the industries of such small business concerns, including a description of any changes to the proportion of any such industry that is composed of small business concerns. (5) Access to data (A) Federal procurement data system To assist in the implementation of this section, the Administration shall have access to information collected through the Federal Procurement Data System. (B) Agency procurement data sources To assist in the implementation of this section, the head of each contracting agency shall provide to the Administrator data and information described in paragraphs (2) and (4).

(q) Reports related to procurement center representatives (1) Teaming and joint venture requirements (A) In general Each Federal agency shall include in each solicitation for any multiple award contract above the substantial bundling threshold of the Federal agency a provision soliciting bids from any responsible source, including responsible small business concerns and teams or joint ventures of small business concerns. (B) Teams When evaluating an offer of a small business prime contractor that includes a proposed team of small business subcontractors for any multiple award contract above the substantial bundling threshold of the Federal agency, the head of the agency shall consider the capabilities and past performance of each first tier subcontractor that is part of the team as the capabilities and past performance of the small business prime contractor. (C) Joint ventures When evaluating an offer of a joint venture of small business concerns for any multiple award contract above the substantial bundling threshold of the Federal agency, if the joint venture does not demonstrate sufficient capabilities or past performance to be considered for award of a contract opportunity, the head of the agency shall consider the capabilities and past performance of each member of the joint venture as the capabilities and past performance of the joint venture. (2) Policies on reduction of contract bundling (A) In general Not later than 1 year after September 27, 2010, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council established under section 1302(a) of title 41 shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation issued under section 1303(a) of title 41 to— (i) establish a Government-wide policy regarding contract bundling, including regarding the solicitation of teaming and joint ventures under paragraph (1); and (ii) require that the policy established under clause (i) be published on the website of each Federal agency. (B) Rationale for contract bundling Not later than 30 days after the date on which the head of a Federal agency submits data certifications to the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, the head of the Federal agency shall publish on the website of the Federal agency a list and rationale for any bundled contract for which the Federal agency solicited bids or that was awarded by the Federal agency. (3) Reporting Not later than 90 days after September 27, 2010, and every 3 years thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report regarding procurement center representatives and commercial market representatives, which shall— (A) identify each area for which the Administration has assigned a procurement center representative or a commercial market representative; (B) explain why the Administration selected the areas identified under subparagraph (A); and (C) describe the activities performed by procurement center representatives and commercial market representatives.

(r) Multiple award contracts Not later than 1 year after September 27, 2010, the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy and the Administrator, in consultation with the Administrator of General Services, shall, by regulation, establish guidance under which Federal agencies may, at their discretion— (1) set aside part or parts of a multiple award contract for small business concerns, including the subcategories of small business concerns identified in subsection (g)(2); (2) notwithstanding the fair opportunity requirements under section 3406(c) of title 10 and section 4106(c) of title 41, set aside orders placed against multiple award contracts for small business concerns, including the subcategories of small business concerns identified in subsection (g)(2); and (3) reserve 1 or more contract awards for small business concerns under full and open multiple award procurements, including the subcategories of small business concerns identified in subsection (g)(2).

(s) Data quality improvement plan (1) In general Not later than October 1, 2015, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, in consultation with the Small Business Procurement Advisory Council, the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, and the Administrator of General Services, shall develop a plan to improve the quality of data reported on bundled or consolidated contracts in the Federal procurement data system (described in section 1122(a)(4)(A) of title 41). (2) Plan requirements The plan shall— (A) describe the roles and responsibilities of the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, each Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, the Administrator of General Services, senior procurement executives, and Chief Acquisition Officers in— (i) improving the quality of data reported on bundled or consolidated contracts in the Federal procurement data system; and (ii) contributing to the annual report required by subsection (p)(4); (B) recommend changes to policies and procedures, including training procedures of relevant personnel, to properly identify and mitigate the effects of bundled or consolidated contracts; (C) recommend requirements for periodic and statistically valid data verification and validation; and (D) recommend clear data verification responsibilities. (3) Plan submission The Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall submit the plan to the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate not later than December 1, 2016. (4) Implementation Not later than October 1, 2016, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall implement the plan described in this subsection. (5) Certification The Administrator shall annually provide to the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a certification of the accuracy and completeness of data reported on bundled and consolidated contracts. (6) Definitions In this subsection, the following definitions apply: (A) Chief Acquisition Officer; senior procurement executive The terms “Chief Acquisition Officer” and “senior procurement executive” have the meanings given such terms in section 657q(a) of this title. (B) Bundled or consolidated contract The term “bundled or consolidated contract” means a bundled contract (as defined in section 632( o ) of this title) or a contract resulting from the consolidation of contracting requirements (as defined in section 657q(a)(2) of this title).

1 So in original. Probably should be “business”. 2 So in original. Probably should be “section”. 3 See References in Text note below. 4 So in original. The comma probably should be a semicolon. 5 So in original. Probably should be followed by “and”. 6 So in original. Probably should be “paragraphs”. 7 So in original. Probably should be “the procurement center representative”.