Small Contractors Improve Competition Act of 2015
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 390.
(Much of H.R. 1481, ordered to be reported on March 25, 2015, but not actually reported till April 19, 2016, was already incorporated in November 2015 into two Public Laws: P. L. 114-88, the Recovery Improvements for Small Entities After Disaster Act of 2015 or the RISE After Disaster Act of 2015; and P.L. 114-92, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016. The following summary reflects changes to the original bill that were ordered to be reported on March 25, 2015.)
Small Contractors Improve Competition Act of 2015
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 to require federal agency heads to ensure that specified executive personnel assume responsibility for the agency's success in achieving small business subcontracting goals and percentages.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) shall study whether the systems of an agency or department accurately record the data necessary for compliance with any requirements related to subcontracting at any tier under the Small Business Act.
In addition, the GAO shall conduct a study to: (1) assess whether federal agencies are accurately identifying the size status of business concerns awarded contracts in the Federal Procurement Data System as small business concerns, and (2) identify the impact of incorrect size status designations on meeting specified requirements related to procurement contracts.
(Sec. 3) The Small Business Administration (SBA) must implement a specified plan for improving the quality of data reported on bundled or consolidated contracts in the federal procurement data system.
The SBA must annually certify to Congress the accuracy and completeness of data reported on bundled and consolidated contracts.
The GAO shall study the effectiveness of the data quality improvement plan to assess whether contracts are accurately labeled as bundled or consolidated.
(Sec. 4) The bill addresses federal agency decisions about consolidation of its contract requirements made with a view to providing small business concerns with appropriate opportunities to participate in agency procurements as prime contractors and subcontractors.
The summary continues for 26 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House with amendment(s)" stage on April 19, 2016. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 19, 2016: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 390.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
STEVE CHABOT (R-OH) introduced it on March 19, 2015. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 19, 2015, 4193 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3796 days ago, on April 19, 2016.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers