Defending America's Small Contractors Act of 2016
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 545.
Defending America's Small Contractors Act of 2016
TITLE I--IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY AND CLARITY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
(Sec. 101) This bill amends the Small Business Act to revise requirements for increasing prime federal contracting opportunities for small business concerns, and determining awards or contracts for the sale of government property to such concerns.
(Sec. 102) The bill revises requirements for annual Small Business Administration (SBA) reports to the President and Congress analyzing the number and dollar amount of prime contracts awarded by federal agencies each fiscal year to small business concerns.
The SBA shall include in such annual reports awards to these small business concerns that were purchased by another entity after the initial contract was awarded. The small business concern would no longer be deemed to be a small business because of such purchase. The SBA must also report on awards to small businesses that were awarded using a procurement method other than a small business set-aside, preference, or full and open competition.
(Sec. 103) For purposes of government-wide and agency-wide procurement goals for small business concerns, the total value of federal procurement contract awards to small business concerns for a fiscal year may not be determined in a manner that excludes the value of a contract based on where the contract is awarded, where it is performed, or whether:
the contract is required by federal law to be performed by an entity other than a small business concern; funding for the contract is made available in an appropriations Act, if the contract is subject to requirements for civilian procurement planning and solicitation or military procurement as well as the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR); or whether the contract is otherwise subject to the FAR. (Sec. 104) The bill amends the Small Business Act to revise the range of the anticipated value of federal procurement contracts that must be reserved exclusively for small business concerns. The range shall be between the micro-purchase threshold ($3,000) and the simplified acquisition threshold ($100,000). (Currently the range of the anticipated value must be between $2,500 and $100,000.)
The summary continues for 61 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 amended, Part I" stage on July 25, 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 July 25, 2016: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 545.
- 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 January 7, 2016, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
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 January 7, 2016, 3899 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3699 days ago, on July 25, 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