Small biz items cut from NDAA

      As the House and Senate hash out the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act each year, some provisions typically are dropped.

      In the fiscal 2020 NDAA, lawmakers removed at least 31 acquisition-related measures backed by either the House or Senate.

      Those withdrawn items potentially are significant because they clearly had substantial support in one of the chambers. As members set priorities for 2020, some of those legislative goals may pop up on the calendar again.

      Here are some of the notable contracting-related items removed from the final version, according to an analysis by Wifcon.com LLC, which hosts a blog for acquisition professionals:

• Berry Amendment: Sect. 810 of the Senate bill would have lowered the threshold at which the Defense Dept. must apply the Berry Amendment to $150,000. Under the amendment, the DOD gives preference to domestically-produced products;
• Performance payments: Sect. 823 in the House would have required DOD to notify Congress and the public before changing contract finance rates for progress payments or performance-based payments;
• Federal Prison Industries: Sec. 827 in the House amendment would have created a requirement for agencies to conduct market research before purchasing a product in the Federal Prison Industries catalog;
• Preference for veterans: Sec. 831 of the House amendment would have created a preference in procurement for companies that employ veterans; This provision would create a requirement for conducting market research before purchasing a product listed in the Federal Prison Industries (FPI) catalog.
• Bid and proposal costs: Sec. 833 in the House would have ordered contractors to report their expenses for bids and proposals each year to the Defense Contract Audit Agency;
• ”Runway” Act: Sec. 872 of the House amendment would have changed the small business size calculation to five years, and also required SBA to set up a transition plan for small firms to help them navigate the size standard changes;
• SBA Cybersecurity: Sec. 875 of the House amendment would have ordered the SBA to issue reports on its cybersecurity infrastructure, including the origin of IT components, and to report cyber threats, breaches and cyber attacks;
• SBDC cyber counseling: Sec. 876 would have created a program to certify employees at Small Business Development Centers to provide cyber planning assistance to small businesses;
• Unpaid Taxes: Sec. 899H in House would have included information on contractors’ unpaid federal taxes in the federal awardee performance and integrity database; and
• Reimbursements for protest costs: Sec. 899J in House would have amended the pilot program in which vendors who file failed bid protests reimburse DOD for the agency costs in defending the program. It would have forced DOD to certify its IT systems could measure such costs accurately before starting the program.

More Information:
Wifcon report: https://bit.ly/2RW5tJ4

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