Legislative update: House OKs small biz contracting measures

Speedier payments, vets’ surviving spouse bills move

      The House in recent weeks has passed dozens of provisions affecting small business federal contractors, mostly in the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

      Reps. Steve Chabot, R-OH, chair of the House Small Business Committee, and Nydia Velazquez, D-NY, senior Democrat on the committee, each released a list of most significant measures originating from members of the committee that had been accepted into the House-approved version of the NDAA.

      The House also approved bills to strengthen Women’s Business Centers and to allow spouses of disabled veteran small business owners to carry on after the veteran is deceased.

      The measures OK’d by the House would need to be passed by the Senate to become law.

Small Business Committee bills

      Chabot appeared before the House Armed Services Committee in April to promote 7 small business contracting bills in the NDAA for fiscal 2019.

      On May 24, he announced that portions of five of those bills were included in the NDAA:

• HR 4754 - Change Order Transparency for Federal Contractors, which would provide would-be construction contractors for an agency with advance information of the agency’s policies regarding change orders;
• HR 5337 - Accelerated Payments for Small Businesses Act, applying only to the Defense Dept., which would set a goal of paying small business contractors within 15 days after an invoice; current law requires payment within 30 days. In the Senate, Sens. Ben Cardin, D-MD, and Mike Enzi, R-WY, submitted a similar bill.
• and significant portions of HR 2763, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Improvements Act, were also included in the NDAA.

Democratic provisions in NDAA

      Velazquez announced that several contracting-related measures authored by the small business committee’s Democratic lawmakers were included in the NDAA for fiscal 2019 as well:

• To stimulate jobs in areas hit by Hurricane Maria, the NDAA includes HR 5178, which allows federal agencies to receive double credit toward small business goals for contracts awarded to small firms in Puerto Rico, and Amendment 416, which allows double credit for small business contracts in the U.S. Virgin Islands;
• SCORE amendment offered by Rep. Alma Adams, D-NC, which expands and improves SCORE volunteer business counseling and mentoring in economically-disadvantaged communities, rural areas and other underserved areas;
• An amendment by Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-NY, that authorizes Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) to form an association, which would improve their counseling and technical assistance services to small businesses;
• HR 1702, authored by Rep. Dwight Evans, D-PA, to reform the SBA’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) program by improving data collection, streamlining collaboration, reducing paperwork and expanding outreach;
• An amendment by Rep. Al Lawson, D-FL, would set up a pilot program so that federal agencies could help Small Business Innovation Research firms commercialize their products;
• An amendment by Rep. Brad Schneider, D-IL, would increase flexibility for the use of funding within Phase I and Phase II of the SBIR and STTR programs;
• and Schneider also successfully added an amendment to authorize federal funds for the SBA’s Boots to Business program for veteran entrepreneurs.

House approves non-NDAA bills

      The House in early May passed HR 1680, which sets up additional rules and oversight for Women’s Business Centers, and also provides for expanded grants for the centers.

      The House also OK’d HR 5044, sponsored by Chabot, which allows the surviving spouses of a deceased service-disabled veteran small business owner to retain the service-disabled veteran status for the purpose of federal contracting for three years, or when the spouse remarries or sells the company.

Bills that have not passed the House

      At least two of the bills recommended by Chabot and the committee in April face an uncertain future as they have not won approval by the House.

      HR 5144 would authorize a study on how well federal agencies are overseeing small business subcontracting plans, and HR 2655 would authorize training for small business owners by SBDCs on how to use patent protection domestically and internationally.

      Since the House’s NDAA has been approved already, those two provisions could face a struggle in getting through the House as stand-alone bills.

More information:
Chabot statements: https://bit.ly/2J5Nwq7
and https://bit.ly/2kIlL8t
Velazquez statement: https://bit.ly/2x9Ygy7
WIPP Blog: https://bit.ly/2M00SlA

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