Senate Committee Votes Bundling Restrictions The Senate Small Business Committee has approved new restrictions on contract bundling, but committee Chair Olympia Snowe (R-ME) acknowledged that opposition from members of the Armed Services Committee may weaken or scuttle some of the proposals. The Small Business Committee unanimously approved S. 1375 to reauthorize Small Business Administration programs for two years. The bill scraps the term “bundling” and refers to “consolidation.” It would require contracting officers to conduct market research to justify a consolidated contract worth more than $5 million for the Defense Department and $2 million for all other departments and agencies. The Bush administration’s proposed anti-bundling regulations set the thresholds at $7 million for Defense; $5 million for NASA, the Energy Department and GSA; and $2 million for other agencies. (SAA, 2/7) The reauthorization bill expands the definition of a consolidated contract to include new requirements as well as the consolidation of existing contracts. The consolidation provisions would apply to GSA schedules and other multiple award contracts, as the administration has proposed. But Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said he has “some concerns” about the consolidation provisions applying to the Defense Department. Armed Services has blocked some previous attempts to place restrictions on DOD contracting. “This is going to be a contentious issue,” Snowe said before the Small Business Committee approved the bill July 10. She and Levin said their staffs will work together to try to bridge their differences. The bill would permit civilian agencies to pay subcontractors directly if a prime contractor fails to make timely payments. It also provides that a prime’s performance in subcontracting with small businesses will be a part of the company’s evaluation. The reauthorization bill incorporates Snowe’s legislation to provide permanent funding for SBA’s women’s business centers. The centers would be allowed to apply for new grants every three years, as small business development centers do. The administration has proposed cutting off federal funds for the women’s centers after they have been in operation five years. The bill directs the General Accounting Office to conduct a study to determine the industries where woman-owned businesses are underrepresented in federal contracting. SBA is currently evaluating a similar study. The study is required to implement a women’s set-aside program that was passed by Congress more than two years ago. The bill removes the word “minority” from the official title of the 8(a) program. That program will now be known as the “business development” program.