Comparison of House, Senate SBA Reauthorization Bills Here is a comparison of the major procurement provisions of the SBA reauthorization bill passed by the Senate, S. 1375, and the reauthorization bill pending in the House, H.R. 2802. Contract Bundling Senate: Eliminates the term “bundling” and substitutes “consolidation.” Anti-bundling rules can be applied to new contracts as well as existing ones. 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.) Requires buyers on GSA schedules and governmentwide acquisition contracts to review the offers of at least two small businesses on each order. House: Would give the Office of Management and Budget authority to break up a bundled contract if an agency refused to do so. It would require agencies to justify bundling of new contracts, as well as existing ones, and to justify bundled orders through GSA schedules and other multiple award contracts, as the Bush administration has proposed in a pending regulation. States specifically that a consolidation of construction requirements constitutes bundling. Procurement Center Representatives Senate: Would require SBA to assign at least one PCR to each major procurement center, and at least one per state. PCRs work in agency contracting centers to support opportunities for small businesses. There are currently 47 of them. House: Would re-assign all deputy directors of SBA district offices to be PCRs, increasing the number of people in that position to 150 over two years. 8(a) Program House: Would restore 8(a) companies’ top priority in set-aside contracts; if no 8(a) firm is available, businesses owned by service-disabled veterans are next in line, followed by HUBZone companies, woman-owned businesses and then all other small businesses. SBA told contracting officers last year that 8(a) and HUBZone companies should be given equal priority in determining set-asides. Senate: No similar provision Net Worth House: Triples the net-worth limit for owners of 8(a) and small disadvantaged businesses, to $750,000, not counting equity in a home or in the business. Senate: No similar provision HUBZone Program House: Would fundamentally change the nature of the HUBZone program by requiring that a business must be owned by a socially or economically disadvantaged person to be eligible for the program. Senate: No similar provision. Would make all closed military bases eligible for the program for five years, to promote economic development at those sites. Woman-Owned Businesses House: Would give SBA 90 days to complete a study to determine what industries will be eligible for the woman-owned business set-aside program that has been delayed nearly three years. Until that study is completed, contracting officers would be permitted to set-aside contracts for women by determining that woman-owned firms are underrepresented in the industry covered by the contract. Senate: Would direct the General Accounting Office to conduct a study to identify those industries where women are under-represented in federal contracting and to submit its report by Dec. 31. Recertification House: Would require companies to recertify their eligibility as small businesses every five years, overruling the administration’s proposal to require annual recertification. Senate: No similar provision Subcontracting House: Would direct SBA to create standards for determining whether a prime contractor has made a “good faith” effort to comply with its subcontracting plan. “Good faith” is currently undefined, and contracting officers say that makes it difficult for them to pursue claims against primes that don’t meet their subcontracting goals. Senate: Would require the CEO of a prime contractor to sign a certification promising to use the subcontractors that are listed in its plan. Provides fines and debarment for willful violations. Prompt Payment Senate: If a prime contractor fails to make a timely payment to a subcontractor it would be considered a material breach of the contract. The contracting agency can pay the subcontractor directly. House: No similar provision