To express the sense of the Senate on the effects of cost inflation on the value range of the contracts to which a small business contract reservation applies.

SA 3434. Mr. McCONNELL (for himself and Ms. Snowe) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2400, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2005 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe personnel strengths for such fiscal year for the Armed Services, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 164, after line 18, insert the following:

SEC. 816. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON EFFECTS OF COST INFLATION ON THE VALUE RANGE OF THE CONTRACTS TO WHICH A SMALL BUSINESS CONTRACT RESERVATION APPLIES.

(a) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that--

(1) in the administration of the requirement for reservation of contracts for small businesses under subsection (j) of section 15 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644), the maximum amount in the contract value range provided under that subsection should be treated as being adjusted to the same amount to which the simplified acquisition threshold is increased whenever such threshold is increased under law; and

(2) the minimum amount specified in paragraph (1) of such subsection should not be increased on the basis of cost inflation.

(b) Simplified Acquisition Threshold Defined.--In this section, the term “simplified acquisition threshold” has the meaning give such term in section 4(11) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(11)).