To provide for expedited action in bid protests conducted under OMB Circular A-76.

SA 1345. Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Carper, and Mr. Obama) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 1042, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2006 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 Forces, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 292, between lines 15 and 16, insert the following:

SEC. 1106. BID PROTESTS BY FEDERAL EMPLOYEES IN ACTIONS UNDER OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET CIRCULAR A-76.

(a) Eligibility to Protest.--(1) Section 3551(2) of title 31, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

“(2) The term ‘interested party'--

“(A) with respect to a contract or a solicitation or other request for offers described in paragraph (1), means an actual or prospective bidder or offeror whose direct economic interest would be affected by the award of the contract or by failure to award the contract; and

“(B) with respect to a public-private competition conducted under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 regarding performance of an activity or function of a Federal agency, includes--

“(i) any official who submitted the agency tender in such competition; and

“(ii) any one person who, for the purpose of representing them in a protest under this subchapter that relates to such competition, has been designated as their agent by a majority of the employees of such Federal agency who are engaged in the performance of such activity or function.”.

(2)(A) Subchapter V of chapter 35 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

“Sec. 3557. Expedited action in protests for Public-Private

competitions

“For protests in cases of public-private competitions conducted under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 regarding performance of an activity or function of Federal agencies, the Comptroller General shall administer the provisions of this subchapter in a manner best suited for expediting final resolution of such protests and final action in such competitions.”.

(B) The chapter analysis at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 3556 the following new item:

“3557. Expedited action in protests for public-private competitions.”.

(b) Right to Intervene in Civil Action.--Section 1491(b) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(5) If a private sector interested party commences an action described in paragraph (1) in the case of a public-private competition conducted under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 regarding performance of an activity or function of a Federal agency, then an official or person described in section 3551(2)(B) of title 31 shall be entitled to intervene in that action.”.

(c) Applicability.--Subparagraph (B) of section 3551(2) of title 31, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), and paragraph (5) of section 1491(b) of title 28, United States Code (as added by subsection (b)), shall apply to--

(1) protests and civil actions that challenge final selections of sources of performance of an activity or function of a Federal agency that are made pursuant to studies initiated under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 on or after January 1, 2004; and

(2) any other protests and civil actions that relate to public-private competitions initiated under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.