S.Amdt. 4643

SA 4643. Mr. CARPER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2943, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2017 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

Strike section 812 and insert the following:

SEC. 812. MICRO-PURCHASE THRESHOLD APPLICABLE TO GOVERNMENT
PROCUREMENTS.

(a) Department of Defense Procurements.--
(1) Increased micro-purchase threshold.--
(A) In general.--Chapter 137 of title 10, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:

``Sec. 2338. Micro-purchase threshold

``Notwithstanding subsection (a) of section 1902 of title
41, the micro-purchase threshold for the Department of
Defense for purposes of such section is $5,000.''.
(B) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the
following new item:

``2338. Micro-purchase threshold.''.

(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 1902(a) of title 41,
United States Code, is amended by striking ``For purposes''
and inserting ``Except as provided in section 2338 of title
10, for purposes''.
(b) Other Procurements.--
(1) Increase in threshold.--Section 1902 of title 41,
United States Code, is amended--
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ``$3,000'' and inserting
``$10,000''; and
(B) in subsections (d) and (e), by striking ``not greater
than $3,000'' and inserting ``with a price not greater than
the micro-purchase threshold''.
(c) OMB Guidance.--The Director of the Office of Management
and Budget shall update the guidance in Circular A-123,
Appendix B, as appropriate, to ensure that agencies--
(1) follow sound acquisition practices when making
purchases using the Government purchase card; and
(2) maintain internal controls that reduce the risk of
fraud, waste, and abuse in Government charge card programs.
(d) Convenience Checks.--A convenience check may not be
used for an amount in excess of one half of the micro-
purchase threshold under section 1902(a) of title 41, United
States Code, or a lower amount set by the head of the agency,
and use of convenience checks shall comply with controls
prescribed in OMB Circular A-123, Appendix B.
At the end of subtitle B of title VIII, add the following:

SEC. 829K. PILOT PROGRAMS FOR AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE INNOVATIVE
COMMERCIAL ITEMS USING GENERAL SOLICITATION
COMPETITIVE PROCEDURES.

(a) Authority.--
(1) In general.--The head of an agency may carry out a
pilot program, to be known as a ``commercial solutions
opening pilot program'', under which innovative commercial
items may be acquired through a competitive selection of
proposals resulting from a general solicitation and the peer
review of such proposals.
(2) Head of an agency.--In this section, the term ``head of
an agency'' means the following:
(A) The Secretary of Homeland Security.
(B) The Administrator of General Services.
(3) Applicability of section.--This section applies to the
following agencies:
(A) The Department of Homeland Security.
(B) The General Services Administration.
(b) Treatment as Competitive Procedures.--Use of general
solicitation competitive procedures for the pilot program
under subsection (a) shall be considered, in the case of the
Department of Homeland Security and the General Services
Administration, to be use of competitive procedures for
purposes division C of title 41, United States Code (as
defined in section 152 of such title).
(c) Limitation.--The head of an agency may not enter into a
contract under the pilot program for an amount in excess of
$10,000,000.
(d) Guidance.--The head of an agency shall issue guidance
for the implementation of the pilot program under this
section within that agency. Such guidance shall be issued in
consultation with the Office of Management and Budget and
shall be posted for access by the public.
(e) Report Required.--
(1) In general.--Not later than three years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the head of an agency shall
submit to the congressional committees specified in paragraph
(3) a report on the activities the agency carried out under
the pilot program.
(2) Elements of report.--Each report under this subsection
shall include the following:
(A) An assessment of the impact of the pilot program on
competition.
(B) A comparison of acquisition timelines for--
(i) procurements made using the pilot program; and
(ii) procurements made using other competitive procedures
that do not use general solicitations.
(C) A recommendation on whether the authority for the pilot
program should be made permanent.
(3) Specified congressional committees.--The congressional
committees specified in this paragraph are the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and
the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House
of Representatives.
(f) Innovative Defined.--In this section, the term
``innovative'' means--
(1) any new technology, process, or method, including
research and development; or
(2) any new application of an existing technology, process,
or method.
(g) Termination.--The authority to enter into a contract
under a pilot program under this section terminates on
September 30, 2022.

SEC. 829L. INCREASE IN SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD.

(a) Civilian Contracts.--Section 134 of title 41, United
States Code, is amended by striking ``$100,000'' and
inserting ``$500,000''.
(b) Defense Contracts.--Section 2302a(a) of title 10,
United States Code, is amended by striking ``as specified in
section 134 of title 41'' and inserting ``$150,000''.
(c) Homeland Security Contracts.--Section 604(f) of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (6 U.S.C.
453b(f)) is amended by striking ``the simplified acquisition
threshold referred to in section 2304(g) of title 10, United
States Code'' and inserting ``$150,000''.

SEC. 829M. INNOVATION SET ASIDE PILOT PROGRAM.

(a) In General.--The Director of the Office of Management
and Budget may, in consultation with the Administrator of the
Small Business Administration, conduct a pilot program to
increase the participation of new, innovative entities in
Federal contracting through the use of innovation set-asides.
(b) Authority.--(1) Notwithstanding the competition
requirements in chapter 33 of title 41, United States Code,
and the set-aside requirements in section 15 of the Small

[[Page S3743]]

Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644), a Federal agency other than the
Department of Defense, with the concurrence of the Director,
may set aside a contract award to one or more new entrant
contractors. The Director shall consult with the
Administrator prior to providing concurrence.
(2) Notwithstanding any law addressing compliance
requirements for Federal contracts--
(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), a contract
award to a new entrant contractor under the pilot program
shall be subject to the same relief afforded under section
1905 of title 41, United States Code, to contracts the value
of which is not greater than the simplified acquisition
threshold; and
(B) for up to five pilots, the Director may authorize an
agency to make an award to a new entrant contractor subject
to the same compliance requirements that apply to a
contractor receiving an award from the Secretary of Defense
under section 2371 of title 10 United States Code.
(c) Conditions for Use.--The authority provided in
subsection (b) may be used under the following conditions:
(1)(A) The agency has a requirement for new methods,
processes, or technologies, which may include research and
development, or new applications of existing methods,
processes or technologies, to improve quality, reduce costs,
or both; or
(B) Based on market research, the agency has determined
that the requirement cannot be easily provided through an
existing Federal contract;
(2) The agency intends either to make an award to a small
business concern or to give special consideration to a small
business concern before making an award to other than a small
business; and
(3) The length of the resulting contract will not exceed 2
years.
(d) Number of Pilots.--The Director may authorize the use
of up to 25 innovation set-asides acquisitions.
(e) Award Amount.--
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the amount of an
award under the pilot program under this section may not
exceed $2,000,000 (including any options).
(2) The Director may authorize not more than 5 set-asides
with an award amount greater than $2,000,000 but not greater
than $5,000,000 (including any options).
(f) Guidance and Reporting.--
(1) The Director shall issue guidance, as necessary, to
implement the pilot program under this section.
(2) Within 3 years after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Director, in consultation with the Administrator
shall submit to Congress a report on the pilot program under
this section. The report shall include the following:
(A) The number of awards (or orders under the Schedule)
made under the authority of this section.
(B) For each award (or order)--
(i) the agency that made the award (or order);
(ii) the amount of the award (or order); and
(iii) a brief description of the award (or order),
including the nature of the requirement and the innovation
produced from the award (or expected if contract performance
is not completed).
(g) Sunset.--The authority to award an innovation set-aside
under this section shall terminate on December 31, 2020.
(h) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term
``new entrant contractor'', with respect to any contract
under the program, means an entity that has not been awarded
a Federal contract within the 5-year period ending on the
date on which a solicitation for that contract is issued
under the program.

SEC. 829N. OTHER TRANSACTION AUTHORITY FOR DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY.

Section 831 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
391) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``Until September 30,
2016,'' and inserting ``Until September 30, 2021,''; and
(2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``September 30,
2016,'' and inserting ``September 30, 2021,''.
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