S.Amdt. 939

SA 939. Mr. LANKFORD submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2024 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:

At the end of subtitle D of title VIII, add the following:

SEC. 849. COMPETITION OF SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS FOR
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CONTRACTS.

(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
issue guidance ensuring that covered small businesses are
better able to compete for Department of Defense contracts.
(b) Exemptions From Capability Requirements.--
(1) Waiver authority.--The guidance issued under subsection
(a) shall provide that the Department of Defense may waive
capability requirements, including the waiver described in
paragraph (2), to allow a covered small business that does
not otherwise meet such requirements to bid on a contract,
provided that it makes the certification described under
paragraph (3).
(2) Special consideration to provide interim access to
classified information for department of defense contractors
without security clearances.--Notwithstanding section 801 of
the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3161) and the
procedures established pursuant to such section, the
Secretary of Defense may issue a waiver providing a covered
small business that has not been determined eligible to
access classified information pursuant to such procedures
interim access to classified information under such terms and
conditions as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(3) Certification requirement.--In order to qualify for a
waiver under paragraph (1), a covered small business shall
certify that it will be able to meet the exempted capability
requirements within 180 days after the contract award date.
The certification shall include a detailed project and
financial plan outlining the tasks to be completed,
milestones to be achieved, and resources required.
(4) Monitoring and compliance.--
(A) In general.--The contracting officer for a contract
awarded pursuant to a waiver under paragraph (1) shall
closely monitor the contract performance of the covered small
business to ensure that sufficient progress is being made and
that any issues that arise are promptly addressed.
(B) Failure to meet capability requirements.--If a covered
small business awarded a contract pursuant to a waiver under
paragraph (1) fails to meet the requirements promised in the
certification required under paragraph (3) within 180 days,
the covered small business shall be subject to
disqualification from consideration for future contracts of
similar scope pursuant to ``Termination for Default''
provisions under subpart 49.4 of the Federal Acquisition
Regulation.
(c) Covered Small Business Defined.--In this section, the
term ``covered small business'' means--
(1) a nontraditional defense contractor, as that term is
defined in section 3014 of title 10, United States Code;
(2) a small business concern, as that term is defined in
section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a));
and
(3) any other contractor that has not been awarded a
Department of Defense contract in the five-year period
preceding the solicitation of sources by the Department of
Defense.
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