S.Amdt. 3423

SA 3423. Mr. MULLIN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 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 B of title VIII, add the following:

SEC. 840. ENHANCING EFFICIENCY AND FAIRNESS IN DEFENSE
PROCUREMENT PROTESTS.

(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to streamline
Department of Defense procurement by reducing frivolous bid
protests while ensuring fair access to protest mechanisms for
contractors.
(b) Protest Filing Fee.--
(1) Fee.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided under paragraph (2),
contractors filing a protest with the Government
Accountability Office or the Court of Federal Claims for a
Department of Defense contract that is determined to be
``frivolous'' in accordance with subsection (e) shall pay a
non-refundable fee valued at 1 percent of the minimum
guarantee value or fixed cost value as applicable, unless
waived under paragraph (2).
(B) Crediting of fees.--An amount received under this
subsection--
(i) shall be retained by the Department of Defense or the
element of the Department of Defense receiving the amount;
and
(ii) shall be merged with and available for the same
purpose and the same time period as the appropriation from
which the contract oversight originated.
(C) Due date.--Fees incurred under subparagraph (A) shall
be due within 30 days of protest completion and the frivolous
protest determination in accordance with subsection (e).
(2) Exemptions.--
(A) Small business concerns and first-time protesters.--
Small business concerns (as that term is defined in section 3
of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)) and contractors
with no prior protests in the preceding 3 years are exempt
from the filing fee requirement under paragraph (1).
(B) Low-value contracts.--Contracts valued at less than
$5,000,000 are exempt from the filing fee requirement under
paragraph (1).
(c) Enhanced Oversight for Repeat Protestors.--
(1) Oversight.--Contractors with three or more protests
deemed frivolous by the Government Accountability Office or
the Court of Federal Claims within a 5-year period may be
subject to enhanced oversight, including mandatory pre-filing
reviews by the Department of Defense.
(2) Suspension.--Repeat frivolous protesters may face
temporary suspension from bidding on Department of Defense
contracts for up to 1 year.
(d) Annual Report.--The Secretary of Defense shall post on
a publicly available website of the Department an annual
report detailing protest filings, outcomes, and fees
collected.
(e) Guidance Regarding Frivolous Protests.--Not later than
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall issue guidance
defining frivolous protests.
(f) Enhanced Oversight Defined.--In this section, the term
``enhanced oversight'' means a review process by the
Department of Defense to assess a contractor's protest
history.
(g) Effective Date.--The requirements under this section
(other than subsection (e)) shall take effect one year after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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