Safe and Smart Federal Purchasing Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Safe and Smart Federal Purchasing Act of which I am a proud cosponsor.

The bill would require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to review the procurement management practices of Federal agencies to determine whether the use of acquisition procedures focused exclusively on cost, known as the lowest price technically acceptable, poses any national security risk.

Since our committee reported this bill last Congress, I appreciate that the majority sought and incorporated feedback from the administration. When Federal agencies purchase goods and services, they aim to achieve the best value for the American people.

In the words of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, ``best value'' means that the acquisition should provide ``the greatest overall benefit in response to the requirement.''

Under the LPTA procedures, price is the determining factor in awarding a contract with no consideration given to other factors. This contrasts with the more frequently used tradeoff approach, which looks at the bigger picture and considers additional factors beyond just cost, perhaps assessing elements like quality and performance or a bidder's technical or managerial expertise.

This bill, and the tradeoff approach to Federal contracting, understands that focusing on contract price alone can actually increase the overall cost to the Federal Government and the American people.

For example, cutting costs in the short-term can lead to expensive project delays, or might result in taxpayer dollars flowing to adversarial nations that threaten U.S. security interests. If no consideration is given to the strength and integrity of a bidder's supply chain, cutting costs in the short term could lead to inferior products or disastrous supply shortages at critical moments. I believe this is a thoughtful, commonsense approach to contracting.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I believe this is a commonsense approach to contracting. We can't just take a mindless approach to the lowest cost winning every bid. It can jeopardize national security and at the end of the day, it can actually cost more than if we had gone a different way.

I thank my friend from Florida for his leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 856, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 856) to require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget conduct a review to determine the impact of the lowest price technically acceptable source selection process on national security, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the lowest price technically acceptable, LPTA, is a source selection method outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

This process uses price as a determining factor for a contract rather than other technical or operational factors.

Following legislative work done by the House Oversight Committee during the 115th Congress, constraints were placed on agency use of the LPTA in the fiscal year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.

These constraints recognize that the LPTA criteria are not always appropriate for agencies seeking complex or technically innovative services.

For instance, this can result in agencies sacrificing long-term value for short-term savings. We also do not want the LPTA to be used in a manner that jeopardizes national security.

This bill requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to evaluate this source selection process to determine whether agencies are

using the LPTA in an appropriate manner.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my Oversight Committee colleague, Mr. Donalds, for his leadership on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Donalds), a rising star.

Mr. Speaker, the Safe and Smart Federal Purchasing Act is measured and targeted legislation that can inform future congressional work on Federal procurement, a policy area we know is ripe for reform and taxpayer savings.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my House colleagues to support this commonsense, bipartisan bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, due to the passing of a cherished member of my family, my elder brother and former Member of Congress, the Honorable Lincoln Diaz-Balart, I was unable to vote the week of March 3, 2025. Had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on H.R. 856--Roll Call No. 54; YEA on H.R. 758--Roll Call No. 55; YEA on Ordering the Previous Question on H. Res. 177--Roll Call No. 56; YEA on H.J. RES. 177--Roll Call No. 57; YEA on H.J. RES. 61--Roll Call No. 58; YEA on H.J. RES. 42--Roll Call No. 59; NO on Motion to Table on H. RES. 189--Roll Call No. 60; YEA on S.J. RES. 11--Roll Call No. 61; and YEA on H. RES. 189--Roll Call No. 62.

Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss without thanking Chairman Comer for the time on the floor today, and I might have to ask the chairman to introduce me everywhere going forward. I greatly appreciate that.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, the Safe and Smart Federal Purchasing Act.

For background, lowest price technically acceptable is the source selection method outlined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation, or

Mr. Speaker, due to flight delays I was unable to vote on H.R. 856. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 54.