Unlocking Opportunities for Small Businesses Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5146) to amend the Small Business Act to require contracting officers to take a small business concern's past performance as part of a joint venture into account when evaluating the small business concern, and for other purposes, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 5146

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Unlocking Opportunities for Small Businesses Act of 2019''. SEC. 2. PAST PERFORMANCE RATINGS OF JOINT VENTURES FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS.

Section 15(e) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``(5) Past performance ratings of joint ventures for small business concerns.--With respect to evaluating an offer for a prime contract made by a small business concern that previously participated in a joint venture with another business concern (whether or not such other business concern was itself a small business concern), the Administrator shall establish regulations--

``(A) requiring contracting officers to consider the record of past performance of the joint venture when evaluating the past performance of the small business concern; and

``(B) requiring the small business concern to inform the contracting officer what duties and responsibilities the small business concern carried out as part of the joint venture.''. SEC. 3. PAST PERFORMANCE RATINGS OF FIRST-TIER SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTORS.

Section 8(d)(17) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(17)) is amended to read as follows:

``(17) Past performance ratings for certain small business subcontractors.--

``(A) In general.--Upon request by a small business concern that performed as a first tier subcontractor on a covered contract (as defined in paragraph 13(A)) that is submitting an offer for a solicitation, the prime contractor for such covered contract shall submit to the contracting agency issuing the solicitation or to such small business concern a record of past performance for such small business concern with respect to such covered contract.

``(B) Consideration.--A contracting officer shall consider the record of past performance of a small business concern provided under subparagraph (A) when evaluating an offer for a prime contract made by such small business concern.''. SEC. 4. RULEMAKING.

(a) SBA Rules.--Not later than the end of the 120-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall issue rules to carry out this Act and the amendments made by this Act.

(b) Federal Acquisition Regulation.--Not later than the end of the 120-day period beginning on the date that rules are issued under subsection (a), the Federal Acquisition Regulation shall be revised to reflect such rules. SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5146, the Unlocking Opportunities for Small Businesses Act of 2019, which will eliminate barriers to entry for small businesses seeking to perform as prime contractors in the Federal marketplace.

As the largest buyer of goods and services in the world, the Federal Government needs contractors it can rely upon, and knowing how a business performed previously is a strong predictor of its ability to successfully perform in the future.

However, one of the challenges small businesses experience while offering their products and services to the Federal Government is showing that they have relevant past performance. Usually, the government relies on the past performance records it compiles. However, such information solely on the small business may not exist. Thus, small businesses cannot effectively compete for contracts.

Moreover, small businesses cannot develop the appropriate past performance without winning a prime contract first.

H.R. 5146 offers a solution to this dilemma by allowing small businesses to leverage other types of past performance information. Specifically, it requires contracting officers to consider a joint venture's past performance record when evaluating an offer of any of its members.

Similarly, it requires the acceptance of past performance information generated by a contractor on its subcontractor when reviewing an offer from the latter to serve as prime.

With this change, H.R. 5146 provides small businesses additional ways of showing they possess relevant past-performance experience. Moreover, by requiring acceptance of joint venture and subcontracting past- performance information, this bill advances uniformity government wide.

I urge Members to support this important piece of legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans), the vice chair of the Small Business Committee.

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Hagedorn), the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans), and Dr. Joyce from Pennsylvania for their work on H.R. 5146 to make it easier for small businesses to pursue Federal prime contract opportunities.

In the Small Business Committee, we recognize the crucial role small businesses play in providing goods and services to the Federal Government. That is why we are always searching for ways to simplify the contracting process. H.R. 5146 achieves this by requiring contracting officers to accept relevant past performance information obtained by a small business while performing as a subcontractor or in a joint venture.

With this bill, we reiterate our steadfast commitment to the small business community. Moreover, it will encourage small businesses with relevant past performance experience to bid on prime contracts, which, in turn, will have the effect of promoting the growth of the industrial base, enhancing competition, and decreasing costs.

In closing, I thank Ranking Member Chabot for his support for these four bills. When passed, they will bring the total number of small business bills approved by the House of Representatives to 27. That is not a small feat, and I appreciate the gentleman's support and that of the members of the committee who have rolled up their sleeves and worked together to help our Nation's 30 million small businesses succeed.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues in the Senate to follow our lead and move expeditiously to approve these bills. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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