117-hr-26117th CongressWALLET

Construction Consensus Procurement Improvement Act of 2021

Sponsored By: Representative Rep. Comer, James [R-KY-1]

Became Law

Summary

Bars the use of reverse auctions for complex, specialized, or substantial federal design and construction services. The law forces the government to define which construction and design projects are ‘‘complex, specialized, or substantial’’ and to change procurement rules and reporting to match.

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  • Federal acquisition teams must stop using fast, lowest-bid online auctions for covered design and construction projects. The ban applies to work above the Simplified Acquisition Threshold under Federal Acquisition Regulation part 36.
  • Contractors that offer architectural, engineering, interior design, site planning, or large construction and infrastructure work will no longer be chosen by reverse auction for contracts that meet the law’s definition. That shifts selection away from timed, down-bid bidding.
  • The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council must write a definition within 180 days and the FAR must be updated within 270 days. The General Services Administration must report on how well this change works within two years and the law ties its budgetary accounting to an accompanying PAYGO statement.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

2 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.

No reverse auctions for complex federal construction

Executive agencies cannot use reverse auctions to award complex design or construction work above the simplified acquisition threshold. This includes site planning, architecture and engineering, interior design, major construction, and public building or public works. The FAR Council must define "complex, specialized, or substantial" within 180 days of enactment. The FAR must be updated within 270 days to enforce the ban. Agencies may still use reverse auctions for other goods and services. A reverse auction is a real-time electronic bidding event with lower bids allowed until close.

PAYGO accounting setup for this law

The law sets how this Act is scored under PAYGO. It uses the House Budget Committee’s PAYGO statement if that statement was printed before the vote. This is a budgeting rule and does not change anyone’s taxes or benefits.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Rep. Comer, James [R-KY-1]

KY • R

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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