§657q — Title 15 Commerce and Trade | U.S. Code

Summary

Federal agencies must try to give small businesses fair chances to win work when they combine several contract needs into one solicitation. A few terms to know: Chief Acquisition Officer is the agency’s lead procurement official; senior procurement executive is another top procurement official; consolidation of contract requirements means using one contract or one multiple-award contract to meet two or more needs that used to be on separate, cheaper contracts or to cover work at two or more separate sites. If a planned consolidation is worth more than $2,000,000, the senior procurement executive or Chief Acquisition Officer must, before moving forward, do market research, look for less-consolidating options, write a justification that consolidation is necessary, note any harm to small businesses, and say how small businesses will be included. They may approve consolidation only if its benefits clearly outweigh the alternatives. Savings from administration or staff costs alone do not justify consolidation unless the savings are large compared to the total procurement cost. Within 7 days of deciding it’s necessary, they must post a public notice. No solicitation can be posted until at least 7 days after that notice, and the solicitation must include the written justification. Benefits considered can include cost, quality, speed, contract terms, and other advantages.

Title 15, §657q

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In this section—

(1)the term “Chief Acquisition Officer” means the employee of a Federal agency appointed or designated as the Chief Acquisition Officer for the Federal agency under section 1702(a) of title 41;

(2)the term “consolidation of contract requirements”, with respect to contract requirements of a Federal agency, means a use of a solicitation to obtain offers for a single contract or a multiple award contract—

(A)to satisfy 2 or more requirements of the Federal agency for goods or services that have been provided to or performed for the Federal agency under 2 or more separate contracts lower in cost than the total cost of the contract for which the offers are solicited; or

(B)to satisfy requirements of the Federal agency for construction projects to be performed at 2 or more discrete sites; and

(3)the term “senior procurement executive” means an official designated under section 1702(c) of title 41 as the senior procurement executive for a Federal agency.

(b)The head of each Federal agency shall ensure that the decisions made by the Federal agency regarding consolidation of contract requirements of the Federal agency are made with a view to providing small business concerns with appropriate opportunities to participate as prime contractors and subcontractors in the procurements of the Federal agency.

(c)(1)The head of a Federal agency may not carry out an acquisition strategy that includes a consolidation of contract requirements of the Federal agency with a total value of more than $2,000,000, unless the senior procurement executive or Chief Acquisition Officer for the Federal agency, before carrying out the acquisition strategy—

(A)conducts market research;

(B)identifies any alternative contracting approaches that would involve a lesser degree of consolidation of contract requirements;

(C)makes a written determination that the consolidation of contract requirements is necessary and justified;

(D)identifies any negative impact by the acquisition strategy on contracting with small business concerns; and

(E)ensures that steps will be taken to include small business concerns in the acquisition strategy.

(2)(A)A senior procurement executive or Chief Acquisition Officer may determine that an acquisition strategy involving a consolidation of contract requirements is necessary and justified for the purposes of paragraph (1)(C) if the benefits of the acquisition strategy substantially exceed the benefits of each of the possible alternative contracting approaches identified under paragraph (1)(B).

(B)For purposes of subparagraph (A), savings in administrative or personnel costs alone do not constitute a sufficient justification for a consolidation of contract requirements in a procurement unless the expected total amount of the cost savings, as determined by the senior procurement executive or Chief Acquisition Officer, is expected to be substantial in relation to the total cost of the procurement.

(C)Not later than 7 days after making a determination that an acquisition strategy involving a consolidation of contract requirements is necessary and justified under subparagraph (A), the senior procurement executive or Chief Acquisition Officer shall publish a notice on a public website that such determination has been made. Any solicitation for a procurement related to the acquisition strategy may not be published earlier than 7 days after such notice is published. Along with the publication of the solicitation, the senior procurement executive or Chief Acquisition Officer shall publish a justification for the determination, which shall include the information in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1).

(3)The benefits considered for the purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) may include cost and, regardless of whether quantifiable in dollar amounts—

(A)quality;

(B)acquisition cycle;

(C)terms and conditions; and

(D)any other benefit.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 2[44] of Pub. L. 85–536 was renumbered section 2[49] and is set out as a note under section 631 of this title.

Amendments

2015—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 114–92, § 863(c), substituted “The head” for “Subject to paragraph (4), the head” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (c)(2)(C). Pub. L. 114–92, § 863(b), added subpar. (C). 2014—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 113–291, § 822(b)(1), inserted “appointed or” before “designated” and substituted “section 1702(a) of title 41” for “section 16(a) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 414(a))”. Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 113–291, § 822(b)(2), substituted “section 1702(c) of title 41” for “section 16(c) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 414(c))”. 2013—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1671(a), substituted “or a multiple award contract—” and subpars. (A) and (B) for “or a multiple award contract to satisfy 2 or more requirements of the Federal agency for goods or services that have been provided to or performed for the Federal agency under 2 or more separate contracts lower in cost than the total cost of the contract for which the offers are solicited; and”. Subsec. (c)(1)(E). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1671(b), substituted “ensures” for “certifies to the head of the Federal agency”. Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 112–239, § 1671(c)(2), struck out par. (4). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “(A) In general.—The Department of Defense and each military department shall comply with this section until after the date described in subparagraph (C). “(B) Rule.—After the date described in subparagraph (C), contracting by the Department of Defense or a military department shall be conducted in accordance with section 2382 of title 10. “(C) Date.—The date described in this subparagraph is the date on which the Administrator determines the Department of Defense or a military department is in compliance with the Government-wide contracting goals under section 644 of this title.”

§657q Consolidation of Contract Requirements