41 U.S.C. § 1101: Office of Federal Procurement Policy

There is an Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the Office of Management and Budget. provide overall direction of Government-wide procurement policies, regulations, procedures, and forms for executive agencies; and promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the procurement of property and services by the executive branch of the Federal Government. Necessary amounts may be appropriated each fiscal year for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to carry out the responsibilities of the Office for that fiscal year. “This Act may be cited as the ‘Promoting Rigorous and Innovative Cost Efficiencies for Federal Procurement and Acquisitions Act of 2021’ or the ‘PRICE Act of 2021’. small business participation in the Federal marketplace is key to ensuring a strong industrial base; the Business Opportunity Development Reform Act of 1988 ( Public Law 100–656 ) [see Tables for classification] sets forth the requirement for the President to establish Government-wide goals for procurement contracts awarded to small businesses; each year, the Small Business Administration works with each Federal agency to set their respective contracting goals and publishes a scorecard to ensure that the total of all Federal agency goals meets the required targets for the Federal Government; the Department has received among the highest scorecard letter grades 10 years in a row and is the largest Federal agency to have such a track record; in virtually every segment of the economy of the United States, including the homeland security community, there are small businesses working to support the mission and playing a critical role in delivering efficient and innovative solutions to the acquisition needs of the Federal Government; is aimed at experimenting with innovative acquisition techniques across the Homeland Security Enterprise; provides a forum to test new ideas, share lessons learned, and promote best practices; fosters cultural changes that promote innovation and managed risk taking through a continuous cycle of testing, obtaining feedback, sharing information, and retesting where appropriate; and aims to make the acquisition process more smooth and innovative within the construct of the Federal Acquisition Regulation for both the Federal Government and contractors; and despite progress in the adoption of new and better business practices by many Federal agencies, the overall adoption of modernized business practices and advanced technologies across the Federal Government remains slow and uneven. The term ‘Administrator’ means the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy. the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate; and the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on Oversight and Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability], and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives. The term ‘Council’ means the Chief Acquisition Officers Council established under section 1311 of title 41 , United States Code. The term ‘Department’ means the Department of Homeland Security. The term ‘Homeland Security Enterprise’ has the meaning given the term in section 2211(h) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ( 6 U.S.C. 661(h) ) [see 6 U.S.C. 650(11) ]. The term ‘scorecard’ means the scorecard described in section 868(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 [ Pub. L. 114–92 ] ( 15 U.S.C. 644 note) [now 15 U.S.C. 644(y)(6) ]. The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of Homeland Security. a qualified HUBZone small business concern, a small business concern, a small business concern owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, or a small business concern owned and controlled by women, as those terms are defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 632 ); a small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, as defined in section 8(d)(3)(C) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(d)(3)(C) ); or a small business concern unconditionally owned by an economically disadvantaged Indian tribe or an economically disadvantaged Native Hawaiian organization that qualifies as a socially and economically disadvantaged small business concern, as defined in section 8(a)(4) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(a)(4) ). The term ‘Under Secretary’ means the Under Secretary for Management of the Department. improving or encouraging better competition; reducing time to award; cost savings; better mission outcomes; or meeting the goals for contracts awarded to small business concerns under section 15(g) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 644(g) ). The Under Secretary shall develop and disseminate guidance and offer training for contracting officers, contracting specialists, program managers, and other personnel of the Department, as determined appropriate by the Under Secretary, concerning when and how to use the innovative procurement techniques of the Department. The Under Secretary shall share best practices across the Department and make available to other Federal agencies information to improve procurement methods and training, as determined appropriate by the Under Secretary. This section shall cease to be effective on the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act [ Feb. 22, 2022 ]. Not later than 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act [ Feb. 22, 2022 ], the Administrator shall convene the Council to examine best practices for acquisition innovation in contracting in the Federal Government, including small business contracting in accordance with the goals established under section 15(g) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 644(g) ). be chaired by the Administrator or a designee of the Administrator; and the Chief Procurement Officer of the Department; the General Services Administration; the Department of Defense; the Department of the Treasury; the Department of Veterans Affairs; the Department of Health and Human Services; the Small Business Administration; and such other Federal agencies as determined by the chair of the Council from among Federal agencies that have demonstrated significant, sustained progress using innovative acquisition practices and technologies, including for small business contracting, during each of the 3 years preceding the date of enactment of this Act; and other employees, as determined appropriate by the chair of the Council, of Federal agencies with the requisite senior experience to make recommendations to improve Federal agency efficiency, effectiveness, and economy, including in promoting small business contracting. convene not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act and thereafter on a quarterly basis until the Council submits the report required under subsection (d)(1); and conduct outreach with the workforce and the public in meeting the requirements under subsection (d)(1). innovative acquisition practices and applications of technologies that have worked well in achieving better procurement outcomes, including increased efficiency, improved program outcomes, better customer experience, and meeting or exceeding the goals under section 15(g) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 644(g) ), and the reasons why those practices have succeeded; steps to identify and adopt transformational commercial business practices, modernized data analytics, and advanced technologies that allow decision making to occur in a more friction-free buying environment and improve customer experience; and any recommendations for statutory changes to accelerate the adoption of innovative acquisition practices. Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall brief the appropriate congressional committees on the means by which the findings and recommendations of the report have been disseminated under paragraph (3). publish the report required under paragraph (1) on the website of the Office of Management and Budget and on the Innovation Hub on the Acquisition Gateway or any successor Government-wide site available for increasing awareness of resources dedicated to procurement innovation; and dedicated to acquisition innovation; and resources, including the acquisition innovation advocate and industry liaison of the Federal agency; learning assets for the workforce, including the findings and recommendations made in the report required under paragraph (1); events to build awareness and understanding of innovation activities; award recognition programs and recent recipients; and upcoming plans to leverage innovative practices and technologies. In carrying out the duties of the Council under this section, the Council is encouraged to consult with governmental and nongovernmental experts. The duties of the Council as set forth in this section shall terminate 30 days after the date on which the Council conducts the briefing required under subsection (d)(2).”