,,ii ,calendar ,no4 #chc #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #bdac ,report ,no4 #aae-bcb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #h1 #bjah,mrs4 ,mc,caskill 7for herself and ,mr4 ,johnson7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,april #ah1 #bjah,reported by ,mr4 ,johnson1 with amendments,omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic ,a ,,bill ,to provide for the appropriate use of bridge contracts in ,federal procurement1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,bridge ,contract ,transparency and ,accountability ,act of #bjah4 #b4 ,revisions to ,federal procurement regulations 7a7 ,report ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator for ,federal ,procurement ,policy1 in consultation with the ,administrator of the ,general ,services ,administration1 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on governmentwide policies1 practices1 and uses of bridge contracts4 7b7 ,amendment of ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation and related guidance 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulatory ,council shall1 based on the findings of the review under this section1 amend the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation-- 7,a7 to provide for a common definition of bridge contracts1 with consideration given to-- 7i7 extensions to existing contracts beyond the base and option years to avoid lapses in service caused by delays in awarding subsequent contracts2 and 7ii7 new short-term contracts awarded on a sole source basis to avoid lapses in service caused by delays in awarding subsequent contracts2 and 7,b7 to provide for the appropriate use of such contracts1 including1 as appropriate1 parameters related to duration and cost4 7#b7 ,guidance ,the ,administrator for ,federal ,procurement ,policy1 in consultation with the ,administrator of ,general ,services1 may issue guidance to executive agencies regarding the use of bridge contracts1 including with respect to duration and cost1 and related guidance to implement the policies described under paragraph 7#a74 #c4 ,agency transparency and reports 7a7 ,guidance on information collection ,not later than #cj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator for ,federal ,procurement ,policy shall issue guidance for executive agencies to collect information on the use of bridge contracts4 ,the guidance shall include an interim definition of bridge contracts for agencies to use in their reporting until the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation is amended pursuant to section #b7;b77#a74 7b7 ,reporting to office of federal procurement policy 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than ,september #cj1 #bjai1 and by ,september #cj of each subsequent year thereafter until #bjbe1 the head of each executive agency shall submit to the ,administrator for ,federal ,procurement ,policy a report on the use by the agency of bridge contracts4 7#b7 ,elements ,the report required under paragraph 7#a7 shall include the following elements3 7,a7 ,the common definition for bridge contracts used by contracting offices of the executive agency4 7,b7 ,the total number of bridge contracts entered into during the previous #e fiscal years previous fiscal year4 7,c7 ,the estimated value of each contract that required the use of a bridge contract and the cost of the bridge contract or contracts4 7,d7 ,the reasons for and cost of each bridge contract4 7,e7 ,the types of services or goods being acquired under each bridge contract4 7,f7 ,the length of the initial contract that required the use of a bridge contract1 including the base and any exercised option years1 and the cumulative length of any bridge contract or contracts related to the initial contract4 7,g7 ,a description of how many of the contracts that required bridge contracts were subsequently recompeted and how many of those recompeted contracts were the subject of a bid protest4 7,g7 ,a description of how many bridge contracts were entered into as the result of a bid protest4 7,h7 ,a description of existing statutory1 regulatory1 or agency guidance that the agency followed to execute the bridge contracts4 7,i7 ,any other matters determined to be relevant by the ,office of ,federal ,procurement ,policy or the ,general ,services ,administration4 7#c7 ,publication ,the report required under paragraph 7#a7 shall be posted on a publicly available website of the executive agency4 7#d7 ,quarterly notifications 7,a7 ,in general ,on a quarterly basis as determined under guidance prescribed by the ,administrator for ,federal ,procurement ,policy1 each executive agency shall submit a list of bridge contracts issued during the prior quarter to the ,office of ,federal ,procurement ,policy to be compiled by the ,administrator into a single report and presented to the appropriate congressional committees4 7,b7 ,information required ,the lists submitted under subparagraph 7,a7 shall include unique contract identifiers1 beginning and end dates of initial contracts1 beginning and end dates of bridge contracts1 and the reasons or rationale for the use of each bridge contract4 7c7 ,governmentwide report ,not later than ,march #ca1 #bjai1 and by ,march #ca of each subsequent year until #bjbe1 the ,administrator for ,federal ,procurement ,policy shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report summarizing the use by executive agencies of bridge contracts1 including any recommendations for legislation to ensure accountability and transparency in the use of bridge contracts4 7d7 ,public notice ,each executive agency shall provide public notice within #cj days after entering into a bridge contract1 including the information required to be reported in subsection 7b77#b7 to the extent it is available4 #d4 ,agency policies 7a7 ,in general ,the head of each executive agency shall develop policies and procedures1 to the greatest extent practicable1 that seek to minimize the use of bridge contracts while providing for continuation of services to be performed through contracts and ensure appropriate planning by contracting officials4 7b7 ,required elements ,the policies developed under subsection 7a7 shall include the following elements3 7#a7 ,sufficient time and planning to review contract requirements1 compete contracts as appropriate1 enter into contracts1 and consider the possibility of bid protests4 7#b7 ,for contracts that do not meet timeliness standards or which require entering into bridge contracts1 contracting officials shall notify the chief acquisition officer of the executive agency and the head of the executive agency4 7#c7 ,the ,chief ,acquisition ,officer must approve any bridge contract that lasts longer than six months1 and the head of the agency must approve any bridge contract that lasts longer than one year4 7c7 ,exceptions ,the policies developed under this section do not apply to-- 7#a7 service contracts in support of contingency operations1 humanitarian assistance1 or disaster relief2 7#b7 service contracts in support of national security emergencies declared with respect to named operations2 or 7#c7 service contracts entered into pursuant to international agreements4 #e4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,executive agency ,the term executive agency has the meaning given the term in section #acc of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code4 ,april #ah1 #bjah,reported with amendments