,,ii #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ieie ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #ag 7legislative day1 ,december #af71 #bjbd,received ,,an ,,act ,to improve ,federal technology procurement1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,federal ,improvement in ,technology ,procurement ,act or the ,,fit ,procurement ,act4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,acquisition workforce ,the term acquisition workforce means employees of an executive agency who are responsible for procurement1 contracting1 program or project management that involves the performance of acquisition-related functions1 or others as designated by the ,chief ,acquisition ,officer1 senior procurement executive1 or head of the contracting activity4 7#b7 ,administrator ,the term ,administrator means the ,administrator for ,federal ,procurement ,policy4 7#c7 ,chief ,acquisition ,officer ,the term ,chief ,acquisition ,officer means a ,chief ,acquisition ,officer appointed pursuant to section #agjb of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#d7 ,cross-functional ,the term cross-functional means a structure in which individuals with different functional expertise or from different areas of an organization work together as a team4 7#e7 ,executive agency ,the term executive agency has the meaning given the term in section #acc of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#f7 ,experiential learning ,the term experiential learning means on-the-job experiences or simulations that serve to enhance workforce professional skills4 7#g7 ,information and communications technology ,the term information and communications technology-- 7,a7 has the meaning given the term in section #dgac7k7 of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code2 and 7,b7 includes information and communications technologies covered by any definition contained in the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation1 including a definition added after the date of the enactment of this ,act by the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulatory ,council pursuant to notice and comment4 7#h7 ,relevant committees of congress ,the term relevant committees of ,congress means the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,oversight and ,accountability of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#i7 ,senior procurement executive ,the term senior procurement executive means a senior procurement executive designated pursuant to section #agjb7;c7 of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#aj7 ,small business ,the term small business has the meaning given the term small business concern in section #c of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb74 #c4 ,acquisition workforce 7a7 ,experiential learning ,not later than #ah months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,federal ,acquisition ,institute shall establish a pilot program to consider the incorporation of experiential learning into the ,federal ,credentials ,program1 the ,federal ,acquisition ,certification-,contracting ,officer's ,representative ,program1 and the ,federal ,acquisition ,certification for ,program and ,project ,managers ,program1 or any successor program4 7b7 ,training on information and communications technology acquisition 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ah months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,director of the ,federal ,acquisition ,institute1 in coordination with the ,administrator1 the ,administrator of ,general ,services1 and the ,administrator of the ,office of ,electronic ,government1 and in consultation with the heads of other executive agencies as determined to be appropriate by the ,director of the ,federal ,acquisition ,institute1 shall develop and implement or otherwise provide a cross-functional information and communications technology acquisition training program for acquisition workforce members involved in acquiring information and communications technology4 ,the training shall do the following3 7,a7 ,include learning objectives related to market research1 communicating with industry and industry perspectives on the procurement process1 including how investment decisions are impacted by ,government communication and engagement1 developing requirements1 acquisition planning1 best practices for developing and executing outcome-based contracts1 and source selection strategy1 evaluating proposals1 and awarding and administering contracts for information and communications technology4 7,b7 ,include learning objectives that provide a basic understanding of key technologies executive agencies need1 such as cloud computing1 artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence-enabled applications1 and cybersecurity solutions4 7,c7 ,include learning objectives that encourage the use of commercial or commercially available off-the-shelf technologies to the greatest extent practicable4 7,d7 ,include case studies of lessons learned from ,federal information and communications technology procurements and contracts1 and related matters as determined to be relevant by the ,director of the ,federal ,acquisition ,institute4 7,e7 ,include experiential learning opportunities1 and opportunities to practice acquisition teaming involving collaboration of team members with varied relevant domain expertise to complete acquisition-related tasks1 including tasks with accelerated timelines4 7,f7 ,include continuous learning recommendations and resources to keep the skills of acquisition workforce members current1 including tools that help adopt or adapt the use of innovative acquisition practices or other flexible business practices commonly used in commercial buys4 7,g7 ,be made available to acquisition workforce members designated by a ,chief ,acquisition ,officer1 senior procurement executive1 or head of the contracting activity to participate in the training program4 7,h7 ,inform executive agencies about streamlined and alternative procurement methods for procurement of information and communications technology1 including-- 7i7 simplified procedures for certain commercial products and commercial services in accordance with subpart #ac4e of the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation1 prize competitions under the ,america ,,competes ,reauthorization ,act of #bjaj 7,public ,law #aaa-ceh71 competitive programs that encourage businesses to engage in ,federal research or research and development with the potential for commercialization1 and joint venture partnerships2 7ii7 innovative procurement techniques designed to streamline the procurement process and lower barriers to entry1 such as use of oral presentations and product demonstrations instead of lengthy written proposals1 appropriately leveraging performance and outcomes-based contracting1 and other techniques discussed on the ,periodic ,table of ,acquisition ,innovations or other similar successor knowledge management portals2 and 7iii7 information on appropriate use1 examples and templates1 and any other information determined relevant by the ,administrator to assist contracting officers and other members of the acquisition workforce in using the procedures described in clauses 7i7 and 7ii74 7,i7 ,incorporate learning objectives to identify and mitigate waste1 fraud1 and abuse and ensure the protection of established privacy1 civil rights1 and civil liberties in the procurement process4 7#b7 ,report ,not later than #b years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,director of the ,federal ,acquisition ,institute shall provide to the relevant committees of ,congress1 the ,chief ,acquisition ,officers ,council1 and the ,chief ,information ,officers ,council-- 7,a7 a report on the progress of the ,director in developing and implementing or otherwise providing the information and communications technology acquisition training described in paragraph 7#a72 and 7,b7 a list of any acquisition training that the ,director determines to be outdated or no longer necessary4 7#c7 ,duration ,the training program shall be updated as appropriate1 but at least every #b years after implementation1 and offered for a minimum of #f years following the date of implementation of the training program4 7c7 ,acquisition workforce training fund ,section #agjc7;i77#c7 of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking ,five percent and inserting ,seven and a half percent4 7d7 ,harmonization of acquisition workforce training requirements ,section #b of the ,artificial ,intelligence ,training for the ,acquisition ,workforce ,act 7,public ,law #aag-bjg2 #da ,u4,s4,c4 #agjc note7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a77#d71 by striking ,director4--,the term ,director means the ,director of the ,office of ,management and ,budget4 and inserting ,administrator4--,the term ,administrator means the ,administrator of ,general ,services44 7#b7 in subsection 7b7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#a71 by striking ,director1 in coordination with the ,administrator of ,general ,services and any other person determined relevant by the ,director and inserting ,administrator1 in coordination with the ,director of the ,office of ,management and ,budget2 7,b7 in paragraph 7#d71 by striking ,director and inserting ,administrator2 7,c7 in paragraph 7#e71 by striking ,director and inserting ,administrator2 and 7,d7 in paragraph 7#f71 by striking ,director and inserting ,administrator4 #d4 ,innovative procurement methods 7a7 ,increase in simplified acquisition threshold ,section #acd of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking #bej1jjj and inserting #ejj1jjj4 7b7 ,increase in micro purchase threshold ,section #aijb7;a77#a7 of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking #aj1jjj and inserting #be1jjj44 7c7 ,advances for commercial technology subscriptions and tenancy ,section #ccbd7;d7 of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a77;,c71 by striking 2 and and inserting a semicolon2 7#b7 in paragraph 7#b7-- 7,a7 by inserting or commercially available content after publication2 and 7,b7 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 and2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#c7 charges for information and communications technology subscriptions1 reservations1 or tenancy1 which means the sharing of computing resources in a private or public environment1 including cloud environments1 for which the ordering agency defines appropriate access and security standards4 4 #e4 ,increasing competition in ,federal contracting 7a7 ,use of past performance 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator shall issue guidance1 including examples and templates where appropriate1 on-- 7,a7 when a wider range of projects1 such as commercial or non-government1 as well as ,government projects1 should be accepted as relevant past performance1 in order to have increased competition among eligible firms with capability to perform a requirement1 such as a requirement without much precedent2 7,b7 a means by which an agency may validate non-government past performance references1 such as by requiring an official of an entity providing past performance references to attest to their authenticity and by providing verifiable contact information for the references2 and 7,c7 use of alternative evaluation methods other than past performance that may be appropriate for a requirement without much precedent1 such as demonstrations and testing of technologies as part of the proposal process4 7#b7 ,supplement not supplant ,the guidance issued under paragraph 7#a7 shall supplement existing ,federal and agency policy and procedures for consideration of past performance and other evaluation factors and methods4 7b7 ,enhancing competition in ,federal procurement 7#a7 ,council recommendations ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator shall convene the ,chief ,acquisition ,officers ,council 7in this section referred to as the ,council71 to make recommendations to identify and eliminate specific1 unnecessary procedural barriers that disproportionately affect the ability of small businesses to compete for ,federal contracts1 with a focus on streamlining documentation and qualification requirements unrelated to the protection of privacy and civil liberties4 7#b7 ,consultation ,the ,council shall obtain input from the public1 including from the ,,apex ,accelerators program 7formerly known as ,procurement ,technical ,assistance ,center network7 and other contractor representatives1 to identify ,federal procurement policies and regulations that are obsolete1 overly burdensome or restrictive1 not adequately harmonized1 or otherwise serve to create barriers to small business participation in ,federal contracting or unnecessarily increase bid and proposal costs4 7#c7 ,examination of actions ,the ,council shall consider the input obtained under paragraph 7#b7 and any other information determined to be relevant by the ,council to identify legislative1 regulatory1 and other actions to increase competition and remove barriers to small business participation in the procurement process4 7#d7 ,implementation ,not later than #b years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator1 in consultation with the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulatory ,council1 the ,chief ,acquisition ,officers ,council1 and other executive agencies as appropriate1 shall implement the regulatory and other non-legislative actions identified under paragraph 7#c71 as determined necessary by the ,administrator1 to remove barriers to entry for small businesses seeking to participate in ,federal ,government procurement4 7#e7 ,briefing ,not later than #b years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator shall brief the relevant committees of ,congress on the legislative actions identified under paragraph 7#c71 and the actions implemented under paragraph 7#d74 7c7 ,consideration of cost-,efficiency and quality ,the ,administrator shall advocate for and prioritize contracting policies that ensure that cost-efficiency and quality of goods and services are key determining factors in awarding ,federal contracts4 #f4 ,comptroller general assessment of small business participation in ,federal procurement ,not later than #ah months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit to ,congress and make publicly available a report that-- 7#a7 assesses the current level of small business participation in ,federal procurement1 identifying barriers1 opportunities1 and the impact of existing policies on the ability of small businesses to compete in ,federal procurement2 7#b7 catalogs and evaluates the effectiveness of programs intended to support small business participation in ,federal procurement2 and 7#c7 analyzes trends in small business involvement in ,federal technology projects1 including data on contract awards1 the diversity of sectors represented1 and the geographic distribution of small business contractors4 #g4 ,conflict of interest procedures ,the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulatory ,council and the ,administrator shall update the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation as necessary to provide additional guidance to executive agencies to address personal and organizational conflicts of interest involving members of the acquisition workforce4 #h4 ,no additional funding ,no additional funds are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of carrying out this ,act4 ,passed the ,house of ,representatives ,december #af1 #bjbd4,kevin ,f4 ,mc,cumber1,clerk4