,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #fhhb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #ah1       
#bjbe,mr4 ,mills 7for himself and ,mr4  
,hamadeh of ,arizona7 introduced the    
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,armed ,services  ,a  
,,bill  ,to request the ,secretary of   
,defense to provide preference for      
offerors that are ,united ,states       
companies in professional services      
contracts1 and for other purposes4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,securing ,american ,firms and      
,expertise in ,services ,act or the     
,,safe ,services ,act4  #b4 ,preference 
for ,american companies in the          
procurement of professional services    
7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj    
days after the date of the enactment of 
this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense   
shall revise the ,department of ,defense
 ,supplement to the ,federal            
,acquisition ,regulation to ensure that1
 to the maximum extent practicable and  

consistent with the interests of        
national security1 with respect to      
contracts for the procurement of        
professional services1 contracting      
officers give a preference to offerors  
that are ,united ,states companies4  7b7
 ,waiver authority  7#a7  ,in general   
,the ,secretary of ,defense may waive   
the requirement for a preference        
described in subsection 7a7 with respect
 to a contract if the ,secretary        
determines that--  7,a7 adherence to the
 preference would prevent the           
,department of ,defense from meeting an 
urgent operational requirement2 or  7,b7
 no ,united ,states company is capable  
of fulfilling the requirements of the   
contract in a timely or cost-effective  
manner4  7#b7 ,requirements ,the        
,secretary of ,defense shall issue a    
waiver under this subsection in writing1
 shall include a justification for the  
waiver1 and shall submit notice of such 
waiver to the congressional defense     
committees not later than #cj days after

 issuance of such waiver4  7c7          
,definitions ,in this section3  7#a7    
,the term ,united ,states company-- 7,a7
 means a business entity that--  7i7 is 
organized under the laws of a ,state1   
territory1 or possession of the ,united 
,states or the ,district of ,columbia2  
7ii7 has its principal place of business
 in the ,united ,states2 and  7iii7 is  
not directly or indirectly owned or     
controlled by a foreign entity2 and     
7,b7 includes a joint venture for which 
a business entity described in          
subparagraph 7,a7 holds an ownership    
interest greater than or equal to #ej   
percent4  7#b7 ,the term professional   
services includes the following         
services3  7,a7 ,engineering4  7,b7     
,architecture4  7,c7 ,design4  7,d7     
,environmental consulting4  7,e7        
,financial consulting4  7,f7 ,program   
management4  7,g7 ,legal4  7,h7 ,other  
services as defined in the ,federal     
,acquisition ,regulation4