,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #ceda  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #ag1 
#bjbe,mr4 ,peters introduced the        
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,armed   
,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to increase      
competition in ,defense contracting1 and
 for other purposes4  #a4 ,increasing   
competition in ,defense contracting  7a7
 ,uses of past performance  7#a7 ,in    
general ,not later than #a year after   
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,secretary of ,defense shall issue  
guidance1 including examples and        
templates where appropriate1 on-- 7,a7  
when the ,department of ,defense should 
accept past performance on a wider range
 of projects1 such as a requirement     
without much precedent1 in order to have
 increased competition among eligible   
firms with capability to perform a      
requirement1 by including commercial or 
non-government projects as relevant past
 performance for the purposes of        

awarding contracts or other agreements2 
7,b7 a means by which the ,department   
may validate non-government past        
performance references1 including 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 using    
alternative methods of evaluation 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 process for contracts or   
other awards of the ,department4  7#b7  
,supplement not supplant ,the guidance  
issued under paragraph 7#a7 shall       
supplement existing ,department of      
,defense policy and procedures for      
consideration of past performance and   
other evaluation factors and methods4   
7b7 ,enhancing competition in ,defense  
procurement  7#a7 ,council              
recommendations ,not later than #ij days

 after the date of the enactment of this
 ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall 
convene the ,defense ,acquisition       
,regulations ,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 business concerns and            
nontraditional defense contractors1 to  
compete for contracts with the          
,department of ,defense1 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
 the ,procurement ,technical ,assistance
 ,center network7 and other contractor  
representatives1 to identify procurement
 policies and regulations that are      
obsolete1 overly burdensome or          

restrictive1 not adequately harmonized1 
or otherwise serve to create barriers to
 small business concerns and            
nontraditional defense contractors      
contracting with the ,department or that
 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       
concerns and nontraditional defense     
contractors participating in the        
procurement process of the ,department  
of ,defense4  7#d7 ,implementation ,not 
later than #b years after the date of   
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary of ,defense shall implement  
the regulatory and other non-legislative
 actions identified under paragraph     
7#c71 as determined necessary by the    
,secretary1 to remove barriers to entry 

for small business concerns and         
nontraditional defense contractors      
seeking to participate in ,department of
 ,defense procurement4  7#e7 ,briefing  
,not later than two years after the date
 of the enactment of this ,act1 the     
,secretary of ,defense shall provide to 
the ,committees on ,armed ,services of  
the ,senate and ,house of               
,representatives a briefing on the      
legislative actions identified under    
paragraph 7#c7 and the actions          
implemented under paragraph 7#d74  7c7  
,consideration of cost-,efficiency and  
qualify ,the ,secretary of ,defense     
shall advocate for and prioritize       
contracting policies that ensure that   
cost efficiency and quality of goods and
 services are key determining factors in
 awarding procurement contracts4  7d7   
,definitions ,in this section-- 7#a7 the
 term nontraditional defense contractors
 has the meaning given such term in     
section #cjad of title #aj1 ,united     
,states ,code2 and  7#b7 the term small 

business concern has the meaning given  
such term under section #c of the ,small
 ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb74