WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives has passed Donalds bill H.R. 9596 – "The Bipartisan Value Over Cost Act," by voice vote.

"The Bipartisan Value Over Cost Act" works to make government efficient again by increasing contractual flexibility and contracting competition, providing clarity for acquisition stakeholders, maximizing the Federal Government’s ability to procure modern technology, and helping the small business community by reducing regulatory burdens.

H.R. 9596 is sponsored by Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL) and is the congressman's twenty-fifth piece of legislation that has passed the U.S. House of Representatives during the 118th Congress. The legislation is cosponsored by Representatives Troy Nehls R-TX), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL).

Background:

• The General Services Administration’s (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program is the Federal Government’s most-used contracting procedure for commercial products & services
• Currently, the MAS program requires GSA and federal agencies to contract using the “lowest overall cost alternative” standard—established in 1984
• This legacy procurement standard calls for the selection of contracts that are in the best interest of the Federal Government—with price often being the determining factor
• “An agency must use an evaluation method . . . for a reasonable assessment of the price of performance under competing quotations, so as to establish whether one vendor’s quote would be more or less costly than another’s.”
• Various MAS contractors claim the standards increase administrative costs, which leads them to charge the Federal Government higher prices
• This legacy procedure is administratively burdensome—and GSA has agreed that change is necessary

Bill Actions:

• In addition to considering the “lowest overall cost alternative,” this bill would provide GSA with additional flexibility to award contracts based on “best value” if GSA determines it to be in the best interest of the Federal Government
  • Best Value—defined in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101 as “the expected outcome of an acquisition that, in the Government’s estimation, provides the greatest overall benefit in response to the requirement”
• Ultimately, this bill puts the GSA MAS program on a level playing field with other acquisition procedures

More:

• Social Media Summary Roll-Out HERE.
• Read the Full Text of the Legislation HERE.
• Congress.gov profile of the Legislation HERE.