House-Passed Defense Authorization Bill Contains Key Small Business Wins

Press Release

Today, the House passed H.R. 6395, the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021, which includes several provisions that will benefit small businesses.

"Thanks to the hard work of a bipartisan group of my colleagues, the fiscal year 2021 NDAA contains several key small business victories,"said Ranking Member Steve Chabot (R-OH)."As written, these provisions will slash red tape and ensure fair treatment for small contractors."

All or part of the following bills were included in the FY21 NDAA:

H.R. 5146, the Unlocking Opportunities for Small Businesses Act of 2019 -- introduced by Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-MN) and Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA)

H.R. 5146 requires federal government contracting officers to consider subcontracting and joint venture past performance into account when evaluating small businesses seeking to compete on federal prime contracts.

H.R. 7533, To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to develop a training curriculum on category management -- introduced by Rep. John Joyce (R-PA) and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA)

H.R. 7533 equips all federal contracting personnel with the knowledge they need to manage the priorities of both category management and the Small Business Act, and how to best acquire goods and services from small businesses within the category management framework.

H.R. 7320, To amend the Small Business Act to require equitable adjustments to certain construction contracts -- introduced by Rep. Pete Stauber (R-PA) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME)

H.R. 7320 allows a small business performing a construction contract awarded by a federal agency to receive at least 50% up front the amount of a request for equitable adjustment if the agency's contracting officer directs a change in the work that is within the general scope of the contract without the agreement of the small businesses.

H.R. 1615, the Verification Alignment and Service-disabled Business Adjustment Act, or the VA-SBA Act -- introduced by Rep. Trent Kelly (R-MS), Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH), Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN), Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon (R-PR), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), Rep. Ann Kuster (D-NH), Rep. Steve Watkins (R-KS), Rep. Amata Radewagen (R-AS), Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Rep. David P. Roe (R-TN), Rep. Neal P. Dunn (R-FL), Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), Rep. John Curtis (R-UT), Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH), Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-MN), Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Rep. John Joyce (R-PA), and Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH)

H.R. 1615 transfers responsibility for verifying the status of a service-disabled veteran-owned or veteran-owned small business concern, for the purposes of eligibility for certain procurement programs, from the Department of Veterans Affairs to the Small Business Administration.

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