SEC. 869. Establishment of an Office of
Hearings and Appeals in the Small Business Administration;
petitions for reconsideration of size standards.
(a) Establishment of an Office of
Hearings and Appeals in the Small Business Administration.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 of the Small
Business Act (15 U.S.C.
634) is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
“(i) Office of Hearings and
Appeals.—
“(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—
“(A) OFFICE.—There is established in
the Administration an Office of Hearings and Appeals—
“(i) to impartially decide matters
relating to program decisions of the Administrator—
“(I) for which Congress requires
a hearing on the record; or
“(II) that the Administrator designates for hearing by
regulation; and
“(ii) which shall contain the
office of the Administration that handles requests
submitted pursuant to sections 552 of title 5, United
States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘Freedom of
Information Act’) and maintains records pursuant to
section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly
referred to as the ‘Privacy Act of 1974’).
“(B) JURISDICTION.—The Office of
Hearings and Appeals shall only hear appeals of matters as
described in this Act, the Small Business Investment Act of
1958 (15 U.S.C.
661 et seq.), and title 13 of the Code of
Federal Regulations.
“(C) ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR.—The
head of the Office of Hearings and Appeals shall be the
Chief Hearing Officer appointed under section 4(b)(1), who
shall be responsible to the Administrator.
“(2) CHIEF HEARING OFFICER DUTIES.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Hearing
Officer shall—
“(i) be a career appointee in the
Senior Executive Service and an attorney licensed by a
State, commonwealth, territory or possession of the United
States, or the District of Columbia; and
“(ii) be responsible for the operation and management of
the Office of Hearings and Appeals.
“(B) ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE
RESOLUTION.—The Chief Hearing Officer may assign a matter
for mediation or other means of alternative dispute
resolution.
“(3) HEARING OFFICERS.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office of
Hearings and Appeals shall appoint Hearing Officers to carry
out the duties described in paragraph (1)(A)(i).
“(B) CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT.—A Hearing Officer appointed
under this paragraph—
“(i) shall serve in the excepted
service as an employee of the Administration under
section
2103 of title 5, United States Code, and under the
supervision of the Chief Hearing Officer;
“(ii) shall be classified at a position to which section
5376 of title 5, United States Code, applies; and
“(iii) shall be compensated at a rate not exceeding the
maximum rate payable under such section.
“(C) AUTHORITY;
POWERS.—Notwithstanding section
556(b) of title 5, United
States Code—
“(i) a Hearing Officer may hear
cases arising under section 554 of such title;
“(ii) a Hearing Officer shall have
the powers described in section
556(c) of such title; and
“(iii) the relevant provisions of subchapter II of chapter
5 of such title (except for section
556(b) of such title)
shall apply to such Hearing Officer.
“(D) TREATMENT OF CURRENT
PERSONNEL.—An individual serving as a Judge in the Office of
Hearings and Appeals (as that position and office are
designated in section 134.101 of title 13, Code of Federal
Regulations) on the effective date of this subsection shall
be considered as qualified to be, and redesignated as, a
Hearing Officer.
“(4) HEARING OFFICER DEFINED.—In this
subsection, the term ‘Hearing Officer’ means an individual
appointed or redesignated under this subsection who is an
attorney licensed by a State, commonwealth, territory or
possession of the United States, or the District of
Columbia.”.
(2) ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR AS CHIEF HEARING OFFICER.—Section
4(b)(1) of such Act (15 U.S.C.
633(b)) is amended by adding at
the end the following: “One such Associate Administrator shall
be the Chief Hearing Officer, who shall administer the Office
of Hearings and Appeals established under section 5(i).”.
(3) REPEAL OF REGULATION.—Section 134.102(t) of title 13, Code
of Federal Regulations, as in effect on January 1, 2015
(relating to types of hearings within the jurisdiction of the
Office of Hearings and Appeals), shall have no force or
effect.
(b) Petitions for reconsideration of size standards for small
business concerns.—Section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C.
632(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(9) PETITIONS FOR RECONSIDERATION OF
SIZE STANDARDS.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—A person may file a petition for
reconsideration with the Office of Hearings and Appeals (as
established under section 5(i)) of a size standard revised,
modified, or established by the Administrator pursuant to this
subsection.
“(B) TIME LIMIT.—A person filing a petition for
reconsideration described in subparagraph (A) shall file such
petition not later than 30 days after the publication in the
Federal Register of the notice of final rule to revise,
modify, or establish size standards described in paragraph
(6).
“(C) PROCESS FOR AGENCY REVIEW.—The Office of Hearings and
Appeals shall use the same process it uses to decide
challenges to the size of a small business concern to decide a
petition for review pursuant to this paragraph.
“(D) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—The publication of a final rule in the
Federal Register described in subparagraph (B) shall be
considered final agency action for purposes of seeking
judicial review. Filing a petition for reconsideration under
subparagraph (A) shall not be a condition precedent to
judicial review of any such size standard.”.
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Establishment of an Office of Hearings
and Appeals in the Small Business Administration; petitions for
reconsideration of size standards (sec. 869)
The House bill contained a provision (sec. 845) that would amend
section 5 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 634) that would
establish an Office of Hearings and Appeals in the Small
Business Administration that would review petitions for the
revision of small business size standards.
The Senate amendment contained no similar
provision.
The Senate recedes.
Amendment no. 71 offered by Mr. Bost
of Illinois (May 14, 2015, Congressional Record,
Page H3198) Mr.
THORNBERRY. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased at this point to yield 1
minute to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost).
Mr. BOST. I thank the chairman for
yielding and this opportunity to offer my amendment. Mr. Chair,
when the Small Business Administration sets a size standard for
a small business, it is determining whether that company can
qualify for loans, Federal contracts, and other development
assistance. Unfortunately, there are times that the SBA sets an
inappropriate size standard, wrongly classifying a small
business as a large business, which can deny them critical
access and assistance and contract opportunities.
My bipartisan amendment, offered with
the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly), builds upon previous
efforts to improve the SBA size standards process. This will
empower America's job creators to appeal directly to the SBA
when they believe they have received an inappropriate
designation. This change will spare small businesses from having
to engage in expensive and time-consuming lawsuits to make their
voice heard.
Our amendment is supported by the
National Small Business Association, the National Defense
Industrial Association, and other small business organizations.
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