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TITLE VIII--ACQUISITION POLICY, ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT, AND RELATED MATTERS

P. L. 108-375

House Conference Report 108-767

SEC. 807. INFLATION ADJUSTMENT OF ACQUISITION-RELATED DOLLAR THRESHOLDS.

(a) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT AUTHORITY. —

(1) The Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 35 the following new section:

     "SEC. 35A. INFLATION ADJUSTMENT OF ACQUISITION-RELATED DOLLAR THRESHOLDS.

 "(a) REQUIREMENT FOR PERIODIC ADJUSTMENT. —

(1) On October 1 of each year that is evenly divisible by five, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council shall adjust each acquisition-related dollar threshold provided by law, as described in subsection (c), to the baseline constant dollar value of that threshold.

"(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the baseline constant dollar value —

"(A) for a dollar threshold in effect on October 1, 2000, that was first specified in a law that took effect on or before such date shall be the October 1, 2000, constant dollar value of that dollar threshold; and

"(B) for a dollar threshold specified in a law that takes effect after October 1, 2000, shall be the constant dollar value of that threshold as of the effective date of that dollar threshold pursuant to such law.

"(b) ADJUSTMENTS EFFECTIVE UPON PUBLICATION. — The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council shall publish a notice of the adjusted dollar thresholds under this section in the Federal Register. The adjusted dollar thresholds shall take effect on the date of publication.

"(c) ACQUISITION-RELATED DOLLAR THRESHOLDS. — Except as provided in subsection (d), the requirement for adjustment under subsection (a) applies to a dollar threshold that is specified in law as a factor in defining the scope of the applicability of a policy, procedure, requirement, or restriction provided in that law to the procurement of property or services by an executive agency, as determined by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council.

"(d) EXCLUDED THRESHOLDS. — Subsection (a) does not apply to —

"(1) dollar thresholds in sections 3141 through 3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40, United States Code;

"(2) dollar thresholds in the Service Contract Act of 1965 (41 U.S.C. 351, et seq.); or

"(3) dollar thresholds established by the United States Trade Representative pursuant to title III of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (19 U.S.C. 2511 et seq.).

"(e) CALCULATION OF ADJUSTMENTS. — An adjust- ment under this section shall —

"(1) be calculated on the basis of changes in the Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers published monthly by the Department of Labor; and

"(2) be rounded —

     "(A) in the case of a dollar threshold that (as in effect on the day before the adjustment) is less than $10,000, to the nearest $500;

     "(B) in the case of a dollar threshold that (as in effect on the day before the adjustment) is not less than $10,000, but is less than $100,000, to the nearest $5,000;

"(C) in the case of a dollar threshold that (as in effect on the day before the adjustment) is not less than $100,000, but is less than $1,000,000, to the nearest $50,000; and

"(D) in the case of a dollar threshold that (as in effect on the day before the adjustment) is $1,000,000 or more, to the nearest $500,000.

"(f) PETITION FOR INCLUSION OF OMITTED THRESHOLD. —

(1) If a dollar threshold adjustable under this section is not included in a notice of adjustment published under subsection (b), any person may request adjustment of that dollar threshold by submitting a petition for adjustment to the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy.

"(2) Upon receipt of a petition for adjustment of a dollar threshold under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall —

"(A) determine, in writing, whether that dollar threshold is required to be adjusted under this section; and

"(B) if so, shall publish in the Federal Register a revised notice of the adjusted dollar thresholds under this section that includes the adjustment of the dollar threshold covered by the petition.

"(3) The adjustment of a dollar threshold pursuant to a petition under this subsection shall take effect on the date of the publication of the revised notice adding the adjustment of that dollar threshold under paragraph (2)(B).’’.

(2) The table of contents in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 35 the following new item:

     "Sec. 35A. Inflation adjustment of acquisition-related dollar thresholds.’’.

(b) DEFINITION OF FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATORY COUNCIL. — Section 4 of such Act is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

"(17) The term ‘Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’ means the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council established under section 25.’’.

(c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER INFLATION ADJUST- MENT AUTHORITIES. —

(1) Section 35A of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act, as added by subsection (a), supersedes the applicability of any other provision of law that provides for the adjustment of a dollar threshold that is adjustable under such section.

(2) After the date of the enactment of this Act, a dollar threshold adjustable under section 35A of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act, as added by subsection (a), shall be adjusted only as provided under that section.

The House bill contained a provision (sec. 807) that would authorize the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to amend the dollar threshold of procurement statutes in accordance with inflationary rates in order to maintain the constant dollar value of the threshold.  This section would not authorize adjustments to the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. 276(a)), the Service Contract Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-286), or Title III of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979.  (Public Law 96-39)

The Senate amendment contained no similar provision.

The Senate recedes with an amendment that would:  (1) codify the provision in the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act; (2) make adjustment to acquisition thresholds mandatory rather than discretionary to ensure that all thresholds are adjusted in the same way; (3) establish a petition process for thresholds omitted by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council; (4) superceded other inflation adjustment statutes to ensure there is no conflicting authority; and (5) address procurement thresholds enacted in law after October 1, 2000.

House Report 108-491