ARTICLE
Rep. James Comer (R-KY)'s ban on reverse auction legislation was passed by the House, and it would prohibit reverse auctions for contracts that exceed the simplified acquisition threshold, which is currently set at $250,000. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) would be amended within 270 days of enactment to reflect the ban. The bill would define reverse auctions to include those that allow multiple offerors on federal contracts to submit revised lower bids at any time before the auction ends. It would also require the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, within 180 days of the bill's enactment, to define complex, specialized, or substantial design and construction services that would be affected by the ban. Covered services would have to include: • Site planning and landscape design. • Architectural and engineering services. • Interior design. • Substantial construction work for facility, infrastructure, and environmental restoration projects. • Construction or substantial alteration of public buildings or public works. The legislation would replace similar language in the COVID-19 relief and FY 21 funding package that President Trump recently signed. The changes to that package would include requiring the FAR Council to define covered design and construction services and exempting acquisitions below the simplified acquisition threshold. --FCA