CONTRACT BUNDLING STUDY.

SEC. 321. CONTRACT BUNDLING STUDY. (a) In General.—The Administrator of the Small Business Administration, acting through the Associate Administrator for Procurement Assistance, shall conduct a study regarding the impact of the practice known as “contract bundling” on the participation of small business concerns in the Federal procurement process. (b) Purpose.—In addition to such other matters as the Associate Administrator for Procurement Assistance deems appropriate to assure the conduct of a comprehensive study and the development of practical recommendations, the study required by subsection (a) shall— (1) identify the benefits and adverse effects of contract bundling to the procuring agencies; (2) identify the benefits and adverse effects of contract bundling on small business concerns; (3) examine the adequacy of the policy direction to agency procurement officials regarding the bundling of contract requirements; (4) examine the extent to which agencies have been combining their requirements for the procurement of goods and services (including construction) into solicitations requiring an offeror to be able to perform increasingly larger contracts covering multiple and diverse elements of performance; (5) consider the appropriateness of the explanatory statements submitted by the procuring agencies pursuant to section 15(a) of the Small Business Act regarding bundling of contract requirements; and (6) determine whether procurement center representatives, small business specialists, or other agency procurement officials can, under existing guidance and authority, have the necessary policy direction and effective authority to make an independent assessment regarding a proposed bundling of contract requirements. (c) Participation — (1) In general.— In conducting the study described in subsection (b), the Associate Administrator for Procurement Assistance shall provide for participation by representatives of— (A) the Office of the Chief Counsel for Advocacy; (B) the Office of Federal Procurement Policy; and (C) the 10 Federal departments or agencies having the greatest dollar value of procurement awards during fiscal year 1991. (2) Additional consultation.—In conducting the study, the Associate Administrator for Procurement Assistance shall consult with representatives of organizations representing small business government contractors and such other public and private entities as may be appropriate. (d) Schedule.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Associate Administrator for Procurement Assistance shall publish in the Federal Register a plan for the study required by this section. The study shall be completed not later than March 31, 1993. (e) Report.—Not later than May 15, 1993, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall submit a report to 106 STAT. 1007the Committees on Small Business of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The report shall contain the results of the study required by subsection (a), together with recommendations for legislative and regulatory changes to maintain small business participation in the Federal procurement process, as the Administrator deems appropriate. (f) Definition.— For purposes of this section, the term “contracting bundling” or “bundling of contract requirements” refers to the practice of consolidating into a single large contract solicitation multiple procurement requirements that were previously solicited and awarded as separate smaller contracts, generally resulting in a contract opportunity unsuitable for award to a small business concern due to the diversity and size of the elements of performance specified and the aggregate dollar value of the anticipated award.