H.R. 2594 would accelerate the timing of certain payments to contractors from federal agencies. Under current law, if federal contracting officers change contract terms that affect the cost of performance then the government is required to adjust the contract’s price accordingly upon request of the contractor. Such requests are known as a request for equitable adjustment (REA). The equitable adjustment is paid to the contractor after the agency issues a formal change order and an invoice is submitted for the completed work. H.R. 2594 would expedite those payments.
The bill also would require federal agencies to report annually on construction contracts they award to small businesses and any modifications made to such contracts. The Small Business Administration (SBA) would be required to annually compile and summarize those reports. Based on an analysis of information from several of the affected agencies, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $83 million over the 2018-2022 period.
Enacting H.R. 2594 would affect spending by agencies not funded through annual appropriations; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that any net increase in spending by those agencies would be less than $500,000. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2594 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 2594 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.