Sec. 862. Small Business Bill of Rights
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The Secretary of Defense, through the Small Business Integration Group led by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, shall develop and adopt a Small Business Bill of Rights for the Department and its components. The purpose of the Small Business Bill of Rights is to make sure customer service issues and conflicts related to acquisitions are resolved in an expeditious manner at the lowest level possible, increasing the likelihood that small businesses continue to conduct business with the Department, and ultimately fostering a healthier partnership with the defense industrial base. The Bill of Rights required under subsection
(a)shall— provide authority to small business professionals in the Department of Defense to make inquiries to acquisition professionals related to customer service issues, obtain timely responses, and establish a resolution process construct that all Department of Defense components must adhere to, including reporting appropriate metrics to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Office of Small Business Programs, and Congress to ensure compliance and identification of trends and solutions; authorize the Secretary of Defense, through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, to establish guidance requiring responses to inquiries within a reasonable and practical time line; require Department of Defense component Small Business Programs Directors to provide office point of contact information to render service during normal duty hours; require Department of Defense components to provide supervisory communication information to mitigate any unresolved inquiries at their level or at the request of the originator; and require Department of Defense components to track and report annual metrics of customer service issues within the Department to the Secretary of Defense and Congress, including information on the type of issue, the component, the resolution, and trends. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment shall present a briefing to the congressional defense committees detailing the Small Business Bill of Rights and its implementation plan.