New Bill Introduced to Expand Baldrige to Nonprofits

On October 29, Representatives Brad Miller (D-NC) and Melissa Hart (R-PA) introduced H.R. 3389 (PDF, 28 KB) in the U.S. House of Representatives, which would establish the not-for-profit category for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. 

Similar language had been included in a Senate authorization bill earlier this year and, with support from ASQ and other Baldrige proponents, passed the Senate Commerce Committee last July.  Unfortunately, that bill has now been caught up in unrelated procedural issues, and its consideration in the Senate is currently stalled. Therefore, a decision was made to set in place an alternative strategy to help ensure that a bill could still be advanced this year.

The Miller-Hart bill, H.R. 3389, represents the first step in that strategy.

Using accelerated procedures, plans are now to bring the bill directly to the House floor for an anticipated favorable vote.  Then, using similar methods for non-controversial issues, the House-passed bill would be brought straight to the Senate floor for a vote.

While this is a positive development, passage this year is not certain, as there are still several procedural hurdles to cross and little time left in this congressional session to accomplish it this year.