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SEC. 803. AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE
INNOVATIVE COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES USING
GENERAL SOLICITATION COMPETITIVE PROCEDURES.
(a) Authority.--
(1) In general.--Chapter 140 of title
10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``Sec. 2380c. Authority to acquire
innovative commercial products and commercial services using
general solicitation competitive procedures
``(a) Authority.--The Secretary of
Defense and the Secretaries of the military departments may
acquire innovative commercial products and commercial services
through a competitive selection of proposals resulting from a
general solicitation and the peer review of such proposals.
``(b) Treatment as Competitive
Procedures.--Use of general solicitation competitive
procedures under subsection (a) shall be considered to be use
of competitive procedures for purposes of chapter 137 of this
title.
``(c) Limitations.--
(1) The Secretary may not enter into
a contract or agreement in excess of $100,000,000 using the
authority under subsection (a) without a written
determination from the Under Secretary of Defense for
Acquisition and Sustainment or the relevant service
acquisition executive of the efficacy of the effort to meet
mission needs of the Department of Defense or the relevant
military department.
``(2) Contracts or agreements
entered into using the authority under subsection (a) shall
be fixed-price, including fixed-price incentive fee
contracts.
``(3) Notwithstanding section
2376(1) of this title, products and services acquired using
the authority under subsection (a) shall be treated as
commercial products and commercial services.
``(d) Congressional Notification
Required.--
(1) Not later than 45 days after the
award of a contract for an amount exceeding $100,000,000
using the authority in subsection (a), the Secretary shall
notify the congressional defense committees of such award.
``(2) Notice of an award under
paragraph (1) shall include the
following:
``(A) Description of the
innovative commercial product or commercial service
acquired.
``(B) Description of the
requirement, capability gap, or potential technological
advancement with respect to which the innovative
commercial product or commercial service acquired provides
a solution or a potential new capability.
``(C) Amount of the contract
awarded.
``(D) Identification of the
contractor awarded the contract.
``(e) Innovative Defined.--In this
section, the term `innovative' means--
``(1) any technology, process, or
method, including research and development, that is new as
of the date of submission of a proposal; or
``(2) any application that is new as
of the date of submission
of a proposal of a technology, process, or method existing
as of such date.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table
of sections at the beginning
of chapter 140 of title 10, United States Code, is amended
by
inserting after the item relating to section 2380b the
following
new item:
``2380c. Authority to acquire
innovative commercial products and commercial services using
general solicitation competitive procedures.''.
(3) Data collection.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary of
Defense and each Secretary of a military department shall
collect and analyze data on the use of the authority under
section 2380c of title 10, United States Code, as added by
paragraph (1), for the purposes of--
(i) developing and sharing best
practices for achieving the objectives of the authority;
(ii) gathering information on
the implementation of the authority and related policy
issues; and
(iii) informing the
congressional defense committees on the use of the
authority.
(B) Plan required.--The authority
under section 2380c of title 10, United States Code, as
added by paragraph (1), may not be exercised by the
Secretary of Defense or any Secretary of a military
department during the period beginning on October 1, 2022,
and ending on the date on which the Secretary of Defense
submits to the congressional defense committees a
completed plan for carrying out the data collection
required under paragraph (1).
(C) Congressional defense
committees; military department defined.--In this
paragraph, the terms ``congressional defense committees''
and ``military department'' have the meanings given such
terms in section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code.
(b) Future Transfer.--
(1) Transfer and redesignation.--Section
2380c of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection
(a), is transferred to chapter 247 of such title, added after
section 3457, as transferred and redesignated by section
1821(a) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283),
and redesignated as section 3458.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of
sections at the beginning of chapter 247 of title 10, United
States Code, as added by section 1821(a) of the William M.
(Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283), is amended by inserting after
the item related to section 3457 the following new item:
``3458. Authority to acquire
innovative commercial products and commercial services using
general solicitation competitive procedures.''.
(3) Conforming amendments to internal cross-references.--
Section 3458 of title 10, United States Code, as redesignated
by paragraph (1), is amended--
(A) in subsection (b), by striking
``chapter 137'' and inserting ``chapter 221''; and
(B) in subsection (c)(3), by
striking ``section 2376(1)'' and inserting ``section
3451(1)''.
(4) Effective date.--The transfer,
redesignation, and amendments made by this subsection shall
take as if included in title XVIII of the William M. (Mac)
Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2021 (Public Law 116-283).
(5) References; savings provision;
rule of construction.--Sections 1883 through 1885 of the
William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283) shall apply with
respect to the transfers, redesignations, and amendments made
under this subsection as if such transfers, redesignations,
and amendments were made under title XVIII of such Act.
(c) Repeal of Obsolete
Authority.--Section 879 of the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328; 10 U.S.C. 2302
note) is hereby repealed. |
Authority to acquire innovative
commercial products and commercial services using general
solicitation competitive procedures (sec. 803)
The Senate amendment contained a
provision (sec. 816) that would permanently authorize the
Department of Defense to use what are commonly known as
commercial solutions openings to solicit and acquire innovative
commercial items, technologies,
or services.
The House bill contained no similar
provision.
The agreement includes the Senate
provision with an amendment that would expand the authority to
all of the military departments and clarify the data collection
requirements that will help justify the continued granting and
use of the authority.
S. 2792--Senate Report117-39
Authority to acquire
innovative commercial products and services using general
solicitation competitive procedures (sec. 816)
The committee recommends a provision that would permanently
authorize the Department of Defense to use what are commonly
known as Commercial Solutions Openings to solicit and acquire
innovative commercial items, technologies, or services.
The committee notes that
this authority was originally established in section 879 of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public
Law 114-328) and that it has been successfully used by the
Department to establish agreements with small businesses in
technology areas relevant to supporting the National Defense
Strategy. The
committee also notes that this authority has been used
successfully by the Defense Innovation Unit and the Air Force to
support efforts to work with commercial sector firms, as well as
to support COVID-19 response activities. |
