NDAA for Fiscal Year 2012

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TITLE VIII--ACQUISITION POLICY, ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT, AND RELATED MATTERS Subtitle C—Amendments to General Contracting Authorities, Procedures, and Limitations
P. L. 112-	House Conference Report 112-705
SEC. 825. COMPETITION IN ACQUISITION OF MAJOR SUBSYSTEMS AND SUBASSEMBLIES ON MAJOR DEFENSE ACQUISITION PROGRAMS. Section 202(c) of the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-23; 123 Stat. 1720; 10 U.S.C. 2430 note) is amended-- (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking `fair and objective `make-buy' decisions by prime contractors' and inserting `competition or the option of competition at the subcontract level'; (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), respectively; and (3) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redesignated by paragraph (2) of this section, the following new paragraph (1): `(1) where appropriate, breaking out a major subsystem, conducting a separate competition for the subsystem, and providing the subsystem to the prime contractor as Government-furnished equipment;'.	Competition in acquisition of major subsystems and subassemblies on major defense acquisition programs (sec. 825) The House bill contained a provision (sec. 815) that would restrict Department of Defense obligations for operations and maintenance pending a certification that the Department of Defense is implementing the requirement in section 202 of the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-23) for competition throughout the life cycle of major weapon systems. The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 802) that would strengthen the competition requirements in section 202. The House recedes with a clarifying amendment. The conferees agree that the full implementation of section 202, including the requirement to ensure competition throughout the life cycle of major weapon systems, can help reduce costs, improve contractor performance, and result in better products for the warfighter. The conferees direct the Secretary of Defense to revise the guidance on operation and support costs for major weapon systems required by section 832 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 an appropriate emphasis on the importance of competition in holding down such costs.
	House Report 112-479
	SECTION 815--LIMITATION ON FUNDING PENDING CERTIFICATION OF IMPLEMENTATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPETITION This section would prohibit the Secretary of Defense from obligating or expending more than 80 percent of the funds authorized to be appropriated for the Office of the Secretary of Defense for fiscal year 2013 until such time as the Secretary certifies to the congressional defense committees that the Department of Defense is implementing the requirements of section 202(d) of the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-23), as amended. This section would also require that such certification be accompanied by: (1) a briefing to the congressional defense committees on the processes and procedures that have been implemented across the military departments and defense agencies to maximize competition throughout the life-cycle of major defense acquisition programs; and (2) a representative sample of solicitations issued since May 22, 2009, intended to fulfill the objectives of section 202(d) of Public Law 111-23. The committee continues to believe that competition in procurement actions can reduce costs, improve contractor performance, and result in a better product being delivered to our warfighters. As such, the committee continues to closely monitor Air Force planning and decision-making related to the sustainment of C-17 engines. While Department of the Air Force officials have worked with the committee to address some concerns regarding the Department's initial desire to execute a sole-source procurement strategy for F117 engine supply chain management, depot-level repair actions, and provisioning of parts, the committee continues to believe that more can, and should, be done to introduce competition into sustainment actions related to the C-17, the F117 engine, and other programs of the Department of Defense. For example, the committee notes that the F117 engine is derived from a commercial engine and that the content of the engine is 91 percent identical to the commercial variant. While the committee understands that military flight profiles vary greatly from commercial aviation profiles, the committee continues to believe that the Air Force can greatly benefit from maximizing competition in sustainment of the engine. Furthermore, the committee has been provided little evidence that the Department is introducing more competition in procurement and sustainment activities as required by Public Law 111-23.
	Senate Report 112-173
	Acquisition strategies for major subsystems and subassemblies on major defense acquisition programs (sec. 802) The committee recommends a provision that would require the Secretary of Defense to ensure that the acquisition strategy for each major defense acquisition program (MDAP) provides for robust competition at the subsystem and subassembly level by breaking out major subsystems and subassemblies, where appropriate, for separate competition. Section 202(c) of the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-23) requires that the Department of Defense (DOD) to ensure competition, or the option of competition, at both the prime contract level and the subcontract level of MDAPs, but does not specifically address the break-out of subsystems and subassemblies. In some cases, the government's interest in competition is likely to be best served if DOD runs its own competition for a subsystem or subassembly and provides it to the prime contractor as government-furnished equipment.

SEC. 825. COMPETITION IN ACQUISITION OF MAJOR SUBSYSTEMS AND SUBASSEMBLIES ON MAJOR DEFENSE ACQUISITION PROGRAMS.