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TITLE VIII--ACQUISITION POLICY, ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT, AND RELATED MATTERS Subtitle G—Other Matters |
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P. L. 114- |
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SEC. 895. Mitigating potential unfair
competitive advantage of technical advisors to acquisition
programs. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics shall review, and as necessary revise or issue, policy guidance pertaining to the identification, mitigation, and prevention of potential unfair competitive advantage conferred to technical advisors to acquisition programs. |
Mitigating potential unfair competitive
advantage of technical advisors to acquisition programs (sec.
895) The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 881) that would require the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics to issue guidance on identifying and addressing potential unfair competitive advantage of technical advisors to acquisition officials. The House bill contained no similar provision. The House recedes with an amendment to
revise the guidance required under the provision. In responding to this provision, the
conferees expect the Secretary to review these definitions, as
well as the efficacy of current conflict-of-interest policies,
the use of non- The conferees also expect the Secretary to develop metrics and processes for collecting and evaluating complaints and concerns relating to examples of the exploitation of unfair competitive advantage by technical advisors. Senate Report 114-49 to accompany S. 1376 as it was reported out of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Steps to identify and address potential unfair competitive advantage of technical advisors to acquisition officials (sec. 881) The committee recommends a provision that would require the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics to issue guidance on identifying and addressing potential unfair competitive advantage of technical advisors to acquisition officials. Organizational conflict of interest and personal conflict of interest issues have been addressed for contractors in previous legislation. While it would be expected that the Undersecretary would review the implementation of these efforts, there has been a neglected aspect of potential conflicts raised when the Department of Defense uses federally funded research and development centers, other non-profit entities, or federal laboratories that provide technical advice on defense programs and subsequent work has been directed to these entities or their clients. The committee believes that the Department needs to ensure that the engineering and technical advice it is given is free from unmitigated potential conflicts of interest. |