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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. 114-

House Conference Report. 114-840

(1) to prohibit the use by the Department of Defense of reverse auctions or lowest price technically acceptable contracting methods for the procurement of personal protective equipment if the level of quality or failure of the item could result in combat casualties; and

(2) to establish a preference for the use of best value contracting methods for the procurement of such equipment.

(b) Conforming Amendment.—Section 884 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114–92; 129 Stat. 948; 10 U.S.C. 2302 note) is hereby repealed.

The Senate bill contained a provision (sec. 829D) that would prohibit the use of reverse auctions and lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) contracting methods for the procurement of personal protective equipment where the level of quality needed or the failure of the item could result in combat casualties.

The House amendment contained a similar provision (sec. 804) that would amend section 884 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114-92) to clarify source selection criteria to be used in the procurement of personal protective equipment or critical safety items.

The House recedes.

The conferees understand that, in some cases, both LPTA and reverse auctions are appropriate contracting methods and price discovery methods. However, the conferees do not believe that such methods are appropriate for equipment that provides personal protection to members of the Armed Services.