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TITLE VIII--ACQUISITION POLICY, ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT, AND RELATED MATTERS

Subtitle F--Provisions Relating to Commercial Items

P. L. 114-

House Conference Report. 114-840

(1) IN GENERAL.—Military specifications shall be used in procurements only to define an exact design solution when there is no acceptable commercial or non-Government standard or when the use of a commercial or non-Government standard is not cost effective.

(2) WAIVER.—A waiver for the use of military specifications in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be approved by either the appropriate milestone decision authority, the appropriate service acquisition executive, or the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

(c) Revision To DFARS.—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 revise the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to encourage contractors to propose commercial or non-Government standards and industry-wide practices that meet the intent of the military specifications and standards.

(d) Development Of Non-Government Standards.—The Under Secretary for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics shall form partnerships with appropriate industry associations to develop commercial or non-Government standards for replacement of military specifications and standards where practicable.

(e) Education, Training, And Guidance.—The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics shall ensure that training, education, and guidance programs throughout the Department are revised to incorporate specifications and standards reform.

(f) Licenses.—The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics shall negotiate licenses for standards to be used across the Department of Defense and shall maintain an inventory of such licenses that is accessible to other Department of Defense organizations.

Use of commercial or non-Government standards in lieu of military specifications and standards (sec. 875)

The Senate bill contained a provision (sec. 863) that would require the Secretary of Defense to ensure that the Department of Defense uses performance and commercial specifications and standards in lieu of military specifications and standards, including for procuring new systems, major modifications, upgrades to current systems, non-developmental and commercial items, and programs in all acquisition categories, unless no practical alternative exists to meet user needs.

The House amendment contained no similar provision.

The House recedes with an amendment that would clarify that commercial or non-governmental specifications and standards should be used in lieu of military specifications and standards. The amendment also would require the Department of Defense to maintain an inventory of commercial and non-governmental standards licenses.