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

Subtitle H - Other Matters

P. L. 114-

House Conference Report. 114-840

(1) identify the flow-down provisions that exist in the Federal Acquisition Regulation and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement;

(2) identify the flow-down provisions that are critical for national security;

(3) examine the extent to which clauses in contracts with the Department of Defense are being applied inappropriately in subcontracts under the contracts;

(4) assess the applicability of flow-down provisions for the purchase of commodity items that are acquired in bulk for multiple acquisition programs;

(5) determine the unnecessary costs or burdens, if any, of flow-down provisions on the supply chain;

(6) determine the effect, if any, of flow-down provisions on the participation rate of small businesses, contractors for commercial items, nontraditional defense contractors, universities, and not-for-profit research organizations in defense acquisition efforts; and

(7) determine the effect, if any, of flow-down provisions on Department of Defense access to advanced research and technology capabilities available in the private sector.

(b) Contract.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall enter into a contract with an independent entity with appropriate expertise to conduct the review required by subsection (a).

(c) Report.—Not later than August 1, 2017, the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the findings of the independent entity, along with a description of any actions that the Secretary proposes to address the findings of the independent entity.

The House amendment contained a provision (sec. 833) that would require the Secretary of Defense to enter into a contract with an independent entity with appropriate expertise to conduct a review of contractual flow-down provisions related to major defense acquisition programs.

The Senate bill contained no similar provision.

The Senate recedes with an amendment that would expand the types of contractors and suppliers to be included in the required review. The conferees direct the Secretary of Defense or his designee to brief the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the interim findings and initial recommendations from the review not later than April 1, 2017.