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P. L. 107-107

House Conference Report 107-333

SEC. 811. APPLICABILITY OF COMPETITION REQUIREMENTS TO PURCHASES FROM A REQUIRED SOURCE.

(a) CONDITIONS FOR COMPETITION- (1) Chapter 141 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

Sec. 2410n. Products of Federal Prison Industries: procedural requirements

(a) MARKET RESEARCH BEFORE PURCHASE- Before purchasing a product listed in the latest edition of the Federal Prison Industries catalog under section 4124(d) of title 18, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct market research to determine whether the Federal Prison Industries product is comparable in price, quality, and time of delivery to products available from the private sector.

(b) LIMITED COMPETITION REQUIREMENT- If the Secretary determines that a Federal Prison Industries product is not comparable in price, quality, and time of delivery to products available from the private sector, the Secretary shall use competitive procedures for the procurement of the product. In conducting such a competition, the Secretary shall consider a timely offer from Federal Prison Industries for award in accordance with the specifications and evaluation factors specified in the solicitation.'.

(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following:

(b) APPLICABILITY- Section 2410n of title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), shall apply to purchases initiated on or after October 1, 2001.

The Senate bill contained a provision (sec. 821) that would require Federal Prison Industries (FPI) to compete for future Department of Defense contracts.

The House amendment contained no similar provision.

The House recedes. Under this provision, the Department of Defense, not Federal Prison Industries, will be responsible for determining whether Federal Prison Industries can best meet the Department's needs in terms of price, quality, and time of delivery. If the Department determines that the FPI product is not the best available in terms of price, quality, and time of delivery, the Department is directed to purchase the product on a competitive basis.