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

Subtitle A—Acquisition Policy and Management.

P. L. 116-92

House Conference Report 116-333

(a) Repeal of Government Accountability Office Reporting Requirements on Use of Lowest Price Technically Acceptable Source Selection Criteria.--

(1) Department of defense.--Section 813 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (10 U.S.C. 2305 note) is amended by striking subsection (d).

(2) Other agencies.--Section 880 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232; 132 Stat. 1910; 41 U.S.C. 3701 note) is amended by striking subsection (d) and redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (d).

(b) Revision to the Federal Procurement Data System.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services, in coordination with the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, shall direct appropriate revisions to the Federal procurement data system established pursuant
to section 1122(a)(4) of title 41, United States Code (or any successor system), to facilitate the collection of complete, timely, and reliable data on the source selection processes used by Federal agencies for the contract actions being reported in the system. The Administrator of General Services shall ensure that data are collected--

(1) at a minimum, on the usage of the lowest price technically acceptable contracting methods and best value contracting methods process; and

(2) on all applicable contracting actions, including task orders or delivery orders issued under indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity contracts.

The House amendment contained a provision (sec. 829) that would amend section 813 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328) and section 880 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232) to repeal the requirements for the Comptroller General of the United States to provide annual reports on the government's use of lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) source selection procedures. The provision would also require revising the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) to capture more data on the use of lowest price technically acceptable procedures.

The Senate bill contained no similar provision.

The Senate recedes.

House Report 116-120

Section 829--Standardizing Data Collection and Reporting on Use of Source Selection Procedures by Federal Agencies

This section would repeal portions of section 2305 note of title 10, United States Code, and section 3701 note of title 41, United States Code, which required the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) to provide an annual report on the use of lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) source selection procedures by the Department of Defense and civilian agencies, respectively. These provisions presumed that the Department and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) would revise the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement or the Federal Acquisition Regulation within the timeframes established in the enabling legislation. GAO has twice reported that the Department has not yet implemented the source selection criteria provided by Congress. The committee also understands that the OFPP is just beginning the process to draft implementing regulations for civilian agencies despite the mandate to do so within 120 days of the enactment of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232). The committee notes that until the Department and OFPP issue implementing regulations, GAO will not have new information regarding agencies' use of LPTA and whether contracting officers are using LPTA appropriately. 

This section would also require revisions to the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), or any successor systems, to facilitate the collection of data on source selection procedures used in awarding contracts and other relevant
contract actions, such as task and delivery orders issued under indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity contracts. Under this section, the Administrator of General Services, in coordination with the OFPP would determine appropriate revisions to the FPDS
within the 180 days provided for under this section. The committee notes that this revision should be feasible, as the FPDS already collects information on whether contracts were awarded using the sealed bidding process, which accounts for a relatively small percentage of the total contracts awarded each year. The committee expects that the new information to be collected would include, at a minimum, whether the contract awarded or order issued was made using LPTA or best value contracting methods, or some other procedure.