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

Subtitle F--Provisions Relating to Acquisition Workforce

P. L. 116-92

House Conference Report 116-333

(a) Public-private Talent Exchange Program.--Section 1599g of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:

``(i) Conflicts of Interest.--A private-sector organization that is
temporarily assigned a member of the acquisition workforce under this
section shall not be considered to have a conflict of interest with the
Department of Defense solely because of participation in the program
established under this section.

``(j) Funding; Use of Defense Acquisition Workforce Development
Fund.--Funds for the expenses for the program established under this
section may be provided from amounts in the Department of Defense
Acquisition Workforce Development Fund. Expenses for the program
include--

``(1) notwithstanding section 1705(e)(5) of this title, the
base salary of a civilian member of the acquisition workforce
assigned to a private-sector organization under this section,
during the period of that assignment;

``(2) expenses relating to assignment under this section of a
member of the acquisition workforce away from the member's regular duty station, including expenses for travel, per diem, and lodging; and

``(3) expenses for the administration of the program.''.

(b) Use of Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund.--Section 1705(e)(1) of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

``(C) Amounts in the Fund may be used to pay the expenses of the public-private talent exchange program established under section 1599g of this title.''.

The House amendment contained a provision (sec. 842) that would create a two-way exchange program between the Department of Defense acquisition workforce and private sector companies.

The Senate bill contained no similar provision.

The Senate recedes with an amendment that would modify the existing public-private talent exchange program authorized by section 1599g of title 10, United States Code. The amendment would clarify that private-sector organizations shall not be considered to have an organizational conflict of interest with the Department of Defense solely based on participation in the talent exchange. The amendment would also authorize the use of the Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund in connection with the talent exchange program.

House Report 116-120

Section 842--Public-Private Exchange Program for the Acquisition Workforce

This section would create a two-way exchange program between the Department of Defense acquisition workforce and private sector companies. The committee recognizes that exchange programs between the public sector and the private sector could benefit the Federal Government and private sector companies alike, as evinced by the creation of a public-private talent exchange in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328). The committee recognizes that the Department's willingness to support those employees who participate in the exchange program and promote the further development of their careers would be essential to the success
of the program.

The committee is aware that the Department's previous efforts to implement such exchange programs were undermined by structural disincentives for key stakeholders. The committee notes that the new statute would eliminate these disincentives, thereby paving the way for greater participation among the acquisition workforce. In particular, the committee notes that the new statute would preclude the use of a private sector employee's participation in the exchange program, in and of itself, as the basis of an organizational conflict-of-interest complaint.

This section would make conforming amendments to section 1705 of title 10, United States Code, to permit the use of the Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund for the exchange program, and to section 1599g of title 10, United States Code, to exclude members of the acquisition workforce from the Department-wide talent exchange.