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

Subtitle H—Other Matters

P. L. 116-92

House Conference Report 116-333

(a) Review.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, serving as the senior procurement executive for the Department of Defense pursuant to section 133b(b)(4)(B) of title 10, United States Code, shall conduct a review of the implementation of the requirement for Government contracting agencies under Executive Order 11246 (42 U.S.C. 2000e note) relating to expectations of contractors and subcontractors to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of sex.

(b) Elements.--The review required under subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, consider--

(1) existing contracting processes and tools for oversight of contracts, including contractor responsibility determinations and documentation of performance; and

(2) the extent to which best practices for contractors and subcontractors identified in the appendix to part 60-20 of title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations, such as establishing and implementing procedures for handling and resolving complaints about harassment and intimidation based on sex, have been incorporated in Department policies and procedures.

(c) Updated Training Guidance.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the completion of the review required under subsection (a), the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment shall update any relevant training guidance for the acquisition workforce to account for the conclusions of the review.

(d) Briefing Required.--Not later than December 15, 2020, the Secretary of Defense shall brief the congressional defense committees on the review required under subsection (a), which shall include any updates to training guidance or contracting procedures resulting from the review.

The House amendment contained a provision (sec. 899C) that would direct a revision to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to allow contracts only with entities that have employee policies penalizing instances of sexual harassment, and would direct the Secretary of Defense to initiate a debarment proceeding for entities seeking contracts with the Department of Defense who do not have such policies.

The Senate bill contained no similar provision.

The Senate recedes with an amendment that would require the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment to review the implementation of the requirement under Executive Order 11246 relating to the expectations of contractors to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of sex, to include sexual harassment, and to update any relevant training guidance based on this review.

The conferees note that the appendix to Part 60-20 of Title 41, Code of Federal Regulations outlines best practices and procedures for contractors pertaining to the environment contractors should foster with regard to sexual harassment, which includes communicating that harassing conduct will not be tolerated, providing anti-harassment training, and establishing and implementing procedures for complaints about harassment and intimidation based on sex. The conferees believe the Department should strongly encourage contractors to incorporate such best practices and procedures.