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

Subtitle B—Amendments to General Contracting Authorities, Procedures, and Limitations

P. L. 117-81

Joint Explanatory Statement

(a) In General.--Section 2329 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in subsection (b)--

(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``October 1, 2021'' and inserting ``February 1, 2023''; and

(B) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5) and inserting the following new paragraphs:

``(4) be informed by the review of the inventory required by section 2330a(c) using standard guidelines developed under subsection (d); and

``(5) clearly and separately identify the amount requested and projected for the procurement of contract services for each Defense Agency, Department of Defense Field Activity, command, or military installation for the budget year and the subsequent four fiscal years in the future-years defense program submitted to Congress under section 221.'';

(2) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

``(d) Requirements Evaluation.--(1) Each Services Requirements Review Board shall evaluate each requirement for a services contract, taking into consideration total force management policies and procedures, available resources, the analyses conducted under subsection (c), and contracting efficacy and efficiency. An evaluation of a services contract for compliance with contracting policies and procedures may not be considered to be an evaluation of a requirement for such services contract.

``(2) The Secretary of Defense shall establish and issue standard guidelines within the Department of Defense for the evaluation of requirements for services contracts. Any such guidelines issued--

``(A) shall be consistent with the `Handbook of Contract Function Checklists for Services Acquisition' issued by the Department of Defense in May 2018, or a successor or other appropriate policy; and

``(B) shall be updated as necessary to incorporate applicable statutory changes to total force management policies and procedures and any other guidelines or procedures relating to the use of Department of Defense civilian employees to perform new functions and functions that are performed by contractors.

``(3) The acquisition decision authority for each services contract shall certify--

``(A) that a task order or statement of work being submitted to a contracting office is in compliance with the standard guidelines;

``(B) that all appropriate statutory risk mitigation efforts have been made; and

``(C) that such task order or statement of work does not include requirements formerly performed by Department of Defense civilian employees.

``(4) The Inspector General of the Department of Defense may conduct annual audits to ensure compliance with this subsection.'';

(3) by striking subsection (f) and redesignating the subsequent subsections accordingly; and

(4) in subsection (f), as so redesignated--

(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``January 5, 2016'' and inserting ``January 10, 2020''; and

(B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

``(4) The term `acquisition decision authority' means the designated decision authority for each designated special interest services acquisition category, described in such Department of Defense Instruction.''.

(b) Repeals.--

(1) Section 235 of title 10, United States Code, is repealed.

(2) Section 852 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (Public Law 115-91; 131 Stat. 1492; 10 U.S.C. 2329 note) is repealed.

The House bill contained a provision (sec. 814) that would amend section 2329 of title 10, United States Code, to include standard guidelines based on the checklist in use by the Department of the Army and to require the senior official supervising requirements to certify that task orders and statements of work comply with such standards.

The Senate amendment contained a similar provision (sec. 802) that would amend statutes governing the management and oversight of the procurement of services and would require the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Navy, and Secretary of
the Air Force to review and implement recommendations of the Government Accountability Office, with respect to the oversight and management of service contracts, or provide their rationale to the congressional defense committees for not implementing such recommendations.

The agreement includes the House provision with an amendment that would extend the effective date of the section to February 1, 2023; amend the budget information required; direct the Secretary of Defense to update guidelines for the evaluation of requirements for service contracts under certain situations; require certification of compliance with guidelines and statute by the acquisition decision authority; allow for annual Inspector General audits; and make other clarifying edits.

We direct the Secretary of Defense to submit to the congressional defense committees a plan to implement this provision not later than June 1, 2022. This plan should, at a minimum: (1) Assign responsibilities to specific offices, including the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation; (2) Identify what changes, if any, are needed to military department and Defense Agency programming guidance; and (3) Establish milestones to track progress to ensure that projected spending on services is integrated into and clearly identified in the Department of Defense’s future years defense program.

We also direct the Comptroller General of the United States to review the Department’s Services Requirements Review Board process. The Comptroller General shall provide a briefing to the congressional defense committees not later than July 1, 2022, and a report at a mutually agreed upon date.

We further direct the Secretary to establish and issue standard guidelines for the evaluation of service contract requirements. We direct that the Secretary base these guidelines on current DOD instructions or appropriate policy, including DOD Instruction 5000.74 “Defense Acquisition of Services” and the May 2018 Handbook of Contract Function Checklists for Services Acquisition. We note that the checklist is modeled on the Department of the Army’s Request for Service Contract Approval form.

We finally direct the Secretary to ensure that the acquisition decision authority for each service's contract shall be responsible for certifying compliance with all appropriate guidelines and statutory requirements.

H. R. 4350--House Report 117-118

Section 814--Standard Guidelines for Evaluation of Requirements for Services Contracts

This section would amend section 2329 of title 10, United States Code, to include standard guidelines based on the checklist in use by the Department of the Army and to require the senior official supervising requirements to certify that task orders and statements of work comply with such standards.

S. 2792--Senate Report117-39

Improving the use of available data to manage and forecast service contract requirements (sec. 802)

The committee recommends a provision that would amend statutes governing the management and oversight of the procurement of services and would require the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Navy, and Secretary of the Air Force to review and implement recommendations of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a report published February 18, 2016, titled, ``DOD Service Acquisition: Improved Use of Available Data Needed to Better Manage and Forecast Service Contract Requirements'' (GAO-16-119), with respect to the oversight and management of service contracts, or provide rationale to the congressional defense committees for not implementing such recommendations.

The committee notes that both sections 2329 and 235 of title 10, United States Code, create requirements that the Secretary of Defense must implement in managing the procurement of services. To streamline reporting requirements and improve the ability to understand trends and reduce duplication in such contracting efforts, the committee recommends a provision that would clarify the existing reporting requirements, make technical corrections within section 2329 of title 10, United States Code, and instruct the Secretary of Defense to issue guidance to standardize service contract reviews across the Department of Defense (DOD).

The committee also notes that the GAO has previously recommended that the Secretary of Defense and military departments revise project objective memorandum guidance, coordinate efforts to forecast services, and fully comply with statutory budget reporting requirements. The committee notes that DOD concurred with the GAO recommendation on budget reporting but did not identify actions it would take to address the recommendations for revised guidance or coordination.

The committee notes that the DOD is making significant progress in improving its data collection and analysis capabilities for these types of management and oversight functions through the Advana platform. The committee expects that this effort will play a major role in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the oversight and management of service contracting. The committee encourages the Secretary to continue working with the Congress to improve budgetary transparency, including related to contracting for services.