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

Subtitle C—Provisions Relating to Other Transaction Authority

P. L. 117-81

Joint Explanatory Statement

Section 2374a of title 10, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``, including procurement contracts and other agreements,'' after ``other types of prizes'';

(2) in subsection (b), in the first sentence, by inserting ``and for the selection of recipients of procurement contracts and other agreements'' after ``cash prizes'';

(3) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ``without the approval of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering'' before the period at the end; and

(4) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

``(g) Congressional Notice.--

``(1) In general.--Not later than 15 days after a procurement contract or other agreement that exceeds a fair market value of $10,000,000 is awarded under the authority under a program under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees written notice of such award.

``(2) Contents.--Each notice submitted under paragraph (1)
shall include--

``(A) the value of the relevant procurement contract or other agreement, as applicable, including all options;

``(B) a brief description of the research result, technology development, or prototype for which such procurement contract or other agreement, as applicable, was awarded; and

``(C) an explanation of the benefit to the performance of the military mission of the Department of Defense resulting from the award.''.

The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 814) that would clarify that the technology prize authority under section 2374a of title 10, United States Code, can be used for the awarding of procurement agreements.

The House bill contained no similar provision.

The agreement includes the Senate provision with an amendment that would add a congressional notification requirement prior to the initiation of any prize competition that may result in the award of a prize with a value of over $10.0 million.

S. 2792--Senate Report117-39

Modification of prize authority for advanced technology achievements (sec. 814)

The committee recommends a provision that would clarify that the technology prize authority under section 2374a of title 10, United States Code, can be used for the awarding of procurement agreements. The committee notes that this authority, originally established by the committee in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (Public Law 106-65), has been used successfully within the Department of Defense to promote technological advancements in robotics, space launch, spectrum technologies, biomedical technologies, and other areas. The committee believes that it can be used to
more seamlessly and rapidly move successful technologies into operational use.