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SEC. 852. MODIFICATION OF PILOT PROGRAM
FOR DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED CAPABILITIES WITH
PARTNERSHIP INTERMEDIARIES.
Section 851 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92; 133 Stat. 1510; 10 U.S.C. 2283
note) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 851. PILOT PROGRAM FOR
DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED
CAPABILITIES WITH PARTNERSHIP INTERMEDIARIES.
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of
Defense may authorize the Commander of the United States Special
Operations Command to use funds described in subsection (b) for
a pilot program under which the Commander shall make, through
the use of a partnership intermediary, covered awards to small
business concerns to develop technology-enhanced capabilities
for special operations forces.
``(b) Funds.--
``(1) In general.--The funds described
in this subsection are funds transferred to the Commander of
the United States Special Operations Command to carry out the
pilot program established under this section from funds
available to be expended by each covered entity pursuant to
section 9(f) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(f)).
``(2) Limitations.--
``(A) Fiscal year.--A covered entity
may not transfer to the Commander an amount greater than 10
percent of the funds available to be expended by such
covered entity pursuant to such section 9(f) for a fiscal
year.
``(B) Aggregate amount.--The
aggregate amount of funds to be transferred to the Commander
may not exceed $20,000,000.
``(c) Partnership Intermediaries.--
``(1) Authorization.--The Commander
may modify an existing agreement with a partnership
intermediary to assist the Commander in carrying out the pilot
program under this section, including with respect to the
award of contracts and agreements to small business concerns.
``(2) Limitation.--None of the funds
described in subsection (b) may be used to pay a partnership
intermediary for any costs associated with the pilot program.
``(3) Data.--With respect to a covered
award made under this section, the Commander shall gather data
on the role of the partnership intermediary to include the--
``(A) staffing structure;
``(B) funding sources; and
``(C) methods for identifying and
evaluating small business concerns eligible for a covered
award.
``(d) Report.--
``(1) Annual report.--Not later than
October 1 of each year until October 1, 2026, the Commander of
the United States Special Operations Command, in coordination
with the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and
Engineering, shall submit to the congressional defense
committees, the Committee on Small Business of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report including--
``(A) a description of each
agreement with a partnership intermediary entered into
pursuant to this section;
``(B) for each covered award made
under this section--
``(i) a description of the role
served by the partnership intermediary;
``(ii) the amount of funds
obligated;
``(iii) an identification of the
small business concern that received such covered award;
``(iv) a description of the use of
such covered award;
``(v) a description of the role
served by the program manager (as defined in section 1737
of title 10, United States Code) of the covered entity
with respect to the small business concern that received
such covered award, including a description of
interactions and the process of the program manager in
producing a past performance evaluation of such concern;
and
``(vi) the benefits achieved as a
result of the use of a partnership intermediary for the
pilot program established under this section as compared
to previous efforts of the Commander to increase
participation by small business concerns in the
development of technology-enhanced capabilities for
special operations forces; and
``(C) a plan detailing how each
covered entity will apply lessons learned from the pilot
program to improve processes for directly working with and
supporting small business concerns to develop
technology-enhanced capabilities for special operations
forces.
``(2) Final report.--The final report
required under this subsection shall include, along with the
requirements of paragraph (1), a recommendation regarding--
``(A) whether and for how long the
pilot program established under this section should be
extended; and
``(B) whether to increase funding for
the pilot program, including a justification for such an
increase.
``(e) Termination.--The authority to
carry out a pilot program under this section shall terminate on
September 30, 2025.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `covered award' means
an award made under the Small Business Innovation Research
Program.
``(2) The term `covered entity'
means--
``(A) the Army;
``(B) the Navy;
``(C) the Air Force;
``(D) the Marine Corps;
``(E) the Space Force; and
``(F) any element of the Department
of Defense that makes awards under the Small Business
Innovation Research Program.
``(3) The term `partnership
intermediary' has the meaning given the term in section 23(c)
of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15
U.S.C. 3715(c)).
``(4) The term `small business
concern' has the meaning given the term under section 3 of the
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
``(5) The term `Small Business
Innovation Research Program' has the meaning given the term in
section 9(e) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(e)).
``(6) The term `technology-enhanced
capability' means a product, concept, or process that improves
the ability of a member of the Armed Forces to achieve an
assigned mission.''.
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Modification of pilot program for
development of technology-enhanced capabilities with partnership
intermediaries (sec. 852) The
House bill contained a provision (sec. 841) that would amend the
pilot program authorized in section 851 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92) to
raise the aggregate amount allowed to be spent on the pilot from
$2.0 million to $20.0 million to allow for other entities in the
Department of Defense that make awards under the Small Business
Innovation Research program to transfer funding to the
Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, to use in the pilot
and to extend the activity from September 30, 2021, through
September 30, 2025. The annual reporting requirement would be
modified to include additional data and information requirements
and extended to cover the duration of the pilot program.
The Senate amendment contained no
similar provision.
The agreement includes the House
provision.
H. R. 4350--House
Report 117-118
Section
841--Modification of Pilot Program for Development of
Technology-Enhanced Capabilities with Partnership Intermediaries
This section would amend the pilot program authorized in section
851 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2020 (Public Law 116-92) to raise the aggregate amount allowed
to be spent on the pilot from $2.0 million to $20.0 million, to
allow for other entities in the Department of Defense that make
awards under the Small Business Innovation Research program to
transfer funding to the Commander of the
U.S. Special Operations Command to use in the pilot, and to
extend the activity from September 30, 2021, through September
30, 2025. The annual reporting requirement would be modified to
include additional data and information requirements and
extended to cover the duration of the pilot program.
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