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

Subtitle F—Industrial Base Matters

P. L. 117-81

Joint Explanatory Statement

(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, each service acquisition executive shall implement a requirement that industry days and requests for information regarding acquisition programs and research and development efforts of the Department of Defense shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be open to defense contractors of the national technology and industrial base, including when such contractors are acting as subcontractors in partnership with a United States contractor, provided such access is granted only if the Secretary of Defense or the relevant Secretary concerned determines that there is reciprocal access for United States
companies to equivalent information related to contracting opportunities in the associated country that is part of the national technology and industrial base.

(b) Definitions.--In this section:

(1) National technology and industrial base.--The term ``national technology and industrial base'' has the meaning given the term in section 2500 of title 10, United States Code.

(2) Secretary concerned; service acquisition executive.--The terms ``Secretary concerned'' and ``service acquisition executive'' have the meanings given such terms in section 101(a) of title 10, United States Code.

The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 834) that would make, to the maximum extent practicable, industry days and requests for information open to defense contractors from the national technology and industrial base.

The House bill contained no similar provision.

The agreement includes the Senate provision.

We support deeper, more meaningful expansion of the national technology and industrial base (NTIB), comprised of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. As the Members of the House of Representatives' Defense Critical Supply Chain Task Force observed, the Department of Defense should leverage the NTIB to shape policy and partnerships with allies.

The value of such broad collaboration with the NTIB allies goes beyond acquisition; the network can be a test bed for closer international cooperation and supply chain resiliency. NTIB countries and other close allies and partners face challenges with over-reliance on Chinese and Russian suppliers. Effective policy to reduce the associated supply chain vulnerabilities requires meaningful, sustained dialogue and collaboration.

Accordingly, we encourage the Department’s leaders to prioritize supply chain security policy during these expanded industry day forums.

S. 2792--Senate Report117-39

Requirement for industry days and requests for information to be open to allied defense contractors (sec. 834)

The committee recommends a provision that would make, to the maximum extent practicable, industry days and requests for information open to defense contractors from the national technology and industrial base.