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

Subtitle C--Amendments to General Contracting Authorities, Procedures, and Limitations

NDAA Section

House Conference Report 110-477

SEC. 821. PLAN FOR RESTRICTING GOVERNMENT-UNIQUE CONTRACT CLAUSES ON COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS.

(a) Plan- The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics shall develop and implement a plan to minimize the number of government-unique contract clauses used in commercial contracts by restricting the clauses to the following:

(1) Government-unique clauses authorized by law or regulation.

(2) Any additional clauses that are relevant and necessary to a specific contract.

(b) Commercial Contract- In this section:

(1) The term `commercial contract' means a contract awarded by the Federal Government for the procurement of a commercial item.

(2) The term `commercial item' has the meaning provided by section 4(12) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(12)).

The House bill contained a provision (sec. 813) that would require the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics to develop and implement a plan to minimize the number of government-unique contract clauses used in commercial contracts.

The Senate amendment contained no similar provision.

The Senate recedes.

House Armed Services Committee Report 110-146

SECTION 813--PLAN FOR RESTRICTING GOVERNMENT-UNIQUE CONTRACT CLAUSES ON COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS

This section would require the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics to develop and implement a plan to restrict the use of government-unique contract clauses on commercial contracts to those specifically required in law or regulation, or those which are specifically relevant to the contract in question. The committee notes that the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-355) limited the number of government-unique contract clauses on commercial contracts. Since the passage of that Act, however, the number of government-unique contract clauses has grown, and policy decisions have been made to include contract clauses in all Department of Defense (DOD) contracts that are not required in law or regulation. The committee expects that the plan developed under this section would allow the inclusion of contract clauses in commercial contracts only when their inclusion in the contract is relevant and necessary to that particular contract, and are not included on a blanket basis for all contracts unless so required by law or regulation. The committee notes that contracting officers have means other than contract clauses to ensure that commercial items provided to the Department comply with all relevant DOD policies.