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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. 826. MARKET RESEARCH.

(a) Additional Requirements- Subsection (c) of section 2377 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1)--

(A) by striking `and' at the end of subparagraph (A);

(B) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting `; and'; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

`(C) before awarding a task order or delivery order in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold.'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

`(4) The head of an agency shall take appropriate steps to ensure that any prime contractor of a contract (or task order or delivery order) in an amount in excess of $5,000,000 for the procurement of items other than commercial items engages in such market research as may be necessary to carry out the requirements of subsection (b)(2) before making purchases for or on behalf of the Department of Defense.'.

(b) Requirement To Develop Training and Tools- The Secretary of Defense shall develop training to assist contracting officers, and market research tools to assist such officers and prime contractors, in performing appropriate market research as required by subsection (c) of section 2377 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by this section.

The House bill contained a provision (sec. 820) that would require the Secretary of Defense to take certain steps to ensure that the Department of Defense and its prime contractors conduct appropriate market research before making purchases for or on behalf of the Department.

The Senate amendment contained no similar provision.

The Senate recedes with an amendment that would provide additional flexibility to the Secretary in providing for market research.

The conference agreement directs the Secretary to work to develop market research tools to assist contracting officers and prime contractors in performing market research. In developing such tools, the conferees expect the Secretary to give appropriate consideration to the use of web-based tools such as search engines.

House Armed Services Committee Report 110-146

SECTION 820--MARKET RESEARCH

This section would amend section 2377 of title 10 United States Code, to clarify requirements relating to market research for procurements in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold and require the use of an appropriately tailored search engine to identify capabilities available in the commercial market place. This section would also require that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics evaluate options for preference for contractors that maximize the use of capabilities in the commercial market place.