“A bill to increase competition in Defense contracting, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section directs the Secretary of Defense to issue guidance within one year on Department of Defense (DOD) evaluation of past performance for contracts and other agreements, including acceptance of commercial or non-government projects, validation of non-government references, and alternative methods such as technology demonstrations and testing. (The guidance supplements existing DOD past performance policies.) It further requires the Secretary to convene the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council within 90 days to recommend actions eliminating unnecessary procurement barriers for small business concerns and nontraditional defense contractors (i.e., entities not performing DOD contracts subject to full cost accounting standards for at least one year prior); directs implementation of identified regulatory actions within two years; and requires a briefing to the Armed Services Committees of the House and Senate within two years on legislative recommendations and implemented actions. (Recommendations incorporate public input, including from the APEX Accelerators program.) This section also requires the Secretary to prioritize contracting policies emphasizing cost efficiency and quality as key award factors and defines "nontraditional defense contractor" by reference to 10 U.S.C. §3014 and "small business concern" by reference to 15 U.S.C. §632.