“A bill to promote defense innovation, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section revises the commercial solutions opening (CSO) authority under 10 U.S.C. §3458, which enables the Department of Defense to acquire innovative commercial products and services via broad solicitations and peer review treated as competitive procedures, as follows: (1) expands the scope of items acquirable under subsection (a) to include nondevelopmental items (i.e., items not developed for DoD but in production or use elsewhere) and authorizes follow-on production contracts—including sole-source awards—without further justification; (2) adds new subsection (c) expressly authorizing such sole-source follow-on awards to competitively selected recipients; (3) for contracts exceeding $100 million, replaces the requirement for a determination by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment or service acquisition executive with one by the head of the contracting activity (or designee); (4) simplifies congressional notification requirements under redesignated subsection (e) by eliminating the specified notice contents; (5) eliminates the definition of "innovative"; and (6) requires under new subsection (f) open, enduring general solicitations for specified organizations (i.e., systems commands, science and technology reinvention laboratories, and portfolio acquisition executives) and designates rapid acquisition pathways as the preferred model for development and production.
This section prohibits the Secretary of Defense from requiring prime contractors to flow down any contract clause to subcontractors providing commercial products or commercial services, except those required by provisions of law listed under 10 U.S.C. §3452 (i.e., statutorily mandated clauses applicable to commercial item acquisitions). It further requires the Secretary to implement all applicable statutory provisions through (1) a single clause for commercial products/services subcontracts and (2) a single clause for noncommercial products/services subcontracts. The requirements apply to Department of Defense solicitations issued after 120 days from enactment, with amendments to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) required within 180 days of enactment.
This section revises 10 U.S.C. §3452 to require the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to list defense-unique provisions of law and contract clause requirements based on government-wide regulations, policies, or executive orders *expressly required in law* (previously, *not expressly authorized in law*) that are *applicable* (previously, *inapplicable*) to Department of Defense (DoD) contracts (new subsection (b)), subcontracts (new subsection (c)), and contracts for commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) items (new subsection (d)) involving commercial products and commercial services. For such provisions enacted after October 13, 1994, the presumption is that they are *not applicable* (maintaining prior presumption against applicability) unless the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment determines it is in DoD's best interest to apply them. New subsection (c) defines "subcontract" to include transfers between a contractor's divisions, subsidiaries, or affiliates (excluding certain commodity supply agreements identifiable to multiple contracts) and prohibits waivers for first-tier subcontracts by prime contractors reselling or distributing without adding value; new subsection (e) defines covered provisions (excluding those with criminal/civil penalties, certain U.S. sourcing requirements, or those expressly referencing this section). (As background, this provision streamlines DoD acquisitions of commercial items by presumptively exempting them from most defense-unique laws, reducing administrative burdens on contractors.)
This section requires the Secretary of Defense to establish not fewer than five consortia for each systems command and each portfolio acquisition executive to conduct prototype projects and follow-on production under the authority of 10 U.S.C. §4022 using commercial solutions opening procedures. (1) The preferred model for developing and producing operational military capabilities using such consortia is the urgent capability acquisition, middle tier of acquisition, software acquisition, or services acquisition pathways of the Department of Defense Adaptive Acquisition Framework described in Department of Defense Instruction 5000.2. (2) This requirement does not limit the number of consortia established by the Secretary.
This section revises Department of Defense (DoD) procedures for commercial product and commercial service determinations (previously providing centralized assistance, post-award contracting officer memoranda, and presumptive prior determinations for items acquired under Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 12) by striking existing subsections (a) through (c) of 10 U.S.C. §3456 and inserting new subsections that— (1) establish a default presumption that DoD products and services are commercial and must be procured using commercial acquisition procedures (and general solicitation procedures under 10 U.S.C. §3458 to the maximum extent practicable) unless a contracting officer determines otherwise; (2) prohibit procurement of defense-unique development products or services if a commercial alternative (with or without customization) meets DoD's minimum requirements; and (3) require contracting officers to submit a pre-award memorandum—approved by the head of the contracting activity and provided to the offeror—detailing market research justifying non-commercial status and including the program manager's signed determination that requirements could not be reasonably modified for a commercial item. The new subsection (c) defines "defense-unique development" as DoD-financed development to repurpose a commercial product or service or to develop a new one for defense-unique capabilities. (Thus, the revisions shift from supportive, post-award processes to a pro-commercial presumption with pre-award hurdles for non-commercial acquisitions, facilitating streamlined Part 12 procedures that reduce regulatory burdens and enable market-based pricing.)