SUBCHAPTER V-CONTRACTORS

        

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Program for Distribution Support and Services for Contractors

Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title VIII, §883, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2316 , as amended by Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title VIII, §819, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2709 ; Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title VIII, §855, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 345 ; Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title VIII, §862, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2000 , provided that:

"(a) Authority.-The Secretary of Defense may carry out a program under which the Secretary may make available storage and distribution services support to a contractor in support of the performance by the contractor of a contract entered into by the Department of Defense.

"(b) Support Contracts.-Any storage and distribution services to be provided under the program under this section to a contractor in support of the performance of a contract described in subsection (a) shall be provided under a separate contract that is entered into by the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency with that contractor. The requirements of section 2208(h) of title 10, United States Code, and the regulations prescribed pursuant to such section shall apply to any such separate support contract between the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency and the contractor.

"(c) Scope of Support and Services.-The storage and distribution support services that may be provided under this section in support of the performance of a contract entered into by the Department include storage and distribution of materiel and repair parts necessary for the performance of that contract.

"(d) Regulations.-Before exercising the authority under the program under this section, the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe in regulations such requirements, conditions, and restrictions as the Secretary determines appropriate to ensure that storage and distribution services are provided under the program only when it is in the best interests of the United States to do so. The regulations shall include, at a minimum, the following:

"(1) A requirement to notify a contractor or potential contractor for which storage and distribution services are to be made available under the program, including-

"(A) a statement that the storage and distribution services are to be made available under the authority of the program under this section on a basis that does not require acceptance of the support and services; and

"(B) a description of the range of the storage and distribution services that are available to the contractor.

"(2) A requirement for the rates charged a contractor for storage and distribution services provided to a contractor under the program to reflect the full cost to the United States of the resources used in providing the support and services, including the costs of resources used, but not paid for, by the Department of Defense.

"(3) With respect to a contract described in subsection (a) that is being performed for a department or agency outside the Department of Defense, a prohibition, in accordance with applicable contracting procedures, on the imposition of any charge on that department or agency for any effort of Department of Defense personnel or the contractor to correct deficiencies in the performance of such contract.

"(4) A prohibition on the imposition of any charge on a contractor for any effort of the contractor to correct a deficiency in the performance of storage and distribution services provided to the contractor under this section.

"(5) A requirement that storage and distribution services provided under the program may not interfere with the mission of the Defense Logistics Agency or of any military department involved with the program.

"(6) A requirement that any support contract for storage and distribution services entered into under the program shall include a requirement that any failure by the contractor to perform the primary contract is not excusable based on use of the support contract, and the contractor is to remain responsible for performance of the primary contract.

"(e) Relationship to Treaty Obligations.-The Secretary shall ensure that the exercise of authority under the program under this section does not conflict with any obligation of the United States under any treaty or other international agreement.

"(f) Briefings.-Not later than April 1, 2025, and annually thereafter for five years, the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency, in consultation with the Comptroller General, shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a briefing and report describing-

"(1) the cost effectiveness for both the Government and industry of the program;

"(2) how support contracts under the program affected meeting the requirements of primary contracts; and

"(3) the number of and location of existing contracts."

Nontraditional and Small Contractor Innovation Prototyping Program

Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title VIII, §884, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2318 , as amended by Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title VIII, §865, Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1495 ; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, §1806(e)(3)(D), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4156 ; Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title VIII, §804(c)(8), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 1969 , provided that:

"(a) In General.-The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a pilot program for nontraditional defense contractors and small business concerns to design, develop, and demonstrate innovative prototype military platforms of significant scope for the purpose of demonstrating new capabilities that could provide alternatives to existing acquisition programs and assets. The Secretary shall establish the pilot program within the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the Missile Defense Agency, and the United States Special Operations Command.

"(b) Funding.-There is authorized to be made available $250,000,000 from the Rapid Prototyping Fund established under [former] section 804(d) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114–92; 10 U.S.C. 2302 note [former 10 U.S.C. 3201 note prec.]) to carry out the pilot program.

"(c) Plan.-

"(1) In general.-The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives], concurrent with the budget for the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2018, as submitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, a plan to fund and carry out the pilot program in future years.

"(2) Elements.-The plan submitted under paragraph (1) shall consider maximizing use of-

"(A) broad agency announcements or other merit-based selection procedures;

"(B) the Department of Defense Acquisition Challenge Program authorized under section 2359b of title 10, United States Code [now 10 U.S.C. 4062];

"(C) the foreign comparative test program;

"(D) projects carried out under the Rapid Innovation Program of the Department of Defense or pursuant to a Phase III agreement (as defined in section 9(r)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(r)(2))); and

"(E) streamlined procedures for acquisition provided under section 3602 of title 10, United States Code[,] and procedures for alternative acquisition pathways established under section 805 of such Act (10 U.S.C. 2302 note [now 10 U.S.C. 3201 note prec.]).

"(d) Programs To Be Included.-As part of the pilot program, the Secretary of Defense shall allocate up to $50,000,000 on a fixed price contractual basis for fiscal year 2017 or pursuant to the plan submitted under subsection (c) for demonstrations of the following capabilities:

"(1) Swarming of multiple unmanned air vehicles.

"(2) Unmanned, modular fixed-wing aircraft that can be rapidly adapted to multiple missions and serve as a fifth generation weapons augmentation platform.

"(3) Vertical takeoff and landing tiltrotor aircraft.

"(4) Integration of a directed energy weapon on an air, sea, or ground platform.

"(5) Swarming of multiple unmanned underwater vehicles.

"(6) Commercial small synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites with on-board machine learning for automated, real-time feature extraction and predictive analytics.

"(7) Active protection system to defend against rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles.

"(8) Defense against hypersonic weapons, including sensors.

"(9) Unmanned ground logistics and unmanned air logistics capabilities enhancement.

"(10) Other systems as designated by the Secretary.

"(e) Definitions.-In this section:

"(1) Nontraditional defense contractor.-The term 'nontraditional defense contractor' has the meaning given the term in section 3014 of title 10, United States Code.

"(2) Small business concern.-The term 'small business concern' has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).

"(f) Sunset.-The authority under this section expires at the close of September 30, 2026."

Organizational Conflicts of Interest in Major Defense Acquisition Programs

Pub. L. 111–23, title II, §207(a)–(c), May 22, 2009, 123 Stat. 1728 , 1729, directed the Secretary of Defense to revise, not later than 270 days after May 22, 2009, the Defense Supplement to the Federal Acquisition Regulation to provide uniform guidance and tighten existing requirements for organizational conflicts of interest by contractors in major defense acquisition programs and directed the Panel on Contracting Integrity established pursuant to former section 813 of Pub. L. 109–364 (former 10 U.S.C. 2304 note) to present recommendations on measures to eliminate or mitigate organizational conflicts of interest in major defense acquisition programs.