H.R. 2810 — what changed

changed Beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, whenever the Secretary of Defense enters into a contract for the provision of uniforms for Afghan military or security forces, the Secretary shall require, as a condition of the contract, that the contract include a requirement that the contractor conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the uniform specification for the Afghan military or security forces uniform. Such analysis shall determine—

Section 2164(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended—

changed “(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term “retiree” means a member or former member of the armed forces, not including a member or former member of the Coast Guard, forces who is entitled to retired or retainer pay under this title, or who, but for age, would be eligible for retired or retainer pay under chapter 1223 of this title.”

removed The Secretary of Defense shall direct each commanding officer of a military base on which there is a military commissary or exchange to establish an advisory board, comprised of representatives of military or veterans service organizations, to advise the commanding officer regarding the interests of patrons and beneficiaries of military commissaries and exchanges.

“2313b. Performance of incurred cost audits

changed “(a) Compliance with standards of risk and materiality—For purposes materiality—Not later than October 1, 2020, the Secretary of performing an Defense shall comply with commercially accepted standards of risk and materiality in the performance of each incurred cost audit of costs associated with a contract of the Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense shall comply with commercially accepted standards of risk and materiality.Defense.

changed “(b) Selection Conditions for the use of auditing entity qualified private auditors to perform incurred cost audits

changed “(1) For an incurred cost audit of a contract of the Department of Defense, the Defense Contract Management Agency or a contract administration office of a military department The Secretary shall have the authority to select the Defense Contract Audit Agency or use a qualified private auditor to perform an a sufficient number of incurred cost audit, based upon guidelines audits of contracts of the Department of Defense in order to ensure that—

changed “(A) are issued by an audit planning committee that is comprised of one representative from each of the office of the Under Secretary any backlog of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, the Defense Contract Management Agency, a contract administration office incurred cost audits of a military department, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency;Agency is eliminated by October 1, 2020;

changed “(B) ensure that, after September 1, 2020, incurred cost audits are completed not less later than 25 percent one year after the date of incurred costs on flexibly priced contracts are audited by receipt of a qualified private auditors; andincurred cost submission;

changed “(C) ensure that multi-year auditing is conducted only to address outstanding incurred cost audits for which a qualified incurred cost submission was submitted sufficient private sector capacity exists to meet the Defense Contract Audit Agency more than 12 months before current and future needs of the date Department of Defense for the enactment performance of this section.incurred cost audits;

added “(D) qualified private auditors are used to perform a substantial number of incurred cost audits on an ongoing basis to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the performance of incurred cost audits;

added “(E) the Defense Contract Audit Agency is able to devote ample resources to high priority audits; and

added “(F) multi-year auditing is conducted only to address outstanding incurred cost audits for which a qualified incurred cost submission was submitted to the Defense Contract Audit Agency more than 12 months before the date of the enactment of this section.

“(2)

added “(A) Not later than October 1, 2018, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a copy of the acquisition plan required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation for the task order contract to be awarded under subparagraph (B). Such plan shall also include—

added “(i) a description of the incurred cost audits that the Secretary determines are appropriate to be conducted by qualified private auditors, including the approximate number and dollar value of such incurred cost audits; and

added “(ii) an estimate of the number and dollar value of incurred cost audits to be conducted by qualified private auditors for each of the fiscal years 2019 through 2025 necessary to meet the requirements of paragraph (1).

added “(B) Not later than October 1, 2019, the Secretary of Defense or a Federal department or agency authorized by the Secretary shall award an indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity task order contract to two or more qualified private auditors to perform incurred cost audits of costs associated with contracts of the Department of Defense.

added “(C) The Defense Contract Management Agency, a contract administration office of a military department, or an authorized entity outside of the Department of Defense shall issue a task order to perform an incurred cost audit to a qualified private auditor under a task order contract awarded under subparagraph (B), if issuing such task order will assist the Secretary in meeting the requirements of paragraph (1). Such task order may be issued only to a qualified private auditor that certifies that the qualified private auditor possesses the necessary independence to perform such an audit.

added “(D) A qualified private auditor performing an incurred cost audit of a contract of the Department of Defense shall develop and maintain complete and accurate working papers on each incurred cost audit. All working papers and reports on the incurred cost audit prepared by such qualified private auditor shall be the property of the Department of Defense, except that the qualified private auditor may retain a complete copy of all working papers to support such reports made pursuant to this section.

added “(E) The Defense Contract Audit Agency may not conduct further audit or review of an incurred cost audit performed by a qualified private auditor pursuant to this section unless requested to do so as part of conducting contract quality assurance functions in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

removed “(A) Not later than September 1, 2020, the Secretary of Defense shall award an indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity task order contract to two or more qualified private auditors to perform incurred cost audits of costs associated with contracts of the Department of Defense.

removed “(B) The Defense Contract Management Agency, a contract administration office of a military department, or an authorized entity outside the Department of the Defense may issue a task order to perform an incurred cost audit to a qualified private auditor under a task order contract awarded under subparagraph (A). Such task order may be issued only to a qualified private auditor that certifies that the qualified private auditor possesses the necessary independence to perform such an audit.

removed “(C) The Defense Contract Audit Agency may not conduct further audit or review of an incurred cost audit performed by a qualified private auditor pursuant to this section, unless requested to do so as part of conducting contract quality assurance functions in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

“(3)

added “(A) Effective October 1, 2022, the Defense Contract Audit Agency may issue unqualified audit findings for an incurred cost audit only if the Defense Contract Audit Agency is peer reviewed by a commercial auditor and passes such peer review. This peer review shall be conducted in accordance with the peer review requirements of generally accepted government auditing standards of the Comptroller General of the United States and shall be deemed to meet the requirements of the Defense Contract Audit Agency for a peer review under such standards.

removed “(A) Effective September 1, 2022, the Defense Contract Audit Agency may issue unqualified audit findings for an incurred cost audit only if the Defense Contract Audit Agency is peer reviewed by a commercial auditor and passes such peer review. Such peer review shall be conducted in accordance with the peer review requirements of the generally accepted government auditing standards of the Comptroller General of the United States and shall be deemed to meet the requirements of the Defense Contract Audit Agency for a peer review under such standards.

“(B) The peer review referred to in subparagraph (A) shall occur not less frequently than once every three years.

added “(C) Not later than October 1, 2019, the Secretary of Defense shall provide to the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives an update on the process of securing a commercial auditor to perform the peer review referred to in subparagraph (A).

removed “(C) Not later than September 1, 2019, the Secretary of Defense shall provide to the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives an update on the process of securing a commercial auditor to perform the peer review referred to in subparagraph (A).

“(4) The Secretary of Defense shall consider the results of an incurred cost audit performed under this section without regard to whether the Defense Contract Audit Agency or a qualified private auditor performed the audit.

“(5) The contracting officer for a contract that is the subject of an incurred cost audit shall have the sole discretion to accept or reject an audit finding on direct costs of the contract.

“(c) Materiality standards for incurred cost audits

removed “(1) Not later than September 1, 2020, and except as provided in paragraph (2), the minimum materiality standard used by an auditor shall—

removed “(A) for a incurred cost audit of costs in an amount less than or equal to $100,000, be 4 percent of such costs;

removed “(B) for a incurred cost audit of costs in an amount greater than $100,000 but less than $500,000, be $2,000 plus 2 percent of such costs;

removed “(C) for a incurred cost audit of costs in an amount greater than $500,000 but less than $1,000,000, be $5,000 plus 1 percent of such costs;

removed “(D) for a incurred cost audit of costs in an amount greater than $1,000,000 but less than $5,000,000, be $8,000 plus 0.9 percent of such costs;

removed “(E) for a incurred cost audit of costs in an amount greater than $5,000,000 but less than $10,000,000, be $13,000 plus 0.8 percent of such costs;

removed “(F) for a incurred cost audit of costs in an amount greater than $10,000,000 but less than $50,000,000, be $23,000 plus 0.7 percent of such costs;

changed “(G) for a incurred cost audit of costs “(1) Not later than October 1, 2020, and except as provided in paragraph (2), the minimum materiality standard used by an amount greater than $50,000,000 but less than $100,000,000, be $73,000 plus 0.6 percent of such costs;auditor shall—

changed “(H) “(A) for a an incurred cost audit of costs in an amount greater than $100,000,000 but less than $500,000,000, or equal to $100,000, be $153,000 plus 0.52 4 percent of such costs; andcosts;

changed “(I) “(B) for a an incurred cost audit of costs in an amount greater than $500,000,000, $100,000 but less than $500,000, be $503,000 $2,000 plus 0.45 2 percent of such costs.costs;

added “(C) for an incurred cost audit of costs in an amount greater than $500,000 but less than $1,000,000, be $5,000 plus 1 percent of such costs;

added “(D) for an incurred cost audit of costs in an amount greater than $1,000,000 but less than $5,000,000, be $8,000 plus 0.9 percent of such costs;

added “(E) for an incurred cost audit of costs in an amount greater than $5,000,000 but less than $10,000,000, be $13,000 plus 0.8 percent of such costs;

added “(F) for an incurred cost audit of costs in an amount greater than $10,000,000 but less than $50,000,000, be $23,000 plus 0.7 percent of such costs;

added “(G) for an incurred cost audit of costs in an amount greater than $50,000,000 but less than $100,000,000, be $73,000 plus 0.6 percent of such costs;

added “(H) for an incurred cost audit of costs in an amount greater than $100,000,000 but less than $500,000,000, be $153,000 plus 0.52 percent of such costs; and

added “(I) for an incurred cost audit of costs in an amount greater than $500,000,000, be $503,000 plus 0.45 percent of such costs.

“(2) An auditor that performs an incurred cost audit under this section may use a materiality standard of a lesser amount than the materiality standard described under paragraph (1) with respect to a particular qualified incurred cost submission from a contractor based on an assessment of risk presented by such qualified incurred cost submission. The risk shall be assessed by the auditor in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards and guidance issued by the Secretary of Defense.

“(3) Not later than March 1, 2019, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on practices for assessing risk and materiality in auditing, which shall include—

“(A) a summary of commercially accepted standards of risk and materiality and Government standards for risk and materiality as related to incurred cost audits;

“(B) examples of how commercial auditing firms apply such standards in developing methodologies for conducting incurred cost audits; and

“(C) recommendations, if appropriate, to modify the minimum materiality standards under paragraph (1) to be consistent with commercially accepted standards of risk and materiality.

added “(4) Not later than October 1, 2019, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on commercially accepted standards of risk and materiality as related to incurred cost audits. The report may contain recommendations to modify the materiality standards under paragraph (1) to be consistent with such commercially accepted standards of risk and materiality.

removed “(4) Not later than September 1, 2019, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on commercially accepted standards of risk and materiality as related to incurred cost audits. The report may contain recommendations to modify the materiality standards under paragraph (1) to be consistent with such commercially accepted standards of risk and materiality.

“(d) Timeliness of incurred cost audits

“(1) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that all incurred cost audits performed pursuant to subsection (b) are performed in a timely manner.

“(2) The Secretary of Defense shall notify a contractor within 60 days after receipt of an incurred cost submission from the contractor whether the submission is a qualified incurred cost submission.

“(3) With respect to qualified incurred cost submissions received on or after the date of the enactment of this section, audit findings shall be issued for an incurred cost audit not later than one year after the date of receipt of such qualified incurred cost submission.

“(4) If audit findings are not issued within one year after the date of receipt of a qualified incurred cost submission, such qualified incurred cost submission shall be considered accepted in its entirety unless the Secretary of Defense can demonstrate that the contractor unreasonably withheld information necessary to perform the incurred cost audit.

added “(f) Review of audit performance—Not later than April 1, 2025, the Comptroller General of the United States shall provide a report to the congressional defense committees that evaluates for the period beginning on October 1, 2019, and ending on August 31, 2023—

removed “(e) Review of audit performance—Not later than April 1, 2025, the Comptroller General of the United States shall provide a report to the congressional defense committees that evaluates for the period beginning on September 1, 2020, and ending on August 31, 2023—

“(1) the timeliness, individual cost, and quality of incurred cost audits, set forth separately by incurred cost audits performed by the Defense Contract Audit Agency and by qualified private auditors;

“(2) the cost to contractors of the Department of Defense for incurred cost audits, set forth separately by incurred cost audits performed by the Defense Contract Audit Agency and by qualified private auditors;

“(3) the effect, if any, on other types of audits conducted by the Defense Contract Audit Agency that results from incurred cost audits conducted by qualified private auditors; and

“(4) the capability and capacity of commercial auditors to conduct incurred cost audits for the Department of Defense.

added “(g) Definitions—In this section:

removed “(f) Definitions—In this section:

“(1) The term commercial auditor means a private entity engaged in the business of performing audits.

added “(2) The term flexibly priced contract means—

added “(A) a cost-type contract, fixed-price incentive fee contract, or price-redeterminable contract, or a task order issued under an indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity task order con- 10 tract, for which final payment is based on actual costs incurred; or

removed “(2) The term “flexibly priced contract” means—

removed “(A) a cost-type contract, fixed-price incentive fee contract, or price-redeterminable contract, or a task order issued under an indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity task order contract, for which final payment is based on actual costs incurred; or

“(B) the materials portion of a time-and-materials contract or labor-hour contract of the Department of Defense.

“(3) The term incurred cost audit means an audit of charges to the Government by a contractor under a flexibly priced contract.

“(4) The term materiality standard means a dollar amount of misstatements, including omissions, contained in an incurred cost audit that would be material if the misstatements, individually or in the aggregate, could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of the Government made on the basis of the incurred cost audit.

“(5) The term qualified incurred cost submission means a submission by a contractor of costs incurred under a flexibly priced contract that has been qualified by the Department of Defense as sufficient to conduct an incurred cost audit.

“(6) The term qualified private auditor means a commercial auditor—

“(A) that performs audits in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards of the Comptroller General of the United States; and

added “(B) that has received a passing peer review rating, as defined by generally accepted Government auditing standards.”

removed “(B) that has received a passing peer review rating, as defined under the generally accepted government auditing standards.”

“2322. Management of intellectual property matters within the Department of Defense

“(a) Office and director of intellectual property

“(1) There is an Office of Intellectual Property within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.

“(2) The Office shall be headed by a Director of Intellectual Property, who shall have the qualifications described in paragraph (3). The Director is responsible in the Department of Defense to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment for policy and oversight of the acquisition and licensing of intellectual property within the Department of Defense. The Director shall report directly to the Under Secretary.

“(3) In order to qualify to be assigned to the position of Director, an individual shall—

“(A) have management expertise in, and professional experience with, intellectual property matters, including an understanding of intellectual property law, regulations, and policies, especially with respect to regulations and policies of the Federal Government and the Department of Defense for acquiring or licensing intellectual property, and best practices for negotiating and executing business arrangements with industry for the acquisition or licensing of intellectual property;

“(B) have an understanding of Department of Defense weapon system acquisition; and

“(C) have an understanding of the commercial marketplace; commercial industry operations, including supply chain operations; business strategies; and private investment in research and development.

“(4) The Secretary of Defense shall designate the position of Director as a critical acquisition position under section 1733(b)(1)(C) of this title.

“(b) Duties

“(1) The Director of Intellectual Property (in this section referred to as the “Director”) shall oversee and coordinate efforts throughout the Department of Defense to acquire or license intellectual property within the Department of Defense. The duties under this paragraph shall include the duties specified in paragraphs (2) through (8).

“(2) The Director shall develop and recommend any policy guidance on the acquisition or licensing of intellectual property to be issued by the Secretary of Defense.

“(3) The Director shall provide oversight and coordination of the efforts within the Department of Defense to acquire or license intellectual property—

“(A) to ensure that program managers are aware of the rights afforded the Federal Government and contractors in intellectual property and that program managers fully consider and use all available techniques and best practices for acquiring or licensing intellectual property early in the acquisition process;

“(B) to enable consistency across the military departments and the Department of Defense in strategies for obtaining intellectual property and communicating with industry; and

“(C) to raise awareness within the acquisition, science and technology, and logistics communities within the Department of intellectual property issues.

“(4) The Director shall assist program managers in developing customized intellectual property strategies for each weapon system based on, at a minimum, the unique characteristics of the weapon system and its components, the product support strategy for the weapon system, the organic industrial base strategy of the military department concerned, and the commercial market.

changed “(5) The Director shall develop resources, including guidelines and resources on intellectual property matters and, as appropriate, templates for specially negotiated licenses, and make them available to the acquisition workforce.workforce. Such guidelines and resources shall include templates for specially negotiated licenses (as appropriate) and a collection of definitions, key terms, examples, and case studies that demonstrate and resolve ambiguities in the differences between—

added “(A) detailed manufacturing and process data;

added “(B) form, fit, and function data; and

added “(C) data required for operations, maintenance, installation, and training.

“(6) The Director shall establish, maintain, supervise, and assign to program offices the cadre of intellectual property experts established under subsection (c).

“(7) The Director, in coordination with the Defense Acquisition University and in consultation with industry, shall—

“(A) develop a career path, including development opportunities, talent management programs, and training, for the cadre of intellectual property experts established under subsection (c); and

“(B) develop, update, and coordinate intellectual property training provided to the acquisition workforce.

added “(8) The Director shall foster communications with industry and serve as a central point of contact within the Department of Defense for communications with contractors on intellectual property matters. The Director may interact directly with industry, trade associations, other Government agencies, academic research and educational institutions, and scientific organizations engaged in intellectual property matters. As part of such communications, the Director shall regularly engage with appropriately representative entities, including large and small businesses, traditional and non-traditional Government contractors, prime contractors and subcontractors, and maintenance repair organizations.

removed “(8) The Director shall foster communications with industry and serve as a central point of contact within the Department of Defense for communications with contractors on intellectual property matters. The Director may interact directly with industry, trade associations, other Government agencies, academic research and educational institutions, and scientific organizations engaged in intellectual property matters.

“(c) Cadre of intellectual property experts

“(1) The Director shall establish within the Office of Intellectual Property a cadre of personnel who are experts in intellectual property matters. The purpose of the cadre is to ensure a consistent, strategic, and highly knowledgeable approach to acquiring or licensing intellectual property by providing expert advice, assistance, and resources to the acquisition workforce on intellectual property matters, including acquiring or licensing intellectual property.

“(2) The cadre of experts shall be assigned to a weapons system program office or an acquisition command within a military department to advise, assist, and provide resources to a program manager or program executive officer on intellectual property matters at various stages of the life cycle of a weapon system. In performing such duties, the experts shall—

“(A) interpret and provide counsel on laws, regulations, and policies relating to intellectual property;

“(B) advise and assist in the development of an acquisition strategy, product support strategy, and intellectual property strategy for a weapon system;

“(C) conduct or assist with financial analysis and valuation of intellectual property;

“(D) assist in the drafting of a contract solicitation or contract;

“(E) interact with or assist in interactions with contractors, including communications and negotiations with contractors on contract solicitations and contract awards; and

“(F) conduct or assist with mediation if technical data delivered pursuant to a contract is incomplete or does not comply with the terms of the contract.

“(3)

“(A) In order to achieve the purpose set forth in paragraph (1), the Director shall ensure the cadre has the appropriate number of staff and such staff possesses the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to carry out the duties under paragraph (2), including in relevant areas of law, contracting, acquisition, logistics, engineering, financial analysis, and valuation. The Director may use existing authorities to staff the cadre, including those in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), and (F).

“(B) Civilian personnel from within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, military departments, Defense Agencies, and combatant commands may be assigned to serve as members of the cadre, upon request of the Director.

“(C) The Director may use the authorities for highly qualified experts under section 9903 of title 5, to hire experts as members of the cadre who are skilled professionals in intellectual property and related matters.

“(D) The Director may enter into a contract with a private-sector entity for specialized expertise to support the cadre. Such entity may be considered a covered Government support contractor, as defined in section 2320 of this title.

“(E) In establishing the cadre, the Director shall give preference to civilian employees of the Department of Defense, rather than members of the armed forces, to maintain continuity in the cadre.

“(F) The Director is authorized to use funding from the Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund for the purpose of recruitment, training, and retention of the cadre, including paying salaries of newly hired members of the cadre for up to three years.

“(G) Members of the cadre shall report to the Director.”

“(J) The Director of the Office of Intellectual Property assigned pursuant to section 2322(a) of this title.”

“(12) Intellectual property.”

“2329. Procurement of services: data analysis and requirements validation

“(a) In general—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that—

“(1) appropriate and sufficiently detailed data are collected and analyzed to support the validation of requirements for services contracts and inform the planning, programming, budgeting, and execution process of the Department of Defense;

“(2) requirements for services contracts are evaluated appropriately and in a timely manner to inform decisions regarding the procurement of services; and

“(3) decisions regarding the procurement of services consider available resources and total force management policies and procedures.

“(b) Specification of amounts requested in budget—Effective October 1, 2022, the Secretary of Defense shall annually submit to Congress information on services contracts that clearly and separately identifies the amount requested for each category of services to be procured for each Defense Agency, Department of Defense Field Activity, command, or military installation. Such information shall—

“(1) be submitted at or about the time of the budget submission by the President under section 1105(a) of title 31;

“(2) cover the fiscal year covered by such budget submission by the President;

“(3) be consistent with total amounts of estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations necessary to support the programs, projects, and activities of the Department of Defense included in such budget submission by the President for that fiscal year; and

“(4) be organized using a common enterprise data structure developed under section 2222 of this title.

“(c) Data analysis

“(1) Each Secretary of a military department shall regularly analyze past spending patterns and anticipated future requirements with respect to the procurement of services within such military department.

“(2)

“(A) The Secretary of Defense shall regularly analyze past spending patterns and anticipated future requirements with respect to the procurement of services—

“(i) within each Defense Agency and Department of Defense Field Activity; and

“(ii) across military departments, Defense Agencies, and Department of Defense Field Activities.

“(B) The Secretaries of the military departments shall make data on services contracts available to the Secretary of Defense for purposes of conducting the analysis required under subparagraph (A).

“(3) The analyses conducted under this subsection shall—

“(A) identify contracts for similar services that are procured for three or more consecutive years at each Defense Agency, Department of Defense Field Activity, command, or military installation;

“(B) evaluate patterns in the procurement of services, to the extent practicable, at each Defense Agency, Department of Defense Field Activity, command, or military installation and by category of services procured;

“(C) be used to validate requirements for services contracts entered into after the date of the enactment of this subsection; and

“(D) be used to inform decisions on the award of and funding for such services contracts.

“(d) Requirements evaluation—Each Services Requirements Review Board shall evaluate each requirement for a services contract, taking into consideration total force management policies and procedures, available resources, the analyses conducted under subsection (c), and contracting efficacy and efficiency. An evaluation of a services contract for compliance with contracting policies and procedures may not be considered to be an evaluation of a requirement for such services contract.

“(e) Timely planning to avoid bridge contracts

“(1) Effective October 1, 2018, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that a requirements owner shall, to the extent practicable, plan appropriately before the date of need of a service at a Defense Agency, Department of Defense Field Activity, command, or military installation to avoid the use of a bridge contract to provide for continuation of a service to be performed through a services contract. Such planning shall include allowing time for a requirement to be validated, a services contract to be entered into, and funding for the services contract to be secured.

“(2)

“(A) Upon the first use, due to inadequate planning (as determined by the Secretary of Defense), of a bridge contract to provide for continuation of a service to be performed through a services contract, the requirements owner, along with the contracting officer or a designee of the contracting officer for the contract, shall—

“(i) for a services contract in an amount less than $10,000,000, provide an update on the status of the bridge contract (including the rationale for using the bridge contract) to the commander or the senior civilian official of the Defense Agency concerned, Department of Defense Field Activity concerned, command concerned, or military installation concerned, as applicable; or

“(ii) for a services contract in an amount equal to or greater than $10,000,000, provide an update on the status of the bridge contract (including the rationale for using the bridge contract) to the service acquisition executive for the military department concerned, the head of the Defense Agency concerned, the combatant commander concerned, or the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, as applicable.

“(B) Upon the second use, due to inadequate planning (as determined by the Secretary of Defense), of a bridge contract to provide for continuation of a service to be performed through a services contract in an amount less than $10,000,000, the commander or senior civilian official referred to in subparagraph (A)(i) shall provide notification of such second use to the Vice Chief of Staff of the armed force concerned and the service acquisition executive of the military department concerned, the head of the Defense Agency concerned, the combatant commander concerned, or the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, as applicable.

“(f) Exception—Except with respect to the analyses required under subsection (c), this section shall not apply to—

“(1) services contracts in support of contingency operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, or national security emergencies; or

“(2) services contracts entered into pursuant to an international agreement.

“(g) Definitions—In this section:

“(1) The term “bridge contact” means—

“(A) an extension to an existing contract beyond the period of performance to avoid a lapse in service caused by a delay in awarding a subsequent contract; or

“(B) a new short-term contract awarded on a sole-source basis to avoid a lapse in service caused by a delay in awarding a subsequent contract.

“(2) The term “requirements owner” means a member of the armed forces (other than the Coast Guard) or a civilian employee of the Department of Defense responsible for a requirement for a service to be performed through a services contract.

“(3) The term “Services Requirements Review Board” has the meaning given in Department of Defense Instruction 5000.74, titled “Defense Acquisition of Services” and dated January 5, 2016, or a successor instruction.”

“(3) Any other funds made available to the Department of Defense to carry out any of the purposes described in subsection (c).”

“(3)

“(A) Notwithstanding the limitations under subsection (c)(1)(E) and paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense may, as part of a program to recapitalize the Ready Reserve Force component of the national defense reserve fleet and the Military Sealift Command surge fleet, purchase any used vessel, regardless of where such vessel was constructed if such vessel—

“(i) participated in the Maritime Security Fleet; and

“(ii) is available for purchase at a reasonable cost, as determined by the Secretary.

“(B) If the Secretary determines that no used vessel meeting the requirements under clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) is available, the Secretary may purchase a used vessel comparable to a vessel described in clause (i) of subparagraph (A), regardless of the source of the vessel or where the vessel was constructed, if such vessel is available for purchase at a reasonable cost, as determined by the Secretary.

“(C) The Secretary may not use the authority under this paragraph to purchase more than five additional foreign constructed ships. Any such ships may not be purchased at a rate that exceeds one vessel constructed outside the United States for every new Department of Defense sealift vessel authorized by law to be constructed.

“(D) Prior to the purchase of any vessel that was not constructed in the United States, the Secretary, in consultation with the Maritime Administrator, shall certify that there is no vessel available for purchase at a reasonable price that—

“(i) was constructed in the United States; and

“(ii) is suitable for use by the United States for national defense or military purposes in a time of war or national emergency.”

“(5) The term “Maritime Security Fleet” means the fleet established under section 53102(a) of title 46.”

removed None of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2018 for the Department of Defense may be used to plan, develop, or construct any barriers, including walls or fences, along the international border of the United States.

“(a) Strategic Sourcing Plan of Action Defined—In this section, the term “Strategic Sourcing Plan of Action” means a Strategic Sourcing Plan of Action for the Department of Defense (as identified in the Department of Defense Interim Guidance dated February 29, 2000, or any successor Department of Defense guidance or directive) in effect for a fiscal year.”

“(b) Purpose of guidance—The guidance prescribed pursuant to subsection (a)”

“(64) Section 10504(b).”

added “(65) Section 235.”

added “(65) Section 115a.”

added “(65) Section 2193b(g).”

“(18) Section 1209(d) (127 Stat. 3542).”

added “(34) Section 509(k) of title 32, United States Code.”

added “(5) Section 1022(c).”

added “(5) Pakistan is not using its military or any funds or equipment provided by the United States to persecute minority groups seeking political or religious freedom, including the Balochi, Sindhi, and Hazara ethnic groups and minority religious groups, including Christian, Hindu, and Ahmadiyya Muslim.

added “(6) Pakistan is not providing military, financial, or logistical support to specially designated global terrorists operating in Afghanistan or Pakistan.”

It is the sense of Congress that—