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Uniform requirements for electronic contract writing systems and acquisition management systems

Division A · Title VIII: Acquisition Policy, Acquisition Management, and Related Matters · Subtitle A: Acquisition Policy and Management

Plain-language summaryAI

The Department of Defense must create and share uniform standards and policies for electronic contract writing and acquisition management systems, ensuring these systems mostly meet these standards and are commercial products or services unless unavailable. The Secretary of Defense must report a plan to Congress within 270 days detailing how to transition current systems to comply with these policies, including an assessment of existing systems, costs, and strategies for adoption and improvement. Vendors of existing commercial systems will have a chance to update their products to meet requirements without extra cost to the Department.

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Section Text · Sec. 807.

(a) Uniform requirements for the Department of Defense

Chapter 367 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 4754 the following new section:

4755. Requirements for electronic contract writing systems and acquisition management systems

The Secretary shall—

(1)

establish, maintain, and make publicly available uniform data standards, internal control requirements, and independent verification and validation requirements for processing procurement requests, contracts, receipts, and invoices by the Department; and

(2)

establish policy to ensure that each electronic contract writing system and acquisition management system of the Department—

(A)

substantially conforms with the standards, requirements, and rules established pursuant to paragraph (1); and

(B)

is a commercial product or commercial service, as required by section 3453 of this title, unless the head of the agency makes the determination required by section 3453(d) of this title regarding non-availability of commercial products or commercial services.

(b) Implementation

The initial standards, requirements, and policies required by section 4755 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall be established not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(c) Assessment and phased implementation strategy

(1) Requirement for strategy

Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report setting forth the strategy of the Secretary to transition the electronic contract writing systems and acquisition management systems of the Department of Defense to full implementation of the policy established as required by section 4755(2) of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a).

(2) Assessment to inform strategy

The strategy shall include, and be based on, an assessment of the current state, including—

(A)

an inventory identifying each such system in use, in development, or in deployment within the Department; and

(B)

for each system identified under subparagraph (A)

(i)

an identification of the offices and officials responsible for the system;

(ii)

a cost benefit analysis, including an assessment of the criticality of the system and impact on the mission, and an identification of the system as a commercially available of-the-shelf item, an item developed by the Government, or a Government-off-the-shelf item, as applicable; and

(iii)

an identification of the annual spending on the system, from inception and estimated remaining cost to complete application baselines and expected annual support and maintenance costs once complete, broken down by—

(3) Matters included in strategy

The strategy shall include—

(A)

a description of the coordination necessary within and among the military departments, the Defense Agencies, and other elements of the Department to enable successful transition;

(B)

for each system identified under paragraph (2)(A) that is not in compliance with the policy described in paragraph (1), a timeline for transitioning from that system, including an estimate of anticipated reductions in deployment timelines for the system to reach full operating capability;

(C)

for each system identified under paragraph (2)(A), a strategy for hosting the system on a platform in compliance with the policy described in paragraph (1), including an evaluation of opportunities to leverage existing commercially available or commercial off-the-shelf products and services to reduce the Government’s cost of maintaining infrastructure and associated sustainment costs;

(D)

a recommended approach to speed the adoption of secure artificial intelligence ( AI ) services for such systems, including how best to prioritize the adoption of commercially available or commercial off-the-shelf products and services with AI technology to help prevent the proliferation of redundant and disconnected AI tools;

(E)

an identification of funding, staffing, and resource requirements associated with implementation of such systems;

(F)

an identification of any challenges, barriers, or risks affecting implementation of such systems and recommended approaches to addressing or mitigating such challenges, barriers, or risks; and

(G)

a cost estimate associated with the transition from the current state to full implementation of the policy described in paragraph (1), including any cost savings associated with the reduction or elimination of continued use and development of systems that are not commercial products or commercial services.

(d) Applicability to current vendors

For each system identified under paragraph (2)(A) that is a commercial product or commercial service as of the date on which the policy described in paragraph (1) is established, if the vendor of the system reasonably demonstrates that the system has the capability to meet a preponderance of the Department’s requirements, the Secretary shall ensure that the vendor is given a reasonable opportunity to address any unmet requirements, as long as the unmet requirements can be delivered not later than the date that is 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and at no development cost to the Department.

(e) Uniform requirements for certain executive agencies

Subchapter II of chapter 11 of title 41, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

1132. Requirements for electronic contract writing systems and acquisition management systems

(a)

The Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, with respect to the executive agencies other than the Department of Defense, shall—

(1)

establish or update, as necessary, uniform data standards, internal control requirements, independent verification and validation requirements, and business process rules for processing procurement requests, contracts, receipts, and invoices by the Department of Defense or other executive agencies, as applicable;

(2)

establish or update, as necessary, and maintain one or more approved electronic contract writing systems that conform with the standards, requirements, and rules established pursuant to paragraph (1); and

(3)

require the use of electronic contract writing systems approved in accordance with paragraph (2) for all contracts entered into by executive agencies other than the Department of Defense, as applicable.

(b) Relation to existing contract writing systems and acquisition management systems

Notwithstanding subsection (a), the head of an executive agency other than the Department of Defense shall meet the requirements of subsection (a)(2) with respect to approved electronic contract writing systems if they were in compliance with the requirements established pursuant to section 862 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (41 U.S.C. prec. 3101 note) on the date of enactment of this section until such time as those requirements are updated pursuant to subsection (a).

(f) Repeal of prior related provision

Section 862 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 ( 41 U.S.C. 3101 note prec.) is repealed.