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TITLE VIII--ACQUISITION POLICY, ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT, AND RELATED MATTERS

Subtitle E — Provisions Relating to Commercial Items

P. L. 115-

House Conference Report. 115-404

(a) Training.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President of the Defense Acquisition University shall establish a comprehensive training program on part 12 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. The training shall cover, at a minimum, the following topics:

(1) The origin of part 12 and the congressional mandate to prefer commercial procurements.

(2) The definition of a commercial item, with a particular focus on the “of a type” concept.

(3) Price analysis and negotiations.

(4) Market research and analysis.

(5) Independent cost estimates.

(6) Parametric estimating methods.

(7) Value analysis.

(8) Best practices in pricing from commercial sector organizations, foreign government organizations, and other Federal, State, and local public sectors organizations.

(9) Other topics on commercial procurements necessary to ensure a well-educated acquisition workforce.

(b) Enrollments Goals.—The President of the Defense Acquisition University shall set goals for student enrollment for the comprehensive training program established under subsection (a).

(c) Supporting Activities.—The Secretary of Defense shall, in support of the achievement of the goals of this section—

(1) engage academic experts on research topics of interest to improve commercial item identification and pricing methodologies; and

(2) facilitate exchange and interface opportunities between government personnel to increase awareness of best practices and challenges in commercial item identification and pricing.

(d) Funding.—The Secretary of Defense shall use amounts available in the Department of Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund established under section 1705 of title 10, United States Code, to fund the comprehensive training program established under subsection (a).

The House bill contained a provision (sec. 866) that would require the President of the Defense Acquisition University to establish a training program on part 12 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation pertaining to the procurement of commercial items.

The Senate amendment contained a similar provision (sec. 841).

The House recedes with an amendment that makes technical changes to supporting activities.