How To Use the NDAA Pages

Back to William M. (Mac) Thornberry NDAA Contents

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

Subtitle B—Amendments to General Contracting Authorities, Procedures, and Limitations.

P. L. 116-

House Conference Report   116-617

Section 2307(a)(2) of title 10, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``if a specific payment date is not established by contract''; and

(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``if--'' and all that follows through ``the prime contractor agrees'' and inserting ``if the prime contractor agrees or proposes''.

The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 871) that would amend contract financing law established under section 2307(a)(2) of title 10, United States Code, to strengthen the requirement that the Department of Defense establish a goal to pay small business contractors within 15 days of receipt of an invoice.

The House bill contained no similar provision.

The House recedes.

The conferees note that the Defense Logistics Agency decision in November 2019 to move from 15-day payment terms to 30-day terms may have a detrimental effect on small businesses' ability to continue to do business for the U.S. Government, especially during economic downturns. The conferees further note that modern invoicing and payment systems should be able to support expedited review and payment of invoices, and therefore support the Department's efforts to leverage existing commercial systems to facilitate the prompt payments. The conferees are aware that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Defense has supported its contractors by taking steps to improve the timeliness of payments. The conferees are encouraged by these recent trends and encourage the Department to continue such efforts.

Senate Committee Report 116-236 to Accompanying S. 4049

Prompt payment of contractors (sec. 871)

The committee recommends a provision that would amend contract financing law to strengthen the requirement that the Department of Defense establish a goal to pay small business contractors within 15 days of receipt of an invoice. The committee notes that the Defense Logistics Agency decision in November 2019 to move from 15-day payment terms to 30-day terms may have a detrimental effect on small businesses' ability to continue to do business for the U.S. Government, especially during economic downturns. The committee further notes that modern invoicing and payment systems should be able to support expedited review and payment of invoices and support Department efforts to continue to leverage existing commercial systems in support of those processes.