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

Subtitle F—Other Matters

P. L. 116-

House Conference Report   116-617

Section 2350a(g) of title 10, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1)--

(A) in subparagraph (A)--

(i) by striking ``conventional defense equipment, munitions, and technologies manufactured and developed by countries referred to in subsection (a)(2)'' and inserting ``covered equipment, munitions, and technologies''; and

(ii) by striking ``such equipment, munitions, and technologies'' and inserting ``such covered equipment, munitions, and technologies''; and

(B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``such covered'' before ``equipment, munitions, and technologies'';

(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``equipment, munitions, and technologies of the type described in paragraph (1)'' and inserting ``covered equipment, munitions, and technologies''; and

(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

``(4) Covered Equipment, Munitions, and Technologies Defined.--In this subsection, the term `covered equipment, munitions, and technologies' means--

``(A) conventional defense equipment, munitions, and technologies manufactured and developed by countries referred to in subsection (a)(2); and

``(B) conventional defense equipment, munitions, and technologies manufactured and developed domestically.''.

The Senate amendment contained a provision (sec. 892) that would modify section 2350a of title 10, United States Code, to allow for domestic comparative test.

The House bill contained no similar provision.

The House recedes.

The conferees believe that the Department of Defense's new Adaptive Acquisition Framework is a very important step toward ensuring additional avenues for new entrants to the defense industrial base. The conferees emphasize the Federal Acquisition Regulation preference for commercial solutions and believe that this is especially important in technical areas where commercial development outpaces the Department. The ability of companies with innovative commercial solutions to conduct comparative tests with one or more programs of record against program requirements is foundational to enabling the Department's ability to benefit from commercial innovation.

Accordingly, the conferees direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to jointly prepare an implementation plan that: (1) Defines the points along each of the acquisition pathways where market research should be refreshed, and (2) Establishes entry points for initiating such testing and associated procedures. The Under Secretaries shall brief the congressional defense committees no later than July 15, 2021, on the plan and associated implementation activities.

Senate Committee Report 116-236 to Accompanying S. 4049

Domestic comparative testing activities (sec. 892)

The committee recommends a provision that would modify section 2350a of title 10, United States Code, to allow for domestic comparative test. The committee believes that the Department of Defense's new Adaptive Acquisition Framework is a very important step toward ensuring additional avenues for new entrants to the defense industrial base. The committee emphasizes the Federal Acquisition Regulation preference for commercial solutions and believes that this is especially important in technical areas where commercial development outpaces the Department. The ability of companies with innovative commercial solutions to conduct comparative tests with one or more programs of record against program requirements is foundational to enabling the Department's benefiting from commercial innovation.

Accordingly, the committee directs the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to jointly define the points along each of the acquisition pathways where market research should be refreshed and establish entry points for such testing.