Sec. 402. Designation of assisted acquisition centers of excellence
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Chapter 115 of title 40, United States Code, as amended by section 401, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section: The purpose of this section is to develop specialized assisted acquisition centers of excellence within the Federal Government to serve as a resource for Federal agencies, available on an optional-use basis, to assist and promote— the effective use of best acquisition practices; the development of specialized expertise in the acquisition of information technology; and Governmentwide sharing of acquisition capability to augment any shortage in the information technology acquisition workforce.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, and every 3 years thereafter, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Chief Acquisition Officers Council and the Chief Information Officers Council, shall designate, redesignate, or withdraw the designation of acquisition centers of excellence within various executive agencies to carry out the functions set forth in subsection
(d)in an area of specialized acquisition expertise as determined by the Director. Each such center of excellence shall be known as an Assisted Acquisition Center of Excellence or an AACE . This section provides no new authority to establish a franchise fund or revolving fund. The functions of each AACE are as follows: To promote, develop, and implement the use of best acquisition practices in the area of specialized acquisition expertise that the AACE is designated to carry out by the Director under subsection (b). To assist all Government agencies in the expedient, strategic, and cost-effective acquisition of the information technology goods or services covered by such area of specialized acquisition expertise by engaging in repeated and frequent acquisition of similar information technology requirements. IT acquisition workforce To assist in recruiting and training IT acquisition cadres (referred to in section 1704(j) of title 41). In designating, redesignating, or withdrawing the designation of an AACE, the Director shall consider, at a minimum, the following matters: The subject matter expertise of the host agency in a specific area of information technology acquisition. For acquisitions of IT infrastructure and common applications covered by the Federal Infrastructure and Common Application Collaboration Center authorized under section 11501 of this title, the ability and willingness to collaborate with the Collaboration Center and adhere to the requirements standards established by the Collaboration Center. The ability of an AACE to develop customized requirements documents that meet the needs of executive agencies as well as the current industry standards and commercial best practices. The ability of an AACE to consistently award and manage various contracts, task or delivery orders, and other acquisition arrangements in a timely, cost-effective, and compliant manner. The ability of an AACE to aggregate demands from multiple executive agencies for similar information technology goods or services and fulfill those demands in one acquisition. The ability of an AACE to acquire innovative or emerging commercial and noncommercial technologies using various contracting methods, including ways to lower the entry barriers for small businesses with limited Government contracting experiences. The ability of an AACE to maximize commercial item acquisition, effectively manage high-risk contract types, increase competition, promote small business participation, and maximize use of available Governmentwide contracts. The existence of an in-house cost estimating group with expertise to consistently develop reliable cost estimates that are accurate, comprehensive, well-documented, and credible. The ability of an AACE to employ best practices and educate requesting agencies, to the maximum extent practicable, regarding critical factors underlying successful major IT acquisitions, including the following factors: Active engagement by program officials with stakeholders. Possession by program staff of the necessary knowledge and skills. Support of the programs by senior department and agency executives. Involvement by end users and stakeholders in the development of requirements. Participation by end users in testing of system functionality prior to formal end user acceptance testing. Stability and consistency of Government and contractor staff. Prioritization of requirements by program staff. Maintenance of regular communication with the prime contractor by program officials. Receipt of sufficient funding by programs. The ability of an AACE to run an effective acquisition intern program in collaboration with the Federal Acquisition Institute or the Defense Acquisition University. The ability of an AACE to effectively and properly manage fees received for assisted acquisitions pursuant to this section. Notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation, funds obligated and transferred from an executive agency in a fiscal year to an AACE for the acquisition of goods or services covered by an area of specialized acquisition expertise of an AACE, regardless of whether the requirements are severable or non-severable, shall remain available for awards of contracts by the AACE for the same general requirements for the next 5 fiscal years following the fiscal year in which the funds were transferred. AACE If the AACE to which the funds are provided under paragraph
(1)becomes unable to fulfill the requirements of the executive agency from which the funds were provided, the funds may be provided to a different AACE to fulfill such requirements. The funds so provided shall be used for the same purpose and remain available for the same period of time as applied when provided to the original AACE. This subsection does not limit any existing authorities an AACE may have under its revolving or working capital funds authorities. The Comptroller General of the United States shall review and assess— the use and management of fees received by the AACEs pursuant to this section to ensure that an appropriate fee structure is established and enforced to cover activities addressed in this section and that no excess fees are charged or retained; and the effectiveness of the AACEs in achieving the purpose described in subsection (a), including review of contracts. Not later than 1 year after the designation or redesignation of AACES under subsection (b), the Comptroller General shall submit to the relevant congressional committees a report containing the findings and assessment under paragraph (1). In this section: The term assisted acquisition means a type of interagency acquisition in which the parties enter into an interagency agreement pursuant to which— the servicing agency performs acquisition activities on the requesting agency’s behalf, such as awarding, administering, or closing out a contract, task order, delivery order, or blanket purchase agreement; and funding is provided through a franchise fund, the Acquisition Services Fund in section 321 of this title, sections 1535 and 1536 of title 31, or other available methods. The term executive agency has the meaning provided that term by section 133 of title 41. The term relevant congressional committees has the meaning provided that term by section 11501 of this title. The Federal Acquisition Regulation shall be amended to implement this section. . The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 115 of title 40, United States Code, as amended by section 401, is further amended by adding at the end the following new item: 11502. Assisted Acquisition Centers of Excellence. .