Sec. 815. Pilot programs for authority to acquire innovative commercial items using general solicitation competitive procedures
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The head of an agency may carry out a pilot program, to be known as a commercial solutions opening pilot program , under which innovative commercial items may be acquired through a competitive selection of proposals resulting from a general solicitation and the peer review of such proposals. In this section, the term head of an agency means the following: The Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of Homeland Security. The Administrator of General Services. This section applies to the following agencies: The Department of Defense. The Department of Homeland Security. The General Services Administration. Use of general solicitation competitive procedures for the pilot program under subsection
(a)shall be considered— in the case of the Department of Defense, to be use of competitive procedures for purposes of chapter 137 of title 10, United States Code; and in the case of the Department of Homeland Security and the General Services Administration, to be use of competitive procedures for purposes divison C of title 41, United States Code (as defined in section 152 of such title). The head of an agency may not enter into a contract under the pilot program for an amount in excess of $10,000,000. The head of an agency shall issue guidance for the implementation of the pilot program under this section within that agency. Such guidance shall be issued in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget and shall be posted for access by the public. Not later than three years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the head of an agency shall submit to the congressional committees specified in paragraph
(3)a report on the activities the agency carried out under the pilot program. Each report under this subsection shall include the following: An assessment of the impact of the pilot program on competition. In the case of the Department of Defense, an assessment of the ability under the pilot program to attract proposals from nontraditional defense contractors (as defined in section 2302(9) of title 10, United States Code). A comparison of acquisition timelines for— procurements made using the pilot program; and procurements made using other competitive procedures that do not use general solicitations. A recommendation on whether the authority for the pilot program should be made permanent. The congressional committees specified in this paragraph are the following: With respect to the Department of Defense, the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives. With respect to the Department of Homeland Security and the General Services Administration, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives. In this section, the term innovative means— any new technology, process, or method, including research and development; or any new application of an existing technology, process, or method. The authority to enter into a contract under a pilot program under this section terminates on September 30, 2022.