Sec. 515. Compliance by the intelligence community with requirements of the Federal Acquisition Regulation relating to commercially available off-the-shelf items and commercial services
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It is the sense of Congress that— parts 10 and 12 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation broadly require departments and agencies of the United States Government to conduct market research to determine whether commercially available off-the-shelf items, nondevelopmental items, or commercial services are available that could meet the requirements of the department or agency; the requirements under such parts 10 and 12, among other important goals, reduce administrative costs and allow expedited acquisition and deployment of such items and services; however, such departments and agencies too often contract for custom products, rather than buying existing commercial products and adapting those as necessary, which creates a fundamental compliance issue; and the intelligence community should adopt a culture shift to ensure better compliance with such parts 10 and 12.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National Intelligence shall implement a policy to ensure that each element of the intelligence community complies with parts 10 and 12 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation with respect to any procurement. The policy under paragraph
(1)shall include the following: Written criteria for an element of the intelligence community to evaluate when a procurement of a covered item or service is permissible, including— requiring the element to conduct an independent market analysis to determine whether a commercially available off-the-shelf item, nondevelopmental item, or commercial service is viable; and a description of the offeror for such covered item or service and how the covered item or service to be acquired will be integrated into existing systems of the intelligence community. If an element of the intelligence community enters into a contract for artificial intelligence or other emerging technologies that is a covered item or service, not later than 45 days before entering into such contract, the head of the element shall notify the congressional intelligence committees in writing of the intent to enter into such contract, including a brief summary of— the justification for not using a commercially available off-the-shelf item, nondevelopmental item, or commercial service; and the independent market analysis conducted under subparagraph (A). A detailed set of performance incentives for the acquisition personnel of the intelligence community that— prioritizes and rewards adherence to parts 10 and 12 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation; and incentivizes reliance by the intelligence community on commercially available off-the-shelf items, nondevelopmental items, or commercial services and incentivizes such personnel that enter into contracts for covered items or services only when necessary. Methods to ensure the coordination across the elements of the intelligence community in carrying out the policy, including by designating an official of each element to ensure implementation and incentives for elements to share best practices for entering into contracts for covered items or services. On an annual basis, the head of each element of the intelligence community shall certify in writing to the congressional intelligence committees that each contract involving software development that was awarded during the year covered by the certification was awarded in adherence to section 3453 of title 10, United States Code, and such parts 10 and 12, as applicable. Any other incentives for the acquisition personnel of the intelligence community that the Director determines appropriate to improve the use of commercially available off-the-shelf items, nondevelopmental items, and commercial services in contracts for emerging technologies, including with respect to pay incentives, time off for training, and nonmonetary awards. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National Intelligence shall submit to the congressional intelligence committees— the policy developed under paragraph (1); and a plan to implement the policy not later than 1 year after the date of such enactment. In carrying out the independent market analysis pursuant to paragraph (1)(A)(ii), the Director may enter into a contract with an independent market research group with qualifications and expertise to find available commercially available off-the-shelf items, nondevelopmental items, or commercial services to meet the needs of the intelligence community. Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 3 years, the Director, in consultation with the head of each element of the intelligence community, shall submit to the congressional intelligence committees a report on the policy developed under subsection (a). Each report under paragraph
(1)shall include, with respect to the period covered by the report, the following: An evaluation of the success of the policy, including with respect to the progress the elements have made in complying with parts 10 and 12 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. A comparison of the number of contracts that were awarded for commercially available off-the-shelf items, nondevelopmental items, or commercial services versus the number awarded for covered items or services. A description of how any market analyses are conducted pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(A)(ii). Any recommendations to improve compliance with such parts 10 and 12. In this section: The terms commercially available off-the-shelf item , commercial service , and nondevelopmental items have the meanings given, respectively, in subchapter I of division A of title 41, United States Code. The term covered item or service means a product, system, or service that is not a commercially available off-the-shelf item, a commercial service, or a nondevelopmental item.