### **CHAPTER 241—AWARDING OF CONTRACTS**

Sec.
3301.
Basis of award and rejection.
3302.
Sealed bids.
3303.
Competitive proposals.
3304.
Post-award debriefings.
3305.
Pre-award debriefings.
3306.
Encouragement of alternative dispute resolution.
3307.
Antitrust violations.
3308.
Protests.
3309.
Prohibition on release of contractor proposals.

#### **Editorial Notes**

#### Prior Provisions

A prior chapter 241 "AWARDING OF CONTRACTS", as added by Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, §801(a), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1827, and consisting of reserved section 3301, was repealed by Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, §1816(b), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4182.

#### **Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries**

#### Pilot Program for Anything-As-A-Service

Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title VIII, §809, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 320, provided that:

"(a) In General.—The Secretary of Defense shall establish a pilot program to explore the use of consumption-based solutions to address any defense need, hereafter 'anything-as-a-service', that is feasible to provide users on-demand access, quickly add newly released capabilities, and bill based on actual usage at fixed price units.

"(b) Requirements.—A contract or other agreement for anything-as-a-service entered into under the pilot program shall require the outcomes of the capability to be measurable, including the cost and speed of delivery in comparison to using processes other than anything-as-a-service, at the regular intervals that are customary for the type of solution provided.

"(c) Notice.—With respect to each opportunity to participate in the pilot program established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make publicly available a notice of such opportunity for not less than 60 days.

"(d) Timing.—The Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, enter into a contract or other agreement under this section not later than 100 days after the date on which the Secretary, under subsection (c), makes publicly available a notice to participate in the pilot program established under this section.

"(e) Exemptions.—A contract or other agreement entered into under this section shall be exempt from the following:

"(1) The requirements of section 3702 of title 10, United States Code.

"(2) With respect to a modification to add new features or capabilities in an amount less than or equal to 25 percent of the total value of such contract or other agreement, the requirements of full and open competition (as defined in [former] section 2302 of title 10, United States Code [see 10 U.S.C. 3011]).

"(f) Briefing.—Not later than June 30, 2024, the Secretary of Defense shall provide a briefing to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] on the implementation of the pilot program.

"(g) Anything-as-a-service Defined.—In this section, the term 'anything-as-a-service' means a model under which a technology-supported capability is provided to the Department of Defense and may utilize any combination of software, hardware or equipment, data, and labor or services that provides a capability that is metered and billed based on actual usage at fixed price units."

#### Development of Procurement Administrative Lead Time

Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title VIII, §886, Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1505, provided that:

"(a) In General.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 12, 2017], the Secretary of Defense shall develop, make available for public comment, and finalize—

"(1) a definition of the term 'Procurement Administrative Lead Time' or 'PALT', to be applied Department of Defense-wide, that describes the amount of time from the date on which a solicitation is issued to the date of an initial award of a contract or task order of the Department of Defense; and

"(2) a plan for measuring and publicly reporting data on PALT for Department of Defense contracts and task orders above the simplified acquisition threshold.

"(b) Requirement for Definition.—Unless the Secretary determines otherwise, the amount of time in the definition of PALT developed under subsection (a) shall—

"(1) begin on the date on which the initial solicitation is issued for a contract or task order of the Department of Defense by the Secretary of a military department or head of a Defense Agency; and

"(2) end on the date of the award of the contract or task order.

"(c) Coordination.—In developing the definition of PALT, the Secretary shall coordinate with—

"(1) the senior contracting official of each military department and Defense Agency to determine the variations of the definition in use across the Department of Defense and each military department and Defense Agency; and

"(2) the Administrator of the General Services Administration on modifying the existing data system of the Federal Government to determine the date on which the initial solicitation is issued.

"(d) Use of Existing Procurement Data Systems.—In developing the plan for measuring and publicly reporting data on PALT required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, rely on the information contained in the Federal procurement data system established pursuant to section 1122(a)(4) of title 41, United States Code, including any modifications to that system."