### §3801. Authority of agency

(a) Payment Authority.—The head of any agency may—

(1) make advance, partial, progress, or other payments under contracts for property or services made by the agency; and

(2) insert in solicitations for procurement of property or services a provision limiting to small business concerns advance or progress payments.

(b) Payment Dates for Contractors That Are Small Business Concerns.—

(1) Prime contractors.—For a prime contractor (as defined in section 8701 of title 41) that is a small business concern (as defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)), the Secretary of Defense shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, establish an accelerated payment date with a goal of 15 days after receipt of a proper invoice for the amount due.

(2) Subcontractors.—For a prime contractor that subcontracts with a small business concern, the Secretary of Defense shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, establish an accelerated payment date with a goal of 15 days after receipt of a proper invoice for the amount due if the prime contractor agrees to make payments to the subcontractor in accordance with the accelerated payment date, to the maximum extent practicable, without any further consideration from or fees charged to the subcontractor.

(Added and amended Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, §1834(a), (b), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4234.)

#### **Editorial Notes**

#### Codification

The text of subsec. (a) of section 2307 of this title, which was transferred to this section and amended by Pub. L. 116–283, §1834(b), was based on act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 131; Pub. L. 85–800, §9, Aug. 28, 1958, 72 Stat. 967; Pub. L. 103–355, title II, §2001(a)(2), (c), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3301, 3302; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, §852, Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1884; Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title XVII, §1731(a)(40), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1814; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title VIII, §815, Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3750; Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title VIII, §814, Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1823.

#### Amendments

2021—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–283, §1834(b)(1)(A), (2), transferred subsec. (a) of section 2307 of this title to this section, struck out par. (1) designation before "The head of", and redesignated subpars. (A) and (B) as pars. (1) and (2), respectively. Former par. (2) of subsec. (a) redesignated subsec. (b).

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–283, §1834(b)(1)(B), (3)(A)–(C)(i), redesignated par. (2) of subsec. (a) as subsec. (b), inserted subsec. heading, and redesignated subpars. (A) and (B) as pars. (1) and (2), respectively, and inserted par. headings.

Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 116–283, §1834(b)(3)(C)(ii), which directed amendment of par. (2) by redesignating cls. (i) and (ii) as subpars. (A) and (B), respectively, could not be executed because of the amendment made by section 815(2) of Pub. L. 116–283, which struck out cls. (i) and (ii) in section 2307(a)(2)(B) of this title prior to its transfer and redesignation as subsec. (b)(2) of this section.

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

#### Effective Date

Section and amendment by Pub. L. 116–283 effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed implementation and applicability of existing law, see section 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as an Effective Date of 2021 Amendment note preceding section 3001 of this title.