### §4502. Procurement of contract services: senior officials responsible for management of acquisition of contract services

(a) Senior Officials.—The management structure implemented pursuant to section 4501 of this title shall provide for the following:

(1) The service acquisition executive of each military department shall be the senior official responsible for the management of acquisition of contract services for or on behalf of the military department.

(2) The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment shall be the senior official responsible for the management of acquisition of contract services for or on behalf of the Defense Agencies and other components of the Department of Defense outside the military departments.

(b) Duties and Responsibilities of Senior Officials Responsible for the Management of Acquisition of Contract Services.—(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the senior officials responsible for the management of acquisition of contract services shall assign responsibility for the review and approval of procurements in each contract services acquisition category established under section 4501(d) of this title to specific Department of Defense officials, subject to the direction, supervision, and oversight of such senior officials.

(2) With respect to the acquisition of contract services by a component or command of the Department of Defense the primary mission of which is the acquisition of products and services, such acquisition shall be conducted in accordance with policies, procedures, and best practices guidelines developed and maintained by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment pursuant to section 4501 of this title, subject to oversight by the senior officials referred to in paragraph (1).

(c) Duties and Responsibilities.—In carrying out subsection (b)(1), each senior official responsible for the management of acquisition of contract services shall—

(1) implement the requirements of this section and section 4501 of this title and the policies, procedures, and best practices guidelines developed by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment pursuant to section 4501(b) of this title;

(2) authorize the procurement of contract services through contracts entered into by agencies outside the Department of Defense in appropriate circumstances, in accordance with the requirements of section 854 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (10 U.S.C. 2304 note), section 814 of the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (31 U.S.C. 1535 note), and the regulations implementing such sections;

(3) dedicate full-time commodity managers to coordinate the procurement of key categories of services;

(4) ensure that contract services are procured by means of procurement actions that are in the best interests of the Department of Defense and are entered into and managed in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, directives, and requirements;

(5) ensure that competitive procedures and performance-based contracting are used to the maximum extent practicable for the procurement of contract services; and

(6) monitor data collection under section 4505 of this title, and periodically conduct spending analyses, to ensure that funds expended for the procurement of contract services are being expended in the most rational and economical manner practicable.

(d) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) The term "procurement action" includes the following actions:

(A) Entry into a contract or any other form of agreement.

(B) Issuance of a task order, delivery order, or military interdepartmental purchase request.

(2) The term "contract services" includes all services acquired from private sector entities by or for the Department of Defense, including services in support of contingency operations. The term does not include services relating to research and development or military construction.

(Added and amended Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, §1856(d), (f), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4274, 4275; Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title XVII, §1701(b)(19)(A), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2135.)

#### **Editorial Notes**

#### References in Text

Section 854 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), is section 854 of div. A of Pub. L. 108–375, which is set out as a note under section 2304 of this title.

Section 814 of the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), is section 814 of div. A of Pub. L. 105–261, which was formerly set out as a note under section 1535 of Title 31, Money and Finance.

#### Codification

The text of subsecs. (a)(2), (3), (b), and (c) of section 4501 of this title, which was transferred to this section by Pub. L. 116–283, §1856(d), was based on Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title VIII, §801(b)(1), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1174, §2330; Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title X, §1062(a)(8), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2650; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title VIII, §812(a)(1), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3376; Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title VIII, §845(d), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1848; Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title IX, §902(51)(B)–(D), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1549; renumbered §4501, Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, §1856(c), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4274. Amendment notes prior to 2021 relevant to this section can be found under section 4501 of this title.

#### Prior Provisions

A prior section 4502, act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 252, which related to maintenance by Secretary of the Army of lists of plants equipped to manufacture arms or ammunition and of plants convertible into ammunition factories and provided for a Board on Mobilization of Industries Essential for Military Preparedness, was repealed by Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title VIII, §822(a)(2), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1705. See sections 4883 and 4884 of this title.

Prior sections 4503 and 4504 were repealed by Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title VIII, §§822(c)(2), 827(c), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1707, 1713.

Section 4503, act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 252, related to research and development programs of the Army.

Section 4504, act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 252, related to procurement of ordnance, signal, and chemical warfare supplies for experimental purposes by Secretary of the Army. See section 4004 of this title.

#### Amendments

2021—Pub. L. 116–283, §1856(d), transferred subsecs. (a)(2), (3), (b), and (c) of section 4501 of this title to this section and inserted subsec. (a) designation, heading, and introductory provisions.

Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–283, §1856(f)(1), redesignated pars. (2) and (3) as (1) and (2), respectively.

Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 116–283, §1856(f)(2)(A), substituted "section 4501(d) of this title" for "subsection (a)(1)(C)".

Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 116–283, §1856(f)(2)(B), substituted "section 4501 of this title" for "subsection (a)(1)".

Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 116–283, §1856(f)(4), redesignated par. (3) as subsec. (c).

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–283, §1856(f)(5)(A), as amended by Pub. L. 117–81, §1701(b)(19)(A), inserted heading and substituted "In carrying out subsection (b)(1)" for "In carrying out paragraph (1)" in introductory provisions.

Pub. L. 116–283, §1856(f)(4), redesignated par. (3) of subsec. (b) as subsec. (c) and subpars. (A) to (F) as pars. (1) to (6), respectively.

Pub. L. 116–283, §1856(f)(3), redesignated subsec. (c) as (d).

Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 116–283, §1856(f)(5)(B), inserted "and section 4501 of this title" after "of this section" and substituted "section 4501(b) of this title" for "subsection (a)(1)(A)".

Subsec. (c)(6). Pub. L. 116–283, §1856(f)(5)(C), substituted "section 4505" for "section 2330a".

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–283, §1856(f)(3), redesignated subsec. (c) as (d).

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

#### Effective Date of 2021 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 117–81 applicable as if included in the enactment of title XVIII of Pub. L. 116–283 as enacted, see section 1701(a)(2) of Pub. L. 117–81, set out in a note preceding section 3001 of this title and Effective Date note below.

#### 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 note preceding section 3001 of this title.