131 
(1) CHALLENGE IS SUSTAINED.—If the contracting officer’s chal-
lenge to the restriction on the right of the Federal Government to use 
technical data is sustained on final disposition— 
(A) the restriction is cancelled; and 
(B) if the asserted restriction is found not to be substantially 
justified, the contractor or subcontractor, as appropriate, is liable 
to the Federal Government for payment of the cost to the Federal 
Government of reviewing the asserted restriction and the fees and 
other expenses (as defined in section 2412(d)(2)(A) of title 28) in-
curred by the Federal Government in challenging the asserted re-
striction, unless special circumstances would make the payment 
unjust. 
(2) CHALLENGE NOT SUSTAINED.—If the contracting officer’s chal-
lenge to the restriction on the right of the Federal Government to use 
technical data is not sustained on final disposition, the Federal Govern-
ment— 
(A) continues to be bound by the restriction; and 
(B) is liable for payment to the party asserting the restriction 
for fees and other expenses (as defined in section 2412(d)(2)(A) 
of title 28) incurred by the party asserting the restriction in de-
fending the asserted restriction if the challenge by the Federal 
Government is found not to be made in good faith. 
§ 4704. Prohibition of contractors limiting subcontractor 
sales directly to Federal Government 
(a) CONTRACT RESTRICTIONS.—Each contract for the purchase of prop-
erty or services made by an executive agency shall provide that the con-
tractor will not— 
(1) enter into an agreement with a subcontractor under the contract 
that has the effect of unreasonably restricting sales by the subcon-
tractor directly to the Federal Government of any item or process (in-
cluding computer software) made or furnished by the subcontractor 
under the contract (or any follow-on production contract); or 
(2) otherwise act to restrict unreasonably the ability of a subcon-
tractor to make sales described in paragraph (1) to the Federal Gov-
ernment. 
(b) RIGHTS UNDER LAW PRESERVED.—This section does not prohibit a 
contractor from asserting rights it otherwise has under law. 
(c) INAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN CONTRACTS.—This section does not 
apply to a contract for an amount that is not greater than the simplified 
acquisition threshold. 
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132 
(d) INAPPLICABILITY WHEN GOVERNMENT TREATED SIMILARLY
TO 
OTHER PURCHASERS.—An agreement between the contractor in a contract 
for the acquisition of commercial items and a subcontractor under the con-
tract that restricts sales by the subcontractor directly to persons other than 
the contractor may not be considered to unreasonably restrict sales by that 
subcontractor to the Federal Government in violation of the provision in-
cluded in the contract pursuant to subsection (a) if the agreement does not 
result in the Federal Government being treated differently with regard to 
the restriction than any other prospective purchaser of the commercial items 
from that subcontractor. 
§ 4705. Protection of contractor employees from reprisal for 
disclosure of certain information 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘contract’’ means a contract awarded by 
the head of an executive agency. 
(2) CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘contractor’’ means a person awarded 
a contract with an executive agency. 
(3) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Inspector General’’ means an 
Inspector General appointed under the Inspector General Act of 1978 
(5 App. U.S.C.). 
(b) PROHIBITION OF REPRISALS.—An employee of a contractor may not 
be discharged, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for 
disclosing to a Member of Congress or an authorized official of an executive 
agency or the Department of Justice information relating to a substantial 
violation of law related to a contract (including the competition for, or nego-
tiation of, a contract). 
(c) INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS.—An individual who believes that the 
individual has been subjected to a reprisal prohibited by subsection (b) may 
submit a complaint to the Inspector General of the executive agency. Unless 
the Inspector General determines that the complaint is frivolous, the Inspec-
tor General shall investigate the complaint and, on completion of the inves-
tigation, submit a report of the findings of the investigation to the indi-
vidual, the contractor concerned, and the head of the agency. If the execu-
tive agency does not have an Inspector General, the duties of the Inspector 
General under this section shall be performed by an official designated by 
the head of the executive agency. 
(d) REMEDY AND ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.— 
(1) ACTIONS CONTRACTOR MAY BE ORDERED TO TAKE.—If the head 
of an executive agency determines that a contractor has subjected an 
individual to a reprisal prohibited by subsection (b), the head of the 
executive agency may take one or more of the following actions: 
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133 
(A) ABATEMENT.—Order the contractor to take affirmative ac-
tion to abate the reprisal. 
(B) REINSTATEMENT.—Order the contractor to reinstate the in-
dividual to the position that the individual held before the reprisal, 
together with the compensation (including back pay), employment 
benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment that 
would apply to the individual in that position if the reprisal had 
not been taken. 
(C) PAYMENT.—Order the contractor to pay the complainant an 
amount equal to the aggregate amount of all costs and expenses 
(including attorneys’ fees and expert witnesses’ fees) that the com-
plainant reasonably incurred for, or in connection with, bringing 
the complaint regarding the reprisal, as determined by the head 
of the executive agency. 
(2) ENFORCEMENT ORDER.—When a contractor fails to comply with 
an order issued under paragraph (1), the head of the executive agency 
shall file an action for enforcement of the order in the United States 
district court for a district in which the reprisal was found to have oc-
curred. In an action brought under this paragraph, the court may 
grant appropriate relief, including injunctive relief and compensatory 
and exemplary damages. 
(3) REVIEW OF ENFORCEMENT ORDER.—A person adversely affected 
or aggrieved by an order issued under paragraph (1) may obtain review 
of the order’s conformance with this subsection, and regulations issued 
to carry out this section, in the United States court of appeals for a 
circuit in which the reprisal is alleged in the order to have occurred. 
A petition seeking review must be filed no more than 60 days after the 
head of the agency issues the order. Review shall conform to chapter 
7 of title 5. 
(e) SCOPE OF SECTION.—This section does not— 
(1) authorize the discharge of, demotion of, or discrimination against 
an employee for a disclosure other than a disclosure protected by sub-
section (b); or 
(2) modify or derogate from a right or remedy otherwise available 
to the employee. 
§ 4706. Examination of facilities and records of contractor 
(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘records’’ includes books, doc-
uments, accounting procedures and practices, and other data, regardless of 
type and regardless of whether the items are in written form, in the form 
of computer data, or in any other form. 
(b) AGENCY AUTHORITY.— 
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134 
(1) INSPECTION OF PLANT AND AUDIT OF RECORDS.—The head of 
an executive agency, acting through an authorized representative, may 
inspect the plant and audit the records of— 
(A) a contractor performing a cost-reimbursement, incentive, 
time-and-materials, labor-hour, or price-redeterminable contract, 
or any combination of those contracts, the executive agency makes 
under this division; and 
(B) a subcontractor performing a cost-reimbursement, incentive, 
time-and-materials, 
labor-hour, 
or 
price-redeterminable 
sub-
contract, or any combination of those subcontracts, under a con-
tract referred to in subparagraph (A). 
(2) EXAMINATION OF RECORDS.—The head of an executive agency, 
acting through an authorized representative, may, for the purpose of 
evaluating the accuracy, completeness, and currency of certified cost or 
pricing data required to be submitted pursuant to chapter 35 of this 
title with respect to a contract or subcontract, examine all records of 
the contractor or subcontractor related to— 
(A) the proposal for the contract or subcontract; 
(B) the discussions conducted on the proposal; 
(C) pricing of the contract or subcontract; or 
(D) performance of the contract or subcontract. 
(c) SUBPOENA POWER.— 
(1) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE THE PRODUCTION OF RECORDS.—The 
Inspector General of an executive agency appointed under section 3 or 
8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 App. U.S.C.) or, on re-
quest of the head of an executive agency, the Director of the Defense 
Contract Audit Agency (or any successor agency) of the Department 
of Defense or the Inspector General of the General Services Adminis-
tration may require by subpoena the production of records of a con-
tractor, access to which is provided for that executive agency by sub-
section (b). 
(2) ENFORCEMENT OF SUBPOENA.—A subpoena under paragraph 
(1), in the case of contumacy or refusal to obey, is enforceable by order 
of an appropriate United States district court. 
(3) AUTHORITY NOT DELEGABLE.—The authority provided by para-
graph (1) may not be delegated. 
(4) REPORT.—In the year following a year in which authority pro-
vided in paragraph (1) is exercised for an executive agency, the head 
of the executive agency shall submit to the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 
on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives 
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