a contract, task order, delivery order, or blanket 
purchase agreement; and 
‘‘(B) funding is provided through a fran-
chise fund, the Acquisition Services Fund in 
section 321 of this title, sections 1535 and 
1536 of title 31, or other available methods. 
‘‘(2) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘executive 
agency’ has the meaning provided that term by sec-
tion 133 of title 41. 
‘‘(3) 
RELEVANT
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘relevant congressional commit-
tees’ has the meaning provided that term by section 
11501 of this title. 
‘‘(h) REVISION OF FAR.—The Federal Acquisition 
Regulation shall be amended to implement this section.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 115 of title 40, United States 
Code, as amended by section 401, is further amended by 
adding at the end the following new item: 
‘‘11502. Assisted Acquisition Centers of Excellence.’’. 
Subtitle B—Strengthening IT 
Acquisition Workforce 
SEC. 411. EXPANSION OF TRAINING AND USE OF INFORMA-
TION TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CADRES. 
(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en-
sure timely progress by Federal agencies toward devel-
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oping, strengthening, and deploying personnel with highly 
specialized skills in information technology acquisition, in-
cluding program and project managers, to be known as 
information technology acquisition cadres. 
(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Section 1704 of title 
41, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection: 
‘‘(j) STRATEGIC PLAN
ON INFORMATION TECH-
NOLOGY ACQUISITION CADRES.— 
‘‘(1) FIVE-YEAR
STRATEGIC
PLAN
TO
CON-
GRESS.—Not later than June 1 following the date of 
the enactment of this subsection, the Director shall 
submit to the relevant congressional committees a 5- 
year strategic plan (to be known as the ‘IT Acquisi-
tion Cadres Strategic Plan’) to develop, strengthen, 
and solidify information technology acquisition cad-
res. The plan shall include a timeline for implemen-
tation of the plan and identification of individuals 
responsible for specific elements of the plan during 
the 5-year period covered by the plan. 
‘‘(2) MATTERS COVERED.—The plan shall ad-
dress, at a minimum, the following matters: 
‘‘(A) Current information technology ac-
quisition staffing challenges in Federal agen-
cies, by previous year’s information technology 
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acquisition value, and by the Federal Govern-
ment as a whole. 
‘‘(B) The variety and complexity of infor-
mation technology acquisitions conducted by 
each Federal agency covered by the plan, and 
the specialized information technology acquisi-
tion workforce needed to effectively carry out 
such acquisitions. 
‘‘(C) The development of a sustainable 
funding model to support efforts to hire, retain, 
and train an information technology acquisition 
cadre of appropriate size and skill to effectively 
carry out the acquisition programs of the Fed-
eral agencies covered by the plan, including an 
examination of interagency funding methods 
and a discussion of how the model of the De-
fense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund 
could be applied to civilian agencies. 
‘‘(D) Any strategic human capital planning 
necessary to hire, retain, and train an informa-
tion acquisition cadre of appropriate size and 
skill at each Federal agency covered by the 
plan. 
‘‘(E) Governmentwide training standards 
and certification requirements necessary to en-
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hance the mobility and career opportunities of 
the Federal information technology acquisition 
cadre within the Federal agencies covered by 
the plan. 
‘‘(F) New and innovative approaches to 
workforce development and training, including 
cross-functional training, rotational develop-
ment, and assignments both within and outside 
the Government. 
‘‘(G) Appropriate consideration and align-
ment with the needs and priorities of the Infra-
structure and Common Application Collabora-
tion Center, Assisted Acquisition Centers of Ex-
cellence, and acquisition intern programs. 
‘‘(H) Assessment of the current workforce 
competency and usage trends in evaluation 
technique to obtain best value, including proper 
handling of tradeoffs between price and 
nonprice factors. 
‘‘(I) Assessment of the current workforce 
competency in designing and aligning perform-
ance goals, life cycle costs, and contract incen-
tives. 
‘‘(J) Assessment of the current workforce 
competency in avoiding brand-name preference 
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and using industry-neutral functional specifica-
tions to leverage open industry standards and 
competition. 
‘‘(K) Use of integrated program teams, in-
cluding fully dedicated program managers, for 
each complex information technology invest-
ment. 
‘‘(L) Proper assignment of recognition or 
accountability to the members of an integrated 
program team for both individual functional 
goals and overall program success or failure. 
‘‘(M) The development of a technology fel-
lows program that includes provisions for re-
cruiting, for rotation of assignments, and for 
partnering directly with universities with well- 
recognized information technology programs. 
‘‘(N) The capability to properly manage 
other transaction authority (where such author-
ity is granted), including ensuring that the use 
of the authority is warranted due to unique 
technical challenges, rapid adoption of innova-
tive or emerging commercial or noncommercial 
technologies, or other circumstances that can-
not readily be satisfied using a contract, grant, 
or cooperative agreement in accordance with ap-
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plicable law and the Federal Acquisition Regu-
lation. 
‘‘(O) Any other matters the Director con-
siders appropriate. 
‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than June 1 
in each of the 5 years following the year of submis-
sion of the plan required by paragraph (1), the Di-
rector shall submit to the relevant congressional 
committees an annual report outlining the progress 
made pursuant to the plan. 
‘‘(4) GOVERNMENT
ACCOUNTABILITY
OFFICE 
REVIEW OF THE PLAN AND ANNUAL REPORT.— 
‘‘(A) Not later than 1 year after the sub-
mission of the plan required by paragraph (1), 
the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall review the plan and submit to the relevant 
congressional committees a report on the re-
view. 
‘‘(B) Not later than 6 months after the 
submission of the first, third, and fifth annual 
report required under paragraph (3), the Comp-
troller General shall independently assess the 
findings of the annual report and brief the rel-
evant congressional committees on the Comp-
troller General’s findings and recommendations 
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SEC. 413. PERSONNEL AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE 
ACQUISITION 
OF 
INFORMATION 
SYSTEMS 
AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Of-
fice of Personnel Management shall develop policy and 
guidance for agencies to develop a program to recognize 
excellent performance by Federal Government employees 
and teams of such employees in the acquisition of informa-
tion systems and information technology for the agency. 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The program referred to in sub-
section (a) shall, to the extent practicable— 
(1) obtain objective outcome measures; and 
(2) include procedures for— 
(A) the nomination of Federal Government 
employees and teams of such employees for eli-
gibility for recognition under the program; and 
(B) the evaluation of nominations for rec-
ognition under the program by 1 or more agen-
cy panels of individuals from Government, aca-
demia, and the private sector who have such ex-
pertise, and are appointed in such a manner, as 
the Director of the Office of Personal Manage-
ment shall establish for purposes of the pro-
gram. 
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(c) AWARD OF CASH BONUSES AND OTHER INCEN-
TIVES.—In carrying out the program referred to in sub-
section (a), the Director of the Office of Personnel Man-
agement, in consultation with the Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget, shall establish policies and 
guidance for agencies to reward any Federal Government 
employee or teams of such employees recognized pursuant 
to the program— 
(1) with a cash bonus, to the extent that the 
performance of such individual or team warrants the 
award of such bonus and is authorized by any provi-
sion of law; 
(2) through promotions and other nonmonetary 
awards; 
(3) by publicizing— 
(A) acquisition accomplishments by indi-
vidual employees; and 
(B) the tangible end benefits that resulted 
from such accomplishments, as appropriate; 
and 
(4) through other awards, incentives, or bo-
nuses that the head of the agency considers appro-
priate. 
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TITLE V—ADDITIONAL REFORMS 
SEC. 501. MAXIMIZING THE BENEFIT OF THE FEDERAL 
STRATEGIC SOURCING INITIATIVE. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Administrator for Federal Procure-
ment Policy shall prescribe regulations providing that 
when the Federal Government makes a purchase of serv-
ices and supplies offered under the Federal Strategic 
Sourcing Initiative (managed by the Office of Federal Pro-
curement Policy) but such Initiative is not used, the con-
tract file for the purchase shall include a brief analysis 
of the comparative value, including price and nonprice fac-
tors, between the services and supplies offered under such 
Initiative and services and supplies offered under the 
source or sources used for the purchase. 
SEC. 502. PROMOTING TRANSPARENCY OF BLANKET PUR-
CHASE AGREEMENTS. 
(a) PRICE INFORMATION TO BE TREATED AS PUB-
LIC INFORMATION.—The final negotiated price offered by 
an awardee of a blanket purchase agreement shall be 
treated as public information. 
(b) PUBLICATION OF BLANKET PURCHASE AGREE-
MENT INFORMATION.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 
General Services shall make available to the public a list 
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of all blanket purchase agreements entered into by Federal 
agencies under its Federal Supply Schedules contracts and 
the prices associated with those blanket purchase agree-
ments. The list and price information shall be updated at 
least once every 6 months. 
SEC. 503. ADDITIONAL SOURCE SELECTION TECHNIQUE IN 
SOLICITATIONS. 
Section 3306(d) of title 41, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 
(1); 
(2) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘; or’’ 
at the end of paragraph (2); and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(3) stating in the solicitation that the award 
will be made using a fixed price technical competi-
tion, under which all offerors compete solely on 
nonprice factors and the fixed award price is pre-an-
nounced in the solicitation.’’. 
SEC. 504. ENHANCED TRANSPARENCY IN INFORMATION 
TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS. 
(a) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION ABOUT 
IT INVESTMENTS.—Section 11302(c) of title 40, United 
States Code, is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-
graph (3); and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing new paragraph (2): 
‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Director shall 
make available to the public the cost, schedule, 
and performance data for at least 80 percent 
(by dollar value) of all information technology 
investments Governmentwide, and 60 percent 
(by dollar value) of all information technology 
investments in each Federal agency listed in 
section 901(b) of title 31. The Director shall 
ensure that the information is current, accu-
rate, and reflects the risks associated with each 
covered information technology investment. 
‘‘(B) WAIVER
OR
LIMITATION
AUTHOR-
ITY.—The applicability of subparagraph (A) 
may be waived or the extent of the information 
may be limited— 
‘‘(i) by the Director, with respect to 
IT investments Governmentwide; and 
‘‘(ii) by the Chief Information Officer 
of a Federal agency, with respect to IT in-
vestments in that agency; 
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if the Director or the Chief Information Officer, 
as the case may be, determines that such a 
waiver or limitation is in the national security 
interests of the United States.’’. 
(b) ADDITIONAL REPORT REQUIREMENTS.—Para-
graph (3) of section 11302(c) of such title, as redesignated 
by subsection (a), is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘The report shall include an analysis of agency 
trends reflected in the performance risk information re-
quired in paragraph (2).’’. 
SEC. 505. ENHANCED COMMUNICATION BETWEEN GOVERN-
MENT AND INDUSTRY. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory 
Council shall prescribe a regulation making clear that 
agency acquisition personnel are permitted and encour-
aged to engage in responsible and constructive exchanges 
with industry, so long as those exchanges are consistent 
with existing law and regulation and do not promote an 
unfair competitive advantage to particular firms. 
SEC. 506. CLARIFICATION OF CURRENT LAW WITH RE-
SPECT TO OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE. 
(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es-
tablish guidance and processes to clarify that open source 
software is a valid procurement option that shall receive 
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full consideration alongside other options, in merit-based 
requirements development and evaluation processes that 
promote procurement choices based on performance and 
value, and free of preconceived preferences based on how 
technology is developed, licensed, or distributed within the 
Federal Government. 
(b) TECHNOLOGY NEUTRALITY.—Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to modify the Federal Govern-
ment’s long-standing policy of following technology-neu-
tral principles and practices when selecting and acquiring 
information technology that best fits the needs of the Fed-
eral Government. 
(c) 
STANDARDS
AND
GUIDELINES.—Section 
11302(d) of title 40, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following: ‘‘The standards and 
guidelines shall include those necessary to enable effective 
adoption of open source software.’’. 
(d) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Director, in con-
sultation with the Chief Information Officers Council, 
shall issue guidance for the use and collaborative develop-
ment of open source software within the Federal Govern-
ment. 
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(e) MATTERS COVERED.—In issuing guidance under 
subsection (c), the Director shall include, at a minimum, 
the following: 
(1) Guidance to clarify that the preference for 
commercial items in section 3307 of title 41, United 
States Code, includes all open source software that 
meets the definition of the term ‘‘commercial item’’ 
in section 103 of title 41, United States Code, in-
cluding all such software that is used for non-Gov-
ernment purposes and is licensed to the public. 
(2) Guidance regarding the conduct of market 
research to ensure the inclusion of open source soft-
ware. 
(3) Guidance to establish a program to educate 
the acquisition workforce by providing information 
to identify and counter misconceptions about open 
source software and to keep such information up-
dated. 
(4) Guidance to define Governmentwide stand-
ards for security, redistribution, indemnity, and 
copyright in the acquisition, use, release, and col-
laborative development of open source software. 
(5) Guidance for the adoption of available com-
mercial practices to acquire open source software for 
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widespread Government use, including issues such as 
security and redistribution rights. 
(6) Guidance to establish standard service level 
agreements for maintenance and support for open 
source software products widely adopted by the Gov-
ernment, as well as the development of Government-
wide agreements that contain standard and widely 
applicable contract provisions for ongoing mainte-
nance and development of open source software. 
(7) Guidance on the role and use of the Federal 
Infrastructure and Common Application Collabora-
tion Center, established pursuant to section 11501 
of title 40, United States Code (as added by section 
401), for acquisition of open source software. 
(f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 
after the issuance of the guidance required by subsection 
(b), the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
submit to the relevant congressional committees a report 
containing— 
(1) an assessment of the effectiveness of the 
guidance; 
(2) an identification of barriers to widespread 
use by the Federal Government of open source soft-
ware; and 
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(3) such legislative recommendations as the 
Comptroller General considers appropriate to further 
the purposes of this section. 
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Union Calendar No. 267 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 1232 
[Report No. 113–359] 
A BILL 
To amend titles 40, 41, and 44, United States 
Code, to eliminate duplication and waste in infor-
mation technology acquisition and management. 
FEBRUARY 25, 2014 
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
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