10 U.S.C. § 2410n (ARMED FORCES)
§ 2410n. Products of Federal Prison Industries: procedural requirements
(a) Products for Which Federal Prison Industries Does Not Have Significant Market Share.—
(1) Before purchasing a product listed in the latest edition of the Federal Prison Industries catalog under section 4124(d) of title 18 for which Federal Prison Industries does not have a significant market share, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct market research to determine whether the product is comparable to products available from the private sector that best meet the needs of the Department in terms of price, quality, and time of delivery.
(2) If the Secretary determines that a Federal Prison Industries product described in paragraph (1) is not comparable in price, quality, or time of delivery to products of the private sector that best meets the needs of the Department in terms of price, quality, and time of delivery, the Secretary shall use competitive procedures for the procurement of the product, or shall make an individual purchase under a multiple award contract in accordance with the competition requirements applicable to such contract. In conducting such a competition, the Secretary shall consider a timely offer from Federal Prison Industries.
(b) Products for Which Federal Prison Industries Has Significant Market Share.—
(1) The Secretary of Defense may purchase a product listed in the latest edition of the Federal Prison Industries catalog for which Federal Prison Industries has a significant market share only if the Secretary uses competitive procedures for the procurement of the product or makes an individual purchase under a multiple award contract in accordance with the competition requirements applicable to such contract. In conducting such a competition, the Secretary shall consider a timely offer from Federal Prison Industries.
(2) For purposes of this subsection, Federal Prison Industries shall be treated as having a significant share of the market for a product if the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of Federal Procurement Policy, determines that the Federal Prison Industries share of the Department of Defense market for the category of products including such product is greater than 5 percent.
(c) Implementation by Secretary of Defense.—
The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that—
(1) the Department of Defense does not purchase a Federal Prison Industries product or service unless a contracting officer of the Department determines that the product or service is comparable to products or services available from the private sector that best meet the Department’s needs in terms of price, quality, and time of delivery; and
(2) Federal Prison Industries performs its contractual obligations to the same extent as any other contractor for the Department of Defense.
(d) Market Research Determination Not Subject to Review.—
A determination by a contracting officer regarding whether a product or service offered by Federal Prison Industries is comparable to products or services available from the private sector that best meet the Department’s needs in terms of price, quality, and time of delivery shall not be subject to review pursuant to section 4124(b) of title 18.
(e) Performance as a Subcontractor.—
(1) A contractor or potential contractor of the Department of Defense may not be required to use Federal Prison Industries as a subcontractor or supplier of products or provider of services for the performance of a Department of Defense contract by any means, including means such as—
(A) a contract solicitation provision requiring a contractor to offer to make use of products or services of Federal Prison Industries in the performance of the contract;
(B) a contract specification requiring the contractor to use specific products or services (or classes of products or services) offered by Federal Prison Industries in the performance of the contract; or
(C) any contract modification directing the use of products or services of Federal Prison Industries in the performance of the contract.
(2) In this subsection, the term “contractor”, with respect to a contract, includes a subcontractor at any tier under the contract.
(f) Protection of Classified and Sensitive Information.—
The Secretary of Defense may not enter into any contract with Federal Prison Industries under which an inmate worker would have access to—
(1) any data that is classified;
(2) any geographic data regarding the location of—
(A) surface and subsurface infrastructure providing communications or water or electrical power distribution;
(B) pipelines for the distribution of natural gas, bulk petroleum products, or other commodities; or
(C) other utilities; or
(3) any personal or financial information about any individual private citizen, including information relating to such person’s real property however described, without the prior consent of the individual.
(g) Definitions.—
In this section:
(1) The term “competitive procedures” has the meaning given such term in section 2302(2) of this title.
(2) The term “market research” means obtaining specific information about the price, quality, and time of delivery of products available in the private sector through a variety of means, which may include—
(A) contacting knowledgeable individuals in government and industry;
(B) interactive communication among industry, acquisition personnel, and customers; and
(C) interchange meetings or pre-solicitation conferences with potential offerors.
(Added Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title VIII, § 811(a)(1), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1180; amended Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title VIII, § 819(a)(1), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2612; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title X, § 1056(c)(4), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3439; Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title VIII, § 827(a)(1), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 228.)
heading: Transfer of Section
text: Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, §§ 1801(d), 1838(b), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4151, 4242, provided that, effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed implementation and applicability of existing law, this section is transferred to chapter 285 of this title, as added by section 1838(a) of Pub. L. 116–283, inserted after the table of sections, and redesignated as section 3905 of this title. See Effective Date of 2021 Amendment note below.
heading: Amendments
text: 2008—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 110–181 added subsecs. (a) and (b) and struck out former subsecs. (a) and (b) which read as follows:
“(a) Market Research.—Before purchasing a product listed in the latest edition of the Federal Prison Industries catalog under section 4124(d) of title 18, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct market research to determine whether the Federal Prison Industries product is comparable to products available from the private sector that best meet the Department’s needs in terms of price, quality, and time of delivery.
“(b) Competition Requirement.—If the Secretary determines that a Federal Prison Industries product is not comparable in price, quality, or time of delivery to products available from the private sector that best meet the Department’s needs in terms of price, quality, and time of delivery, the Secretary shall use competitive procedures for the procurement of the product or shall make an individual purchase under a multiple award contract. In conducting such a competition or making such a purchase, the Secretary shall consider a timely offer from Federal Prison Industries.”
2006—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 109–163 substituted “competition” for “compeititon” in text.
2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–314, § 819(a)(1)(A), substituted “Market Research” for “Market Research Before Purchase” in heading and “comparable to products available from the private sector that best meet the Department’s needs in terms of price, quality, and time of delivery” for “comparable in price, quality, and time of delivery to products available from the private sector”.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107–314, § 819(a)(1)(B), added subsec. (b) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (b). Text read as follows: “If the Secretary determines that a Federal Prison Industries product is not comparable in price, quality, and time of delivery to products available from the private sector, the Secretary shall use competitive procedures for the procurement of the product. In conducting such a competition, the Secretary shall consider a timely offer from Federal Prison Industries for award in accordance with the specifications and evaluation factors specified in the solicitation.”
Subsec. (c) to (g). Pub. L. 107–314, § 819(a)(1)(C), added subsecs. (c) to (g).
heading: Effective Date of 2021 Amendment
text: 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 a note preceding section 3001 of this title.
heading: Effective Date of 2008 Amendment
text: Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title VIII, § 827(a)(2), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 228, as amended by Pub. L. 111–383, div. A, title X, § 1075(f)(4), Jan. 7, 2011, 124 Stat. 4376, provided that: “The amendment made by paragraph (1) [amending this section] shall take effect 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 28, 2008].”
heading: Effective Date of 2002 Amendment
text: Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title VIII, § 819(a)(2), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2613, provided that: “Paragraph (1) [amending this section] and the amendments made by such paragraph shall take effect as of October 1, 2001.”
heading: Effective Date
text: Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title VIII, § 811(b), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1181, provided that: “Section 2410n of title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), shall apply to purchases initiated on or after October 1, 2001.”
heading: Regulatory Implementation
text: Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title VIII, § 819(b), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2613, provided that:
“(1) Proposed revisions to the Department of Defense Supplement to the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement this section shall be published not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 2, 2002], and not less than 60 days shall be provided for public comment on the proposed revisions.
“(2) Final regulations shall be published not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall be effective on the date that is 30 days after the date of the publication.”
heading: List of Products for Which Federal Prison Industries Has Significant Market Share
text: Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title VIII, § 827(b), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 228, provided that:
“(1) Initial list.—
Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 28, 2008], the Secretary of Defense shall publish a list of product categories for which Federal Prison Industries’ share of the Department of Defense market is greater than 5 percent, based on the most recent fiscal year for which data is available.
“(2) Modification.—
The Secretary may modify the list published under paragraph (1) at any time if the Secretary determines that new data require adding a product category to the list or omitting a product category from the list.
“(3) Consultation.—
The Secretary shall carry out this subsection in consultation with the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy.”