AIR FORCE SPACE CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITY WATCH LIST.

SEC. 1612. AIR FORCE SPACE CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITY WATCH LIST.(a) In General.—The Commander of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center shall establish and maintain a watch list of contractors with a history of poor performance on space procurement contracts or research, development, test, and evaluation space program contracts.(b) Basis for Inclusion on List.—(1) Determination.—The Commander may place a contractor on the watch list established under subsection (a) upon determining that the ability of the contractor to perform a contract specified in such subsection is uncertain because of any of the following issues:(A) Poor performance or award fee scores below 50 percent.(B) Financial concerns.(C) Felony convictions or civil judgements.(D) Security or foreign ownership and control issues.(2) Discretion of the commander.—The Commander shall be responsible for determining which contractors to place on the watch list, whether an entire company or a specific division should be included, and when to remove a contractor from the list.(c) Effect of Listing.—(1) Prime contracts.—The Commander may not solicit an offer from, award a contract to, execute an engineering change proposal with, or exercise an option on any space program of the Air Force with a contractor included on the list established under subsection (a) without the prior approval of the Commander.(2) Subcontracts.—A prime contractor on a contract entered into with the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center may not enter into a subcontract valued in excess of $3,000,000 or five percent of the prime contract value, whichever is lesser, with a contractor included on the watch list established under subsection (a) without the prior approval of the Commander.(d) Request for Removal From List.—A contractor may submit to the Commander a written request for removal from the watch list, including evidence that the contractor has resolved the issue that was the basis for inclusion on the list.(e) Rule of Construction.—Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the suspension or debarment of a contractor, but inclusion on the watch list shall not be construed 131 STAT. 1730 as a punitive measure or de facto suspension or debarment of a contractor.