REIMBURSEMENT OF INDIRECT COSTS OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION UNDER DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CONTRACTS.

SEC. 841. REIMBURSEMENT OF INDIRECT COSTS OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION UNDER DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CONTRACTS. (a) Prohibition.—The Secretary of Defense may not by regulation place a limitation on the amount that the Department of Defense may reimburse an institution of higher education for allowable indirect costs incurred by the institution for work performed for the Department of Defense under a Department of Defense contract unless that same limitation is applied uniformly to all other organizations performing similar work for the Department of Defense under Department of Defense contracts. (b) Waiver.—The Secretary of Defense may waive the application of the prohibition in subsection (a) in the case of a particular institution of higher education if the governing body of the institution requests the waiver in order to simplify the overall management by that institution of cost reimbursements by the Department of Defense for contracts awarded by the Department to the institution. (c) Definitions.—In this section: (1) The term “allowable indirect costs” means costs that are generally considered allowable as indirect costs under regulations that establish the cost reimbursement principles applicable to an institution of higher education for purposes of Department of Defense contracts. (2) The term “institution of higher education” has the meaning given such term in section 1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a)).