PERMANENT AUTHORITY FOR DEFENSE ACQUISITION CHALLENGE PROGRAM; PILOT EXPANSION OF PROGRAM.

SEC. 827. PERMANENT AUTHORITY FOR DEFENSE ACQUISITION CHALLENGE PROGRAM; PILOT EXPANSION OF PROGRAM.(a) Permanent Authority.—Section 2359b of title 10, United States Code, is amended—(1) by striking subsections (j) and (k); and(2) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection (j).(b) Pilot Program.—Section 2359b of title 10, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection (k):“(k) Pilot Program for Programs Other Than Major Defense Acquisition Programs.—“(1) In general.—The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics shall carry out a pilot program to expand the use of the authority provided in this section to provide opportunities for the introduction of innovative and cost-saving approaches to programs other than major defense acquisition programs through the submission, review, and implementation, where appropriate, of qualifying proposals.“(2) Qualifying proposals.—For purposes of this subsection, a qualifying proposal is an offer to supply a nondevelopmental item that—“(A) is evaluated as achieving a level of performance that is at least equal to the level of performance of an item being procured under a covered acquisition program and as providing savings in excess of 15 percent after considering all costs to the Government of implementing such proposal; or“(B) is evaluated as achieving a level of performance that is significantly better than the level of performance of an item being procured under a covered acquisition program without any increase in cost to the Government.124 STAT. 4271“(3) Review procedures.—The Under Secretary shall adopt modifications as may be needed to the procedures applicable to the Challenge Program to provide for Department of Defense review of, and action on, qualifying proposals. Such procedures shall include, at a minimum, the issuance of a broad agency announcement inviting interested parties to submit qualifying proposals in areas of interest to the Department.“(4) Definitions.—In this subsection:“(A) Nondevelopmental item.—The term ‘nondevelopmental item’ has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403).“(B) Covered acquisition program.—The term ‘covered acquisition program’ means any acquisition program of the Department of Defense other than a major defense acquisition program, but does not include any contract awarded under an exception to competitive acquisition authorized by the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.)“(C) Level of performance.—The term ‘level of performance’, with respect to a nondevelopmental item, means the extent to which the item demonstrates required item functional characteristics.“(5) Sunset.—The authority to carry out the pilot program under this subsection shall terminate on the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this Act.”.