(E) a listing of the sources, if any, that expressed in writing an interest in the procurement; and

(F) a statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome a barrier to competition before a subsequent procurement for such needs.

(4) The justification required by paragraph (1)(A) and any related information shall be made available for inspection by the public consistent with the provisions of section 552 of title 5, United States Code.

(5) In no case may an executive agency

(A) enter into a contract for property or services using procedures other than competitive procedures on the basis of the lack of advance planning or concerns related to the amount of funds available to the agency for procurement functions; or

(B) procure property or services from another executive agency unless such other executive agency complies fully with the requirements of this title in its procurement of such property or services.

The restriction set out in clause (B) is in addition to, and not in lieu of any other restriction provided by law.

(g)(1) In order to promote efficiency and economy in contracting and to avoid unnecessary burdens for agencies and contractors, the Federal Acquisition Regulation shall provide for special simplified procedures for purchases of property and services for amounts not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold.

(2)(A) The Administrator of General Services shall prescribe regulations that provide special simplified procedures for acquisitions of leasehold interests in real property at rental rates that do not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold.

(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the rental rate or rates under a multiyear lease do not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold if the average annual amount of the rent payable for the period of the lease does not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold.

(3) A proposed purchase or contract for an amount above the simplified acquisition threshold may not be divided into several purchases or contracts for lesser amounts in order to use the simplified procedures required by paragraph (1).

(4) In using the simplified procedures, an executive agency shall promote competition to the maximum extent practicable.

(h)(1) It is the policy of Congress that an executive agency should not be required by legislation to award a new contract to a specific non-Federal Government entity. It is further the policy of Congress that any program, project, or technology identified in legislation be procured through merit-based selection procedures.

(2) A provision of law may not be construed as requiring a new contract to be awarded to a specified non-Federal Government entity unless that provision of law

(A) specifically refers to this subsection;

(B) specifically identifies the particular non-Federal Government entity involved; and

(C) specifically states that the award to that entity is required by such provision of law in contravention of the policy set forth in paragraph (1).

(3) For purposes of this subsection, a contract is a new contract unless the work provided for in the contract is a continuation of the work performed by the specified entity under a preceding contract. (4) This subsection shall not apply with respect to any contract that calls upon the National Academy of Sciences to investigate, examine, or experiment upon any subject of science or art of significance to an executive agency and to report on such matters to the Congress or any agency of the Federal Government.

SEC. 303A. [41 U.S.C. 253a] PLANNING AND SOLICITATION REQUIREMENTS.

(a)(1) In preparing for the procurement of property or services, an executive agency shall

(A) specify its needs and solicit bids or proposals in a manner designed to achieve full and open competition for the procurement;

(B) use advance procurement planning and market research; and

(C) develop specifications in such manner as is necessary to obtain full and open competition with due regard to the nature of the property or services to be acquired.

(2) Each solicitation under this title shall include specifications which

(A) consistent with the provisions of this title, permit full and open competition;

(B) include restrictive provisions or conditions only to the extent necessary to satisfy the needs of the executive agency or as authorized by law.

(3) For the purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2), the type of specification included in a solicitation shall depend on the nature of the needs of the executive agency and the market available to satisfy such needs. Subject to such needs, specifications may be stated in terms of

(A) function, so that a variety of products or services may qualify;

(B) performance, including specifications of the range of acceptable characteristics or of the minimum acceptable standards; or

(C) design requirements.

(b) In addition to the specifications described in subsection (a), each solicitation for sealed bids or competitive proposals (other than for a purchase for an amount not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold) shall at a minimum include

(1) a statement of

(A) all significant factors and significant subfactors which the executive agency reasonably expects to consider in evaluating sealed bids (including price) or competitive proposals (including cost or price, cost-related or price-related factors and subfactors, and noncost-related or nonprice-related factors and subfactors); and

(B) the relative importance assigned to each of those factors and subfactors; and

(2)(A) in the case of sealed bids

(i) a statement that sealed bids will be evaluated without discussions with the bidders; and

(ii) the time and place for the opening of the sealed bids; or

(B) in the case of competitive proposals

(i) either a statement that the proposals are intended to be evaluated with, and award made after, discussions with the offerors, or a statement that the proposals are intended to be evaluated, and award made, without discussions with the offerors (other than discussions conducted for the purpose of minor clarification) unless discussions are determined to be necessary; and

(ii) the time and place for submission of proposals. (c)(1) In prescribing the evaluation factors to be included in each solicitation for competitive proposals, an executive agency(A) shall clearly establish the relative importance assigned to the evaluation factors and subfactors, including the quality of the product or services to be provided (including technical capability, management capability, prior experience, and past performance of the offeror);

(B) shall include cost or price to the Federal Government as an evaluation factor that must be considered in the evaluation of proposals; and

(C) shall disclose to offerors whether all evaluation factors other than cost or price, when combined, are

(i) significantly more important than cost or price;

(ii) approximately equal in importance to cost or price;

or

(iii) significantly less important than cost or price. (2) The regulations implementing subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) may not define the terms "significantly more important" and "significantly less important" as specific numeric weights that would be applied uniformly to all solicitations or a class of solicitations.

(d) Nothing in this section prohibits an executive agency from

(1) providing additional information in a solicitation, including numeric weights for all evaluation factors and subfactors on a case-by-case basis; or

(2) stating in a solicitation that award will be made to the offeror that meets the solicitation's mandatory requirements at the lowest cost or price.

(e) An executive agency, in issuing a solicitation for a contract to be awarded using sealed bid procedures, may not include in such solicitation a clause providing for the evaluation of prices for options to purchase additional property or services under the contract unless the executive agency has determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the options will be exercised.

SEC. 303B. [41 U.S.C. 253b] EVALUATION AND AWARD.

(a) An executive agency shall evaluate sealed bids and competitive proposals, and award a contract, based solely on the factors specified in the solicitation.

(b) All sealed bids or competitive proposals received in response to a solicitation may be rejected if the agency head determines that such action is in the public interest.

(c) Sealed bids shall be opened publicly at the time and place stated in the solicitation. The executive agency shall evaluate the bids in accordance with subsection (a) without discussions with the bidders and, except as provided in subsection (b), shall award a contract with reasonable promptness to the responsible source whose bid conforms to the solicitation and is most advantageous to the United States, considering only price and the other price-related factors included in the solicitation. The award of a contract shall be made by transmitting, in writing or by electronic means, notice of the award to the successful bidder. Within 3 days after the date of contract award, the executive agency shall notify, in writing or by electronic means, each bidder not awarded the contract that the contract has been awarded.

(d)(1) An executive agency shall evaluate competitive proposals in accordance with subsection (a) and may award a contract

(A) after discussions with the offerors, provided that written or oral discussions have been conducted with all responsible offerors who submit proposals within the competitive range; or

(B) based on the proposals received and without discussions with the offerors (other than discussions conducted for the purpose of minor clarification), if, as required by section 303A(b)(2)(B)(i), the solicitation included a statement that proposals are intended to be evaluated, and award made, without discussions, unless discussions are determined to be necessary. (2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), the executive agency shall award a contract with reasonable promptness to the responsible source whose proposal is most advantageous to the United States, considering only cost or price and the other factors included in the solicitation. The executive agency shall award the contract by transmitting, in writing or by electronic means, notice of the award to such source and, within 3 days after the date of contract award, shall notify, in writing or by electronic means, all other offerors of the rejection of their proposals.

(e)(1) When a contract is awarded by the head of an executive agency on the basis of competitive proposals, an unsuccessful offeror, upon written request received by the agency within 3 days after the date on which the unsuccessful offeror receives the notification of the contract award, shall be debriefed and furnished the basis for the selection decision and contract award. The executive agency shall debrief the offeror within, to the maximum extent practicable, 5 days after receipt of the request by the executive agency.

(2) The debriefing shall include, at a minimum

(A) the executive agency's evaluation of the significant weak or deficient factors in the offeror's offer;

(B) the overall evaluated cost and technical rating of the offer of the contractor awarded the contract and the overall evaluated cost and technical rating of the offer of the debriefed offeror;

(C) the overall ranking of all offers;

(D) a summary of the rationale for the award;

(E) in the case of a proposal that includes a commercial item that is an end item under the contract, the make and

model of the item being provided in accordance with the offer of the contractor awarded the contract; and

(F) reasonable responses to relevant questions posed by the debriefed offeror as to whether source selection procedures set forth in the solicitation, applicable regulations, and other applicable authorities were followed by the executive agency. (3) The debriefing may not include point-by-point comparisons of the debriefed offeror's offer with other offers and may not disclose any information that is exempt from disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code.

(4) Each solicitation for competitive proposals shall include a statement that information described in paragraph (2) may be disclosed in post-award debriefings.

(5) If, within one year after the date of the contract award and as a result of a successful procurement protest, the executive agency seeks to fulfill the requirement under the protested contract either on the basis of a new solicitation of offers or on the basis of new best and final offers requested for that contract, the head of such executive agency shall make available to all offerors

(A) the information provided in debriefings under this subsection regarding the offer of the contractor awarded the contract; and

(B) the same information that would have been provided to the original offerors.

(6) The contracting officer shall include a summary of the debriefing in the contract file.

(f) If the agency head considers that a bid or proposal evidences a violation of the antitrust laws, such agency head shall refer the bid or proposal to the Attorney General for appropriate

action.

(g)(1)(A) In preparing a solicitation for the award of a development contract for a major system, the head of an agency shall consider requiring in the solicitation that an offeror include in its offer proposals described in subparagraph (B). In determining whether to require such proposals, the head of the agency shall give due consideration to the purposes for which the system is being procured and the technology necessary to meet the system's required capabilities. If such proposals are required, the head of the agency shall consider them in evaluating the offeror's price.

(B) The proposals that the head of an agency is to consider requiring in a solicitation for the award of a development contract are the following:

(i) Proposals to incorporate in the design of the major system items which are currently available within the supply system of the Federal agency responsible for the major system, available elsewhere in the national supply system, or commercially available from more than one source.

(ii) With respect to items that are likely to be required in substantial quantities during the system's service life, proposals to incorporate in the design of the major system items which the United States will be able to acquire competitively in the future.

(2)(A) In preparing a solicitation for the award of a production contract for a major system, the head of an agency shall consider