(1) increase the use of full and open competition in the procurement of property or services by the executive agency by establishing policies, procedures, and practices that assure that the executive agency receives a sufficient number of sealed bids or competitive proposals from responsible sources to fulfill the Government's requirements (including performance and delivery schedules) at the lowest reasonable cost considering the nature of the property or service procured;

(2) establish clear lines of authority, accountability, and responsibility for procurement decisionmaking within the executive agency, including placing the procurement function at a sufficiently high level in the executive agency to provide

(A) direct access to the head of the major organizational element of the executive agency served; and

(B) comparative equality with organizational counterparts;

(3) designate a senior procurement executive who shall be responsible for management direction of the procurement system of the executive agency, including implementation of the unique procurement policies, regulations, and standards of the executive agency; and

(4) develop and maintain a procurement career management program in the executive agency to assure an adequate professional work force.

[SEC. 17. Repealed.]

SEC. 18. [41 U.S.C. 416] PROCUREMENT NOTICE.

(a)(1) Except as provided in subsection (c)— (A) an executive agency intending to

(i) solicit bids or proposals for a contract for property or services for a price expected to exceed $25,000; or

(ii) place an order, expected to exceed $25,000, under a basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or similar arrangement,

shall furnish for publication by the Secretary of Commerce a notice of solicitation described in subsection (b);

(B) an executive agency intending to solicit bids or proposals for a contract for property or services shall post, for a period of not less than ten days, in a public place at the contracting office issuing the solicitation a notice of solicitation described in subsection (f)-—

(i) in the case of an executive agency other than the Department of Defense, if a contract is for a price expected to exceed $10,000, but not to exceed $25,000; and

(ii) in the case of the Department of Defense, if the contract is for a price expected to exceed $5,000, but not to exceed $25,000; and

(C) an executive agency awarding a contract for property or services for a price exceeding $25,000, or placing an order referred to in clause (A)(ii) exceeding $25,000, shall furnish for publication by the Secretary of Commerce a notice announcing the award or order if there is likely to be any subcontract under such contract or order.

(2) The Secretary of Commerce shall publish promptly in the Commerce Business Daily each notice required by paragraph (1). (3) Whenever an executive agency is required by paragraph (1)(A) to furnish a notice to the Secretary of Commerce, such executive agency may not

(A) issue the solicitation earlier than 15 days after the date on which the notice is published by the Secretary of Commerce; or

(B) in the case of a contract or order expected to be greater than the simplified acquisition threshold, establish a deadline for the submission of all bids or proposals in response to the notice required by paragraph (1)(A) that—

(i) in the case of an order under a basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or similar arrangement, is earlier than the date 30 days after the date the notice required by paragraph (1)(A)(ii) is published;

(ii) in the case of a solicitation for research and development, is earlier than the date 45 days after the date the notice required by paragraph (1)(A)(i) is published; or

(iii) in any other case, is earlier than the date 30 days after the date the solicitation is issued.

(4) An executive agency intending to solicit offers for a contract for which a notice of solicitation is required to be posted under paragraph (1)(B) shall ensure that contracting officers consider each responsive offer timely received from an offeror.

(5) Ân executive agency shall establish a deadline for the submission of all bids or proposals in response to a solicitation with respect to which no such deadline is provided by statute. Each deadline for the submission of offers shall afford potential offerors a reasonable opportunity to respond.

(6) The Administrator shall prescribe regulations defining limited circumstances in which flexible deadlines can be used under paragraph (3) for the submission of bids or proposals for the procurement of commercial items.

(b) Each notice of solicitation required by subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(1) shall include

(1) an accurate description of the property or services to be contracted for, which description (A) shall not be unnecessarily restrictive of competition, and (B) shall include, as appropriate, the agency nomenclature, National Stock Number or other part number, and a brief description of the item's form, fit, or function, physical dimensions, predominant material of manufacture, or similar information that will assist a prospective contractor to make an informed business judgment as to whether a copy of the solicitation should be requested;

(2) provisions that

(A) state whether the technical data required to respond to the solicitation will not be furnished as part of such solicitation, and identify the source in the Government, if any, from which the technical data may be obtained; and

(B) state whether an offeror, its product, or service must meet a qualification requirement in order to be eligi

ble for award, and if so, identify the office from which the qualification requirement may be obtained;

(3) the name, business address, and telephone number of the contracting officer;

(4) a statement that all responsible sources may submit a bid, proposal, or quotation (as appropriate) which shall be considered by the agency;

(5) in the case of a procurement using procedures other than competitive procedures, a statement of the reason justifying the use of such procedures and the identity of the intended

source;

(6) in the case of a contract in an amount estimated to be greater than $25,000 but not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold

(A) a description of the procedures to be used in awarding the contract; and

(B) a statement specifying the periods for prospective offerors and the contracting officer to take the necessary preaward and award actions.

(c)(1) A notice is not required under subsection (a)(1) if—

(A) the proposed procurement is for an amount not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold and is to be made through a system with interim FACNET capability certified pursuant to section 30A(a)(1) or with full FACNET capability certified pursuant to section 30A(a)(2);

(B)(i) the proposed procurement is for an amount not greater than $250,000 and is to be made through a system with full FACNET capability certified pursuant to section 30A(a)(2); and

(ii) a certification has been made pursuant to section 30A(b) that Government-wide FACNET capability has been implemented;

(C) the notice would disclose the executive agency's needs and the disclosure of such needs would compromise the national security;

(D) the proposed procurement would result from acceptance of

(i) any unsolicited proposal that demonstrates a unique and innovative research concept and the publication of any notice of such unsolicited research proposal would disclose the originality of thought or innovativeness of the proposal or would disclose proprietary information associated with the proposal; or

(ii) a proposal submitted under section 9 of the Small Business Act;

(E) the procurement is made against an order placed under a requirements contract;

(F) the procurement is made for perishable subsistence supplies;

(G) the procurement is for utility services, other than telecommunication services, and only one source is available; or

(H) the procurement is for the services of an expert for use in any litigation or dispute (including any reasonably foreseeable litigation or dispute) involving the Federal Government in

any trial, hearing, or proceeding before any court, administrative tribunal, or agency, or in any part of an alternative dispute resolution process, whether or not the expert is expected to testify.

(2) The requirements of subsection (a)(1)(A) do not apply to any procurement under conditions described in paragraph (2), (3), (4), (5), or (7) of section 303(c) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253(c)) or paragraph (2), (3), (4), (5), or (7) of section 2304(c) of title 10, United States Code.

(3) The requirements of subsection (a)(1)(A) shall not apply in the case of any procurement for which the head of the executive agency makes a determination in writing, after consultation with the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, that it is not appropriate or reasonable to publish a notice before issuing a solicitation.

(d) An executive agency shall make available to any business concern, or the authorized representative of such concern, the complete solicitation package for any on-going procurement announced pursuant to a notice of solicitation under subsection (a). An executive agency may require the payment of a fee, not exceeding the actual cost of duplication, for a copy of such package.

SEC. 19. [41 U.S.C. 417] RECORD REQUIREMENTS.11

(a) Each executive agency shall establish and maintain for a period of five years a computer file, by fiscal year, containing unclassified records of all procurements greater than the simplified acquisition threshold in such fiscal year.

(b) The record established under subsection (a) shall include(1) with respect to each procurement carried out using competitive procedures

(A) the date of contract award;

(B) information identifying the source to whom the contract was awarded;

(C) the property or services obtained by the Government under the procurement; and

(D) the total cost of the procurement;

11 Section 502 of the Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988 (P.L. 100–533; 102 Stat. 2697; 41 U.S.C. 417a) provides:

SEC. 502. PROCUREMENT DATA.

(a) REPORTING.—Each Federal agency shall report to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy the number of small businesses owned and controlled by women and the number of small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged businesses, by gender, that are first time recipients of contracts from such agency. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy shall take such actions as may be appropriate to ascertain for each fiscal year the number of such small businesses that have newly entered the Federal market.

(b) DEFINITIONS.-For purposes of this section the terms "small business concern owned and controlled by women" and "small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals" shall be given the same meaning as those terms are given under section 8(d) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)) and section 204 of this Act. Section 204 of that Act (102 Stat. 2692; 15 U.S.C. 637 note) provides:

SEC. 204. DEFINITION.

For the purposes of this title, the term "small business concern owned and controlled by women" means any small business concern

(1) that is at least 51 per centum owned by one or more women; and

(2) whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more of such women.

(2) with respect to each procurement carried out using procedures other than competitive procedures

(A) the information described in clauses (1)(A), (1)(B), (1)(C), and (1)(D);

(B) the reason under section 303(c) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253(c)) or section 2304(c) of title 10, United States Code, as the case may be, for the use of such procedures; and

(C) the identity of the organization or activity which conducted the procurement.

(c) The information that is included in such record pursuant to subsection (b)(1) and relates to procurements resulting in the submission of a bid or proposal by only one responsible source shall be separately categorized from the information relating to other procurements included in such record. The record of such information shall be designated "noncompetitive procurements using competitive procedures."

(d) The information included in the record established and maintained under subsection (a) shall be transmitted to the General Services Administration and shall be entered in the Federal Procurement Data System referred to in section 6(d)(4).

SEC. 20. [41 U.S.C. 418] ADVOCATES FOR COMPETITION.

(a)(1) There is established in each executive agency an advocate for competition.

(2) The head of each executive agency shall

(A) designate for the executive agency and for each procuring activity of the executive agency one officer or employee serving in a position authorized for such executive agency on the date of enactment of the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (other than the senior procurement executive designated pursuant to section 16(3)) to serve as the advocate for competition;

(B) not assign such officers or employees any duties or responsibilities that are inconsistent with the duties and responsibilities of the advocates for competition; and

(C) provide such officers or employees with such staff or assistance as may be necessary to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the advocate for competition, such as persons who are specialists in engineering, technical operations, contract administration, financial management, supply management, and utilization of small and disadvantaged business con

cerns.

(b) The advocate for competition of an executive agency shall(1) be responsible for challenging barriers to and promoting full and open competition in the procurement of property and services by the executive agency;

cy;

(2) review the procurement activities of the executive agen

(3) identify and report to the senior procurement executive of the executive agency designated pursuant to section 16(3)—

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