representative, agent, or consultant of a competing contractor any proprietary or source selection information, shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or fined in accordance with title 18, United States Code, or both.

(k) ETHICS ADVICE. (1) Regulations implementing this section shall include procedures for a procurement official or former procurement official of a Federal agency to request advice from the appropriate designated agency ethics official regarding whether such procurement official or former procurement official is or would be precluded by this section from engaging in a specified activity.

(2) A procurement official or former procurement official of an agency who requests advice from a designated agency ethics official pursuant to paragraph (1) shall provide the agency ethics official with all information reasonably available to the procurement official or former procurement official that is relevant to a determination regarding such request.

(3) Not later than 30 days after the date on which the appropriate designated agency ethics official receives a request for advice pursuant to paragraph (1) accompanied by the information required by paragraph (2), or as soon thereafter as practicable, the official shall issue a written opinion regarding whether the requesting procurement official or former procurement official is precluded by this section from engaging in the specified activity.

(1) TRAINING.-The head of each Federal agency shall establish a procurement ethics program for its procurement officials. The program shall, at a minimum

(1) provide for the distribution of written explanations of the provisions of subsections (b), (c), and (e) to such procurement officials; and

(2) require each such procurement official, as a condition of serving as a procurement official, to certify that he or she is familiar with the provisions of subsections (b), (c), and (e), and will not engage in any conduct prohibited by such subsection, and will report immediately to the contracting officer any information concerning a violation or possible violation of subsection (a), (b), (d), or (f), or applicable implementing regulations.

(m) REMEDIES NOT EXCLUSIVE.-Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the applicability of the requirements, sanctions, contract penalties, and remedies established under any other law, but no agency shall be relieved of the obligation to carry out the requirements of this section because such agency has also applied such other requirements, sanctions, contract penalties, or remedies.

(n) NO AUTHORITY TO WITHHOLD INFORMATION.-Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the withholding of any information from the Congress, any committee or subcommittee thereof, a Federal agency, any board of contract appeals of a Federal agency, the Comptroller General, or an Inspector General of a Federal agency.

(0) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS AND GUIDELINES.-(1) Government-wide regulations and guidelines appropriate to carry out this section shall be included in the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(2) Regulations implementing this section shall—

(A) define the term "thing of value" for the purposes of this section and shall include a single uniform Government-wide exclusion at a specific minimal dollar amount; and

(B) authorize the delegation of the functions assigned to designated agency ethics officials under this section.

(3) Notwithstanding sections 6 and 25 of this Act, on and after June 1, 1990, the Director of the Office of Government Ethics shall have the responsibility for issuance, modification, or termination of Government-wide regulations implementing paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a), paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b), subsections (c), (f), and (k), and paragraph (2) of this subsection. The Director shall exercise such responsibility in coordination with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council.

(p) DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section:

(1) The term "during the conduct of any Federal agency procurement of property or services" means the period beginning on the earliest specific date, as determined under implementing regulations, on which an authorized official orders or requests an action described in clauses (i)-(viii) of paragraph (3)A), and concluding with the award, modification, or extension of a contract, and includes the evaluation of bids or proposals, selection of sources, and conduct of negotiations.

(2) The term "competing contractor", with respect to any procurement (including any procurement using procedures other than competitive procedures) of property or services, means any entity that is, or is reasonably likely to become, a competitor for or recipient of a contract or subcontract under such procurement, and includes any other person acting on behalf of such an entity.

(3)(A) The term "procurement official" means, with respect to any procurement (including the modification or extension of a contract), any civilian or military official or employee of an agency who has participated personally and substantially in any of the following, as defined in implementing regulations:

(i) The drafting of a specification developed for that procurement.

(ii) The review and approval of a specification developed for that procurement.

(iii) The preparation or issuance of a procurement solicitation in that procurement.

(iv) The evaluation of bids or proposals for that procurement.

(v) The selection of sources for that procurement. (vi) The conduct of negotiations in the procurement. (vii) The review and approval of the award, modification, or extension of a contract in that procurement.

(viii) Such other specific procurement actions as may be specified in implementing regulations.

(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term "employee of an agency" includes a contractor, subcontractor, consultant, expert, or adviser (other than a competing contractor) acting on behalf of, or providing advice to, the agency with respect to any phase of the agency procurement concerned.

(4) The term "contracting officer" means any official or employee of a Federal agency who has been authorized by the agency head or his or her designee to enter into, administer, or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings.

(5) The term "Federal agency" has the meaning provided by section 3(b) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 472(b)).

(6) The term "proprietary information" means

(A) information contained in a bid or proposal;
(B) cost or pricing data; or

(C) any other information submitted to the Government by a contractor and designated as proprietary, in accordance with law or regulation, by the contractor, the head of the agency, or the contracting officer.

(7) The term "source selection information" means information determined by the head of the agency or the contracting officer to be information

(A) the disclosure of which to a competing contractor would jeopardize the integrity or successful completion of the procurement concerned; and

(B) which is required by statute, regulation, or order to be secured in a source selection file or other restricted facility to prevent such disclosure;

as further defined by regulations issued pursuant to subsection (m) of this section.

(8) The term "designated agency ethics official" has the meaning given such term by section 109(3) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).

[SEC. 28. Repealed.]

SEC. 29. [41 U.S.C. 425] NONSTANDARD CONTRACT CLAUSES.

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council shall promulgate regulations to discourage the use of a nonstandard contract clause on a repetitive basis. The regulations shall include provisions that

(1) clearly define what types of contract clauses are to be treated as nonstandard clauses; and

(2) require prior approval for the use of a nonstandard clause on a repetitive basis by an official at a level of responsibility above the contracting officer.

SEC. 30. [41 U.S.C. 426] FEDERAL ACQUISITION COMPUTER NETWORK (FACNET) ARCHITECTURE.

(a) IN GENERAL.-(1) The Administrator shall establish a program for the development and implementation of a Federal acquisition computer network architecture (hereinafter in this section referred to as "FACNET") that will be Government-wide and provide interoperability among users. The Administrator shall assign a program manager for FACNET and shall provide for overall direction of policy and leadership in the development, coordination, installation, operation, and completion of implementation of FACNET by executive agencies.

(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Administrator shall consult with the heads of appropriate Federal agencies with applicable

technical and functional expertise, including the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the General Services Administration, and the Department of Defense.

(3) Government-wide FACNET capability (as defined in section 30A(b)) shall be implemented not later than January 1, 2000. (b) FUNCTIONS OF FACNET.-The FACNET architecture shall provide for the following functions:

(1) GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS.-Allow executive agencies to do the following electronically:

(A) Provide widespread public notice of solicitations for contract opportunities issued by an executive agency.

(B) Receive responses to solicitations and associated requests for information through such system.

(C) Provide public notice of contract awards (including price) through such system.

(D) In cases in which it is practicable, receive questions regarding solicitations through such system.

(E) In cases in which it is practicable, issue orders to be made through such system.

(F) In cases in which it is practicable, make payments to contractors by bank card, electronic funds transfer, or other automated methods.

(G) Archive data relating to each procurement action made using such system.

(2) PRIVATE SECTOR USER FUNCTIONS.-Allow private sector users to do the following electronically:

(A) Access notice of solicitations for contract opportunities issued by an executive agency.

(B) Access and review solicitations issued by an executive agency.

(C) Respond to solicitations issued by the executive agency.

(D) In cases in which it is practicable, receive orders from the executive agency.

(E) Access information on contract awards (including price) made by the executive agency.

(F) In cases in which it is practicable, receive payment by bank card, electronic funds transfer, or other automated

means.

(3) GENERAL FUNCTIONS.

(A) Allow the electronic interchange of procurement information between the private sector and the Federal Government and among Federal agencies.

(B) Employ nationally and internationally recognized data formats that serve to broaden and ease the electronic interchange of data.

(C) Allow convenient and universal user access through any point of entry.

(c) NOTICE AND SOLICITATION REGULATIONS.-In connection with implementation of the architecture referred to in subsection (a), the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council shall ensure that the Federal Acquisition Regulation contains appropriate notice and solicitation provisions applicable to acquisitions conducted through

a FACNET capability. The provisions shall specify the required form and content of notices of acquisitions and the minimum periods for notifications of solicitations and for deadlines for the submission of offers under solicitations. Each minimum period specified for a notification of solicitation and each deadline for the submission of offers under a solicitation shall afford potential offerors a reasonable opportunity to respond.

(d) ARCHITECTURE DEFINED.-For purposes of this section, the term "architecture" means the conceptual framework that

(1) uses a combination of commercial hardware and commercial software to enable contractors to conduct business with the Federal Government by electronic means; and

(2) includes a description of the functions to be performed to achieve the mission of streamlining procurement through electronic commerce, the system elements and interfaces needed to perform the functions, and the designation of performance levels of those system elements.

SEC. 30A. [41 U.S.C. 426a] FEDERAL ACQUISITION COMPUTER NETWORK IMPLEMENTATION.

(a) CERTIFICATION OF FACNET CAPABILITY IN PROCURING ACTIVITIES AND AGENCIES. (1) When the senior procurement executive of an executive agency or, in the case of the Department of Defense, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology, determines that a procuring activity of the executive agency has implemented an interim FACNET capability (as defined in subsection (c)), the executive or the Under Secretary shall certify to the Administrator that such activity has implemented an interim FACNET capability.

(2) When the head of an executive agency, with the concurrence of the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, determines that the executive agency has implemented a full FACNET capability (as defined in subsection (d)), the head of the executive agency shall certify to Congress that the executive agency has implemented a full FACNET capability.

(3) The head of each executive agency shall provide for implementation of both interim FACNET capability and full FACNET capability, with priority on providing convenient and universal user access as required by section 30(b)(3)(C), in that executive agency as soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994.

(b) CERTIFICATION OF GOVERNMENT-WIDE FACNET CAPABILITY.-When the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy determines that the Federal Government is making at least 75 percent of eligible contracts in amounts greater than the micro-purchase threshold and not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold entered into by the Government during the preceding fiscal year through a system with full FACNET capability, the Administrator shall certify to Congress that the Government has implemented a Government-wide FACNET capability.

(c) IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERIM FACNET CAPABILITY.-A procuring activity shall be considered to have implemented an interim FACNET capability if

(1) with respect to each procurement expected to be in an amount greater than the micro-purchase threshold and not