10 U.S.C. § 4655 — Prohibition of contractors limiting sub-

Page 2816 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 4655 (B) in the case of a suspension, the period of time specified by all other agencies for the suspension of the offeror or contractor has ex- pired. (2) Paragraph (1) does not apply in any case in which the Secretary concerned determines that there is a compelling reason to solicit an offer from, award a contract to, extend a contract with, or approve a subcontract with such offeror or contractor. (b) Whenever the Secretary concerned makes a determination described in subsection (a)(2), he shall, at the time of the determination, trans- mit a notice to the Administrator of General Services describing the determination. The Ad- ministrator of General Services shall maintain each such notice on a publicly accessible website to the maximum extent practicable. (c) In this section: (1) The term ‘‘debar’’ means to exclude, pur- suant to established administrative proce- dures, from Government contracting and sub- contracting for a specified period of time com- mensurate with the seriousness of the failure or offense or the inadequacy of performance. (2) The term ‘‘suspend’’ means to disqualify, pursuant to established administrative proce- dures, from Government contracting and sub- contracting for a temporary period of time be- cause a concern or individual is suspected of engaging in criminal, fraudulent, or seriously improper conduct. (d) The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe in regulations a requirement that each contractor under contract with the Department of Defense shall require each contractor to whom it awards a contract (in this section referred to as a sub- contractor) to disclose to the contractor wheth- er the subcontractor is or is not, as of the time of the award of the subcontract, debarred or sus- pended by the Federal Government from Gov- ernment contracting or subcontracting. The re- quirement shall apply to any subcontractor whose subcontract is in an amount greater than the simplified acquisition threshold (as defined in section 134 of title 41). The requirement shall not apply in the case of a subcontract for the ac- quisition of commercial products or commercial services (as defined in sections 103 and 103a, re- spectively, of title 41). (Added Pub. L. 97–86, title IX, § 914(a), Dec. 1, 1981, 95 Stat. 1124, § 2393; amended Pub. L. 100–180, div. A, title XII, § 1231(17), Dec. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 1161; Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title VIII, § 813, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1596; Pub. L. 102–190, div. A, title X, § 1061(a)(11), Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1473; Pub. L. 103–355, title IV, § 4102(e), title VIII, § 8105(c), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3340, 3392; Pub. L. 111–350, § 5(b)(24), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3844; Pub. L. 113–66, div. A, title VIII, § 813, Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 808; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 836(e)(3), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1869; renum- bered § 4654, Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, § 1862(b), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4277.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 4654 was renumbered section 7654 of this title. AMENDMENTS 2021—Pub. L. 116–283 renumbered section 2393 of this title as this section. 2018—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted ‘‘com- mercial products or commercial services (as defined in sections 103 and 103a, respectively, of title 41)’’ for ‘‘commercial items (as defined in section 103 of title 41)’’. 2013—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 113–66 substituted ‘‘on a publicly accessible website to the maximum extent practicable’’ for ‘‘in a file available for public inspec- tion’’. 2011—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 111–350 substituted ‘‘section 134 of title 41)’’ for ‘‘section 4(11) of the Office of Fed- eral Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(11)))’’ and ‘‘section 103 of title 41)’’ for ‘‘section 4(12) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(12)))’’. 1994—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 103–355 substituted ‘‘greater than the simplified acquisition threshold (as defined in section 4(11) of the Office of Federal Procurement Pol- icy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(11))).’’ for ‘‘above the small pur- chase amount established in section 2304(g) of this title.’’ in second sentence and inserted at end ‘‘The re- quirement shall not apply in the case of a subcontract for the acquisition of commercial items (as defined in section 4(12) of the Office of Federal Procurement Pol- icy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(12))).’’ 1991—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 102–190 substituted ‘‘Federal Government’’ for ‘‘Federal government’’. 1990—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 101–510 added subsec. (d). 1987—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–180 inserted ‘‘The term’’ after each par. designation and revised first word in quotes in each par. to make initial letter of such word lowercase. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2021 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 116–283 effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed implementation and applicability of existing law, see section 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2018 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Jan. 1, 2020, subject to a savings provision, see section 836(h) of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as an Effective Date of 2018 Amend- ment; Savings Provision note under section 453b of Title 6, Domestic Security. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1994 AMENDMENT For effective date and applicability of amendment by Pub. L. 103–355, see section 10001 of Pub. L. 103–355, set out as a note under section 8752 of this title. § 4655. Prohibition of contractors limiting sub- contractor sales directly to the United States (a) Each contract for the purchase of supplies or services made by the Department of Defense shall provide that the contractor will not— (1) enter into any agreement with a subcon- tractor under the contract that has the effect of unreasonably restricting sales by the sub- contractor directly to the United States of any item or process (including computer soft- ware) made or furnished by the subcontractor under the contract (or any follow-on produc- tion contract); or (2) otherwise act to restrict unreasonably the ability of a subcontractor to make sales to the United States described in clause (1). (b) This section does not prohibit a contractor from asserting rights it otherwise has under law. (c) This section does not apply to a contract that is for an amount not greater than the sim- Page 2817 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 4656 plified acquisition threshold (as defined in sec- tion 134 of title 41). (d)(1) An agreement between the contractor in a contract for the acquisition of commercial products or commercial services and a subcon- tractor under such contract that restricts sales by such subcontractor directly to persons other than the contractor may not be considered to unreasonably restrict sales by that subcon- tractor to the United States in violation of the provision included in such contract pursuant to subsection (a) if the agreement does not result in the United States being treated differently with regard to the restriction than any other prospective purchaser of such commercial prod- ucts or commercial services from that subcon- tractor. (2) In paragraph (1), the terms ‘‘commercial product’’ and ‘‘commercial service’’ have the meanings given those terms in sections 103 and 103a, respectively, of title 41. (Added Pub. L. 98–525, title XII, § 1234(a), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2601, § 2402; amended Pub. L. 103–355, title IV, § 4102(f), title VIII, § 8105(g), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3340, 3392; Pub. L. 111–350, § 5(b)(25), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3844; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 836(e)(4), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1869; renumbered § 4655, Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, § 1862(b), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4277.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 4655 was renumbered section 7655 of this title. AMENDMENTS 2021—Pub. L. 116–283 renumbered section 2402 of this title as this section. 2018—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 115–232, § 836(e)(4)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘commercial products or commercial services’’ for ‘‘commercial items’’ in two places. Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 115–232, § 836(e)(4)(B), sub- stituted ‘‘the terms ‘commercial product’ and ‘commer- cial service’ have the meanings given those terms in sections 103 and 103a, respectively, of title 41.’’ for ‘‘the term ‘commercial item’ has the meaning given such term in section 103 of title 41.’’ 2011—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 111–350, § 5(b)(25)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘section 134 of title 41)’’ for ‘‘section 4(11) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(11)))’’. Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 111–350, § 5(b)(25)(B), substituted ‘‘section 103 of title 41’’ for ‘‘section 4(12) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(12))’’. 1994—Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 103–355 added subsecs. (c) and (d). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2021 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 116–283 effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed implementation and applicability of existing law, see section 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2018 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Jan. 1, 2020, subject to a savings provision, see section 836(h) of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as an Effective Date of 2018 Amend- ment; Savings Provision note under section 453b of Title 6, Domestic Security. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1994 AMENDMENT For effective date and applicability of amendment by Pub. L. 103–355, see section 10001 of Pub. L. 103–355, set out as a note under section 8752 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 98–525, title XII, § 1234(c), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2604, provided that: ‘‘Section 2402 of title 10, United States Code [now 10 U.S.C. 4655] (as added by subsection (a)), shall take effect at the end of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 19, 1984].’’ § 4656. Prohibition on persons convicted of de- fense-contract related felonies and related criminal penalty on defense contractors (a) PROHIBITION.—(1) An individual who is con- victed of fraud or any other felony arising out of a contract with the Department of Defense shall be prohibited from each of the following: (A) Working in a management or super- visory capacity on any defense contract or any first tier subcontract of a defense contract. (B) Serving on the board of directors of any defense contractor or any subcontractor awarded a contract directly by a defense con- tractor. (C) Serving as a consultant to any defense contractor or any subcontractor awarded a contract directly by a defense contractor. (D) Being involved in any other way, as de- termined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, with a defense contract or first tier subcontract of a defense contract. (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), the prohibition in paragraph (1) shall apply for a pe- riod, as determined by the Secretary of Defense, of not less than five years after the date of the conviction. (3) The prohibition in paragraph (1) may apply with respect to an individual for a period of less than five years if the Secretary determines that the five-year period should be waived in the in- terests of national security. (4) The prohibition in paragraph (1) does not apply with respect to the following: (A) A contract referred to in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of such paragraph that is not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold (as defined in section 134 of title 41). (B) A contract referred to in such subpara- graph that is for the acquisition of commer- cial products or commercial services (as de- fined in sections 103 and 103a, respectively, of title 41). (C) A subcontract referred to in such sub- paragraph that is under a contract described in subparagraph (A) or (B). (b) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—A defense contractor or subcontractor shall be subject to a criminal penalty of not more than $500,000 if such con- tractor or subcontractor is convicted of know- ingly— (1) employing a person under a prohibition under subsection (a); or (2) allowing such a person to serve on the board of directors of such contractor or sub- contractor. (c) SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR INFORMA- TION.—(1) The Attorney General shall ensure