10 U.S.C. § 3206 — Planning and solicitation requirements

Page 2428 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 3205 ‘‘(1) DATA TRACKING AND COLLECTION.—The Depart- ment of Defense shall track the use of the authority as modified by subsection (a) and make the data available to the Comptroller General for purposes of the report required under paragraph (2). ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than March 1, 2022, the Comptroller General of the United States shall sub- mit a report to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] on the use of the authority as modified by subsection (a) through the end of fiscal year 2021. The report shall include— ‘‘(A) a review of the financial effect of the change to the justification and approval requirement in subsection (a) on the native corporations and busi- nesses and associated native communities; ‘‘(B) a description of the nature and extent of con- tracts excluded from the justification and approval requirement by subsection (a); and ‘‘(C) other matters the Comptroller General deems appropriate.’’ § 3205. Simplified procedures for small purchases (a) AUTHORIZATION.—In order to promote effi- ciency and economy in contracting and to avoid unnecessary burdens for agencies and contrac- tors, the Federal Acquisition Regulation shall provide for— (1) special simplified procedures for pur- chases of property and services for amounts not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold; and (2) special simplified procedures for pur- chases of property and services for amounts greater than the simplified acquisition thresh- old but not greater than $5,000,000 with respect to which the contracting officer reasonably expects, based on the nature of the property or services sought and on market research, that offers will include only commercial products or commercial services. (b) PROHIBITION ON DIVIDING CONTRACTS.—A proposed purchase or contract for an amount above the simplified acquisition threshold may not be divided into several purchases or con- tracts for lesser amounts in order to use the simplified procedures required by subsection (a). (c) PROMOTION OF COMPETITION.—In using sim- plified procedures, the head of an agency shall promote competition to the maximum extent practicable. (d) COMPLIANCE WITH SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION.—The head of an agency shall comply with the Federal Ac- quisition Regulation provisions referred to in section 1901(e) of title 41. (Added and amended Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, § 1811(d)(1), (9), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4166, 4170.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION The text of subsec. (g) of section 2304 of this title, which was transferred to this section and amended by Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(d)(9), was based on Pub. L. 98–369, div. B, title VII, § 2723(a)(1)(C), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1187; Pub. L. 100–26, § 7(d)(3)(A), Apr. 21, 1987, 101 Stat. 281; Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title VIII, § 806(b), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1592; Pub. L. 102–25, title VII, § 701(d)(2)(A), Apr. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 114; Pub. L. 103–355, title I, § 1001(2), title IV, § 4401(a), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3249, 3347; Pub. L. 104–106, div. D, title XLII, § 4202(a)(1), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 652; Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title VIII, § 850(f)(3)(B), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1850; Pub. L. 111–350, § 5(b)(12)(D), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3843; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 836(c)(2), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1864. PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 3205, act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 173; Pub. L. 85–600, § 1(3), Aug. 6, 1958, 72 Stat. 522; Pub. L. 85–861, § 1(60), (65), Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1462, 1463; Pub. L. 95–551, § 2, Oct. 30, 1978, 92 Stat. 2069, pre- scribed authorized strength of Regular Army in com- missioned officers on active list, exclusive of certain categories, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 96–513, title II, § 202, title VII, § 701, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2878, 2955, ef- fective Sept. 15, 1981. AMENDMENTS 2021—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(d)(9)(A), (C), inserted heading, struck out par. (1) designation before ‘‘In order to’’, and redesignated subpars. (A) and (B) as pars. (1) and (2), respectively. Former pars. (2) to (4) re- designated subsecs. (b) to (d), respectively. Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(d)(9), redesignated subsec. (g) of section 2304 of this title as subsec. (a) of this section. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(d)(9)(B), (D), redes- ignated subsec. (a)(2) as (b), inserted heading, and sub- stituted ‘‘subsection (a)’’ for ‘‘paragraph (1)’’. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(d)(9)(B), (E), redesig- nated subsec. (a)(3) as (c) and inserted heading. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(d)(9)(B), (F), redes- ignated subsec. (a)(4) as (d) and inserted heading. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section and amendment by Pub. L. 116–283 effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed im- plementation and applicability of existing law, see sec- tion 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as an Effective Date of 2021 Amendment note preceding section 3001 of this title. § 3206. Planning and solicitation requirements (a) PLANNING AND SPECIFICATIONS.— (1) PREPARING FOR PROCUREMENT.—In pre- paring for the procurement of property or services, the head of an agency shall— (A) specify the agency’s 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 com- petition with due regard to the nature of the property or services to be acquired. (2) REQUIREMENTS OF SPECIFICATIONS.—Each solicitation under chapter 137 legacy provi- sions shall include specifications which— (A) consistent with the provisions of chap- ter 137 legacy provisions, permit full and open competition; and (B) include restrictive provisions or condi- tions only to the extent necessary to satisfy the needs of the agency or as authorized by law. (3) TYPES OF SPECIFICATIONS.—For the pur- poses of paragraphs (1) and (2), the type of specification included in a solicitation shall depend on the nature of the needs of the agen- cy and the market available to satisfy such Page 2429 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 3206 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) CONTENTS OF SOLICITATION.—In addition to the specifications described in subsection (a), a solicitation for sealed bids or competitive pro- posals (other than for a procurement for com- mercial products or commercial services using special simplified procedures or a purchase for an amount not greater than the simplified ac- quisition threshold) shall at a minimum in- clude— (1) a statement of— (A) all significant factors and significant subfactors which the head of the agency rea- sonably expects to consider in evaluating sealed bids (including price) or competitive proposals (including cost or price, cost-re- lated or price-related factors and subfactors, and noncost-related or nonprice-related fac- tors 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 bid- ders; 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 dis- cussions conducted for the purpose of minor clarification) unless discussions are deter- mined to be necessary; and (ii) the time and place for submission of proposals. (c) EVALUATION FACTORS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—In prescribing the evalua- tion factors to be included in each solicitation for competitive proposals, the head of an agen- cy— (A) shall (except as provided in paragraph (3)) clearly establish the relative importance assigned to the evaluation factors and sub- factors, including the quality of the product or services to be provided (including tech- nical capability, management capability, prior experience, and past performance of the offeror); (B) shall (except as provided in paragraph (3)) include cost or price to the Federal Gov- ernment 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) RESTRICTION ON IMPLEMENTING REGULA- TIONS.—The regulations implementing para- graph (1)(C) may not define the terms ‘‘signifi- cantly more important’’ and ‘‘significantly less important’’ as specific numeric weights that would be applied uniformly to all solici- tations or a class of solicitations. (3) EXCEPTIONS FOR CERTAIN MULTIPLE TASK OR DELIVERY ORDER CONTRACTS.—If the head of an agency issues a solicitation for multiple task or delivery order contracts under section 3403(d)(1)(B) of this title for the same or simi- lar services and intends to make a contract award to each qualifying offeror— (A) cost or price to the Federal Govern- ment need not, at the Government’s discre- tion, be considered under paragraph (1)(B) as an evaluation factor for the contract award; and (B) if, pursuant to subparagraph (A), cost or price to the Federal Government is not considered as an evaluation factor for the contract award— (i) the disclosure requirement of para- graph (1)(C) shall not apply; and (ii) cost or price to the Federal Govern- ment shall be considered in conjunction with the issuance pursuant to section 3406(c) of this title of a task or delivery order under any contract resulting from the solicitation. (4) DEFINITION.—In paragraph (3), the term ‘‘qualifying offeror’’ means an offeror that— (A) is determined to be a responsible source; (B) submits a proposal that conforms to the requirements of the solicitation; and (C) the contracting officer has no reason to believe would likely offer other than fair and reasonable pricing. (5) EXCLUSION OF APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN CONTRACTS.—Paragraph (3) shall not apply to multiple task or delivery order contracts if the solicitation provides for sole source task or delivery order contracts pursuant to section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)). (d) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN SOLICITATION.— Nothing in this section prohibits an agency from— (1) providing additional information in a so- licitation, 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 solicita- tion’s mandatory requirements at the lowest cost or price. (e) LIMITATION ON EVALUATION OF PURCHASE OPTIONS.—The head of an 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 evalua- tion of prices for options to purchase additional property or services under the contract unless Page 2430 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 3206 the head of the agency has determined that there is a reasonable likelihood that the options will be exercised. (Added and amended Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, § 1811(e), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4170; Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title XVII, § 1701(b)(4)(F), (d)(4), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2133, 2136.) CODIFICATION The text of subsec. (a) of section 2305 of this title, which was transferred to this section and amended by Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(2)–(7), was based on Pub. L. 98–369, div. B, title VII, § 2723(b), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1191; Pub. L. 99–500, § 101(c) [title X, § 924(a)], Oct. 18, 1986, 100 Stat. 1783–82, 1783–153, and Pub. L. 99–591, § 101(c) [title X, § 924(a)], Oct. 30, 1986, 100 Stat. 3341–82, 3341–153; Pub. L. 99–661, div. A, title IX, formerly title IV, § 924(a), Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3932, renumbered title IX, Pub. L. 100–26, § 3(5), Apr. 21, 1987, 101 Stat. 273; Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title VIII, § 802(a)–(c), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1588, 1589; Pub. L. 103–355, title I, § 1011, 1012, title IV, § 4401(b), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3254, 3255, 3347; Pub. L. 104–106, div. D, title XLII, § 4202(a)(2), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 653; Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title VIII, § 825(a), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2279; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 836(c)(3)(A), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1864. Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 3206, act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 173; Pub. L. 85–155, title I, § 101(4), Aug. 21, 1957, 71 Stat. 376; Pub. L. 90–130, § 1(9)(A), (B), Nov. 8, 1967, 81 Stat. 375, prescribed authorized strength of Regular Army Nurse Corps in commissioned officers on active list of Regular Army, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 96–513, title II, § 202, title VII, § 701, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2878, 2955, effective Sept. 15, 1981. AMENDMENTS 2021—Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(2), transferred subsec. (a) of section 2305 of this title to this section and redes- ignated pars. (2) to (5) thereof as subsecs. (b) to (e), re- spectively. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(3)(A), (E)(i), in- serted heading and redesignated subpars. (A) to (C) of par. (1) as pars. (1) to (3), respectively. Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(3)(E), as amended by Pub. L. 117–81, § 1701(b)(4)(F), redesignated par. (1)(A) as (1), inserted heading, redesignated cls. (i) to (iii) as subpars. (A) to (C), respectively, and re- aligned margins. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(3)(A), (B), (D), redesignated par. (1)(B) as (2), inserted heading, and re- aligned margin, redesignated cls. (i) and (ii) as subpars. (A) and (B), respectively, and substituted ‘‘chapter 137 legacy provisions’’ for ‘‘this chapter’’ in introductory provisions and in subpar. (A). Former par. (2) redesig- nated subsec. (b). Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 117–81, § 1701(d)(4), substituted ‘‘paragraphs (1) and (2)’’ for ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and (B)’’ in introductory provisions. Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(3)(A), (C), (D), as amended by Pub. L. 117–81, § 1701(b)(4)(F), redesignated par. (1)(C) as (3), inserted heading, and realigned margin and redesig- nated cls. (i) to (iii) as subpars. (A) to (C), respectively. Former par. (3) redesignated subsec. (c). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(2), (4), redesig- nated subsec. (a)(2) as (b), inserted heading, and sub- stituted ‘‘subsection (a)’’ for ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ in intro- ductory provisions, redesignated subpar. (A) and its cls. (i) and (ii) as par. (1) and subpars. (A) and (B), respec- tively, and redesignated subpar. (B), its cls. (i) and (ii), and each of their subcls. (I) and (II) as par. (2), subpars. (A) and (B), and cls. (i) and (ii), respectively. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(2), (5)(A), (B), re- designated subsec. (a)(3) as (c), inserted heading, redes- ignated subpars. (A) to (E) as pars. (1) to (5), respec- tively, and realigned margins. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(5)(A), (C), in- serted heading, substituted ‘‘paragraph (3)’’ for ‘‘sub- paragraph (C)’’ in two places, redesignated cls. (i) to (iii) as subpars. (A) to (C), respectively, and, in subpar. (C) as redesignated, redesignated subcls. (I) to (III) as cls. (i) to (iii), respectively. Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(5)(B), (D), re- designated par. (3)(B) as (2), inserted heading, and sub- stituted ‘‘paragraph (1)(C)’’ for ‘‘clause (iii) of subpara- graph (A)’’. Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(5)(B), (E), re- designated par. (3)(C) as (3), inserted heading, and sub- stituted ‘‘section 3403(d)(1)(B)’’ for ‘‘section 2304a(d)(1)(B)’’ in introductory provisions; redesignated cl. (i) as subpar. (A) and substituted ‘‘paragraph (1)(B)’’ for ‘‘clause (ii) of subparagraph (A)’’; and redesignated cl. (ii) and its subcls. (I) and (II) as subpar. (B) and cls. (i) and (ii), respectively, and substituted ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ for ‘‘clause (i)’’ in introductory provisions, ‘‘para- graph (1)(C)’’ for ‘‘clause (iii) of subparagraph (A)’’ in cl. (i), and ‘‘section 3406(c)’’ for ‘‘section 2304c(b)’’ in cl. (ii). Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(5)(B), (F), re- designated par. (3)(D) as (4), inserted heading, sub- stituted ‘‘paragraph (3)’’ for ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’ in in- troductory provisions, and redesignated cls. (i) to (iii) as subpars. (A) to (C), respectively. Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(5)(B), (G), re- designated par. (3)(E) as (5), inserted heading, and sub- stituted ‘‘Paragraph (3)’’ for ‘‘Subparagraph (C)’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(2), (6), redesig- nated subsec. (a)(4) as (d), inserted heading, substituted ‘‘this section’’ for ‘‘this subsection’’ in introductory provisions, and redesignated subpars. (A) and (B) as pars. (1) and (2), respectively. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(e)(2), (7), redesig- nated subsec. (a)(5) as (e) and inserted heading. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2021 AMENDMENT Amendment by section 1701(b)(4)(F) of Pub. L. 117–81 applicable as if included in the enactment of title XVIII of Pub. L. 116–283 as enacted, see section 1701(a)(2) of Pub. L. 117–81, set out in a note preceding section 3001 of this title and Effective Date note below. Amendment by section 1701(d)(4) of Pub. L. 117–81 to take effect immediately after the amendments made by title XVIII of Pub. L. 116–283 have taken effect, see sec- tion 1701(a)(3) of Pub. L. 117–81, set out in a note pre- ceding section 3001 of this title and Effective Date note below. EFFECTIVE DATE Section and amendment by Pub. L. 116–283 effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed im- plementation and applicability of existing law, see sec- tion 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as an Effective Date of 2021 Amendment note preceding section 3001 of this title. PILOT PROGRAM TO USE ALPHA CONTRACTING TEAMS FOR COMPLEX REQUIREMENTS Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title VIII, § 802, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1483, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Secretary of Defense shall select at least 2, and up to 5, initiatives to participate in a pilot [program] to use teams that, with the advice of expert third parties, focus on the development of complex contract technical requirements for services, with each team focusing on developing achievable tech- nical requirements that are appropriately valued and identifying the most effective acquisition strategy to achieve those requirements. ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall develop metrics for tracking progress of the program at improving quality and ac- quisition cycle time. Page 2431 TITLE 10—ARMED FORCES § 3208 ‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT OF CRITERIA AND INITIATIVES.—(1) Not later than February 1, 2020, the Secretary of De- fense shall establish the pilot program and notify the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] of the criteria used to se- lect initiatives and the metrics used to track progress. ‘‘(2) Not later than May 1, 2020, the Secretary shall notify the congressional defense committees of the ini- tiatives selected for the program. ‘‘(3) Not later than December 1, 2020, the Secretary shall brief the congressional defense committees on the progress of the selected initiatives, including the progress of the initiatives at improving quality and ac- quisition cycle time according to the metrics developed under subsection (a)(2).’’ § 3207. Assessment before contract for acquisi- tion of supplies is entered into The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that be- fore a contract for the delivery of supplies to the Department of Defense is entered into— (1) when the appropriate officials of the De- partment are making an assessment of the most advantageous source for acquisition of the supplies (considering quality, price, deliv- ery, and other factors), there is a review of the availability and cost of each item of supply— (A) through the supply system of the De- partment of Defense; and (B) under standard Government supply contracts, if the item is in a category of sup- plies defined under regulations of the Sec- retary of Defense as being potentially avail- able under a standard Government supply contract; and (2) there is a review of both the procurement history of the item and a description of the item, including, when necessary for an ade- quate description of the item, a picture, draw- ing, diagram, or other graphic representation of the item. (Added and amended Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, § 1811(f), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4173.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION The text of subsec. (c) of section 2305 of this title, which was transferred to this section and amended by Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(f)(2), was based on Pub. L. 98–525, title XII, § 1213(a), Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2591. PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 3207, act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 173; Pub. L. 85–155, title I, § 101(5), Aug. 21, 1957, 71 Stat. 376; Pub. L. 90–130, § 1(9)(C), (D), Nov. 8, 1967, 81 Stat. 375, prescribed authorized strength of Army Med- ical Specialist Corps in commissioned officers on active list of Regular Army, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 96–513, title II, § 202, title VII, § 701, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2878, 2955, effective Sept. 15, 1981. AMENDMENTS 2021—Pub. L. 116–283, § 1811(f)(2), transferred subsec. (c) of section 2305 of this title to this section and struck out subsec. (c) designation at beginning. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section and amendment by Pub. L. 116–283 effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed im- plementation and applicability of existing law, see sec- tion 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as an Effective Date of 2021 Amendment note preceding section 3001 of this title. PROCESS FOR ENHANCED SUPPLY CHAIN SCRUTINY Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title VIII, § 807, Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1456, provided that: ‘‘(a) PROCESS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 12, 2017], the Sec- retary of Defense shall establish a process for enhanc- ing scrutiny of acquisition decisions in order to im- prove the integration of supply chain risk management into the overall acquisition decision cycle. ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—The process under subsection (a) shall include the following elements: ‘‘(1) Designation of a senior official responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the process. ‘‘(2) Development or integration of tools to support commercial due-diligence, business intelligence, or otherwise analyze and monitor commercial activity to understand business relationships with entities de- termined to be threats to the United States. ‘‘(3) Development of risk profiles of products or services based on commercial due-diligence tools and data services. ‘‘(4) Development of education and training cur- ricula for the acquisition workforce that supports the process. ‘‘(5) Integration, as needed, with intelligence sources to develop threat profiles of entities deter- mined to be threats to the United States. ‘‘(6) Periodic review and assessment of software products and services on computer networks of the Department of Defense to remove prohibited products or services. ‘‘(7) Synchronization of the use of current authori- ties for making supply chain decisions, including sec- tion 806 of Public Law 111–383 (10 U.S.C. 2304 note) or improved use of suspension and debarment officials. ‘‘(8) Coordination with interagency, industrial, and international partners, as appropriate, to share infor- mation, develop Government-wide strategies for deal- ing with significant entities determined to be signifi- cant threats to the United States, and effectively use authorities in other departments and agencies to pro- vide consistent, Government-wide approaches to sup- ply chain threats. ‘‘(9) Other matters as the Secretary considers nec- essary. ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 90 days after es- tablishing the process required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide a written notification to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives that the process has been es- tablished. The notification also shall include the fol- lowing: ‘‘(1) Identification of the official designated under subsection (b)(1). ‘‘(2) Identification of tools and services currently available to the Department of Defense under sub- section (b)(2). ‘‘(3) Assessment of additional tools and services available under subsection (b)(2) that the Department of Defense should evaluate. ‘‘(4) Identification of, or recommendations for, any statutory changes needed to improve the effective- ness of the process. ‘‘(5) Projected resource needs for implementing any recommendations made by the Secretary.’’ § 3208. Planning for future competition in con- tracts for major systems (a) DEVELOPMENT CONTRACT.— (1) DETERMINING WHETHER PROPOSALS ARE NECESSARY.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that, in preparing a solicitation for the