ARMY AL&T
Defense Acquisition Regulations Council Corner Ann Budd
On May 22, 2009, the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act (WSARA) of 2009 was signed into law. Two sections of this act—Section 202, Acquisition Strategies to Ensure Competition Throughout the Lifecycle of Major Defense Acquisition Programs, and Section 207, Organizational Conflicts of Interest in Major Defense Acquisition Programs—required the initiation of two Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) cases.
DFARS Case 2009-D014 was initiated to implement Section 202 of the WSARA. This section directed the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) to ensure that the acquisition strategy for each major defense acquisition program (MDAP) included measures to ensure competition at both the prime contract and subcontract levels of the program throughout its life cycle, as a means to improve contractor performance; and adequate docu- mentation of the rationale for selecting the subcontractor tier or tiers. It also outlined the measures to ensure such competi- tion. Furthermore, it required the SECDEF to take specific actions to ensure fair and objective “make-buy” decisions by prime contractors on MDAPs. Whenever a decision regard- ing the source of repair results in a plan to award a contract for performance of maintenance and sustainment of a major weapon system, actions are also required that will ensure that the resulting contract is awarded on a competitive basis with full consideration of all sources.
An interim rule was prepared with a request for comments. It outlined a new DFARS Subpart 207.106, Additional require- ments for major systems. The rule was published in the Federal Register (FR) on Feb. 24, 2010, with public comments requested by April 26, 2010. Since no public comments were received, the Defense Acquisition Regulations (DAR) Council approved conversion of the interim rule to a final rule without change. The final rule was published Sept. 8, 2010.
The second DFARS case, 2009-D015, was initiated to imple- ment Section 207 of the WSARA. It required revisions to the DFARS to “provide uniform guidance and [tighten] existing requirements for organizational conflicts of interest by con- tractors in major defense acquisition programs.” The statute specified the minimum requirements to be incorporated into the regulation and required that the case developers consult with the DOD Panel on Contracting Integrity to ensure that its recommendations were considered during the case develop- ment. The panel’s recommendations were due to the SECDEF within 90 days after the enactment of the WSARA.
In addition, review and consideration were required of the find- ings and recommendations of the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, pursuant to Section 841(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, Review of Federal Acquisition Regulation Relating to Conflicts of Interest.
This case was published in the FR on April 22, 2010, with a request for comments by June 21, 2010. Following receipt of a request from the Aerospace Industries Association to extend the deadline, the date was extended by 30 days. As of late sum- mer 2010, comments were being compiled for submission to the appropriate DFARS committee to address. After the DAR Council reviews and analyzes the committee case report and the recommendations proposed therein, the council will determine whether the issuance of a final rule is appropriate.
The rules that result from both of the above cases will be pub- lished in the FR at a future date. To keep abreast of the two DFARS cases included in this article, go to
http://www.gpo
access.gov/fr/index.html and browse the table of contents daily. The two DFARS rules will be published under the DAR system.
Ann Budd is assigned to the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Procurement by the U.S. Army Contracting Command. She is a DAR Council member. Budd holds a B.S. in business administration from Mary Washington College, an M.B.A. from Strayer University, and an M.S. in national resource strategy from National Defense University. Budd is certified Level III in contracting and Level II in program management, and is a U.S. Army Acquisition Corps member.
AbilityOne Base Supply Center Forges Win-Win Relationship with Fort Detrick Partners
Jack Meikrantz
On June 4, 2009, AbilityOne opened its 136th Base Supply Center (BSC) to serve the Fort Detrick, MD, community. One year later, nearly 20 of the installation’s 40-plus “mission partners” are regular customers. “Mission partners” are a specific group of primarily large, on-post organizations and customers that sup- port the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) mission. The AbilityOne store also serves many other Fort Detrick tenants, such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the National Cancer Institute; they are customers, but not mission partners.
OCTOBER –DECEMBER 2010 64
CONTRA C T ING COMMUNI T Y H IGHLIGHTS
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