41 U.S.C. § 3301: Full and open competition

obtain full and open competition through the use of competitive procedures in accordance with the requirements of this division and the Federal Acquisition Regulation; and use the competitive procedure or combination of competitive procedures that is best suited under the circumstances of the procurement. time permits the solicitation, submission, and evaluation of sealed bids; the award will be made on the basis of price and other price-related factors; it is not necessary to conduct discussions with the responding sources about their bids; and there is a reasonable expectation of receiving more than one sealed bid; or request competitive proposals if sealed bids are not appropriate under subparagraph (A). Paragraph (1)(A) does not require the use of sealed-bid procedures in cases in which section 204(e) 1 of title 23 applies. 1 See References in Text note below. The Federal Acquisition Regulation shall ensure that the requirement to obtain full and open competition is implemented in a manner that is consistent with the need to efficiently fulfill the Federal Government’s requirements. The head of an agency may carry out a pilot program, to be known as a ‘commercial solutions opening pilot program’, under which innovative commercial products may be acquired through a competitive selection of proposals resulting from a general solicitation and the peer review of such proposals. The Secretary of Homeland Security. The Administrator of General Services. The Department of Homeland Security. The General Services Administration. Use of general solicitation competitive procedures for the pilot program under subsection (a) shall be considered, in the case of the Department of Homeland Security and the General Services Administration, to be use of competitive procedures for purposes of division C of [subtitle I of] title 41, United States Code (as defined in section 152 of such title). The head of an agency may not enter into a contract under the pilot program for an amount in excess of $25,000,000. The head of an agency shall issue guidance for the implementation of the pilot program under this section within that agency. Such guidance shall be issued in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget and shall be posted for access by the public. Not later than three years after the date of the enactment of this Act [ Dec. 23, 2016 ], the head of an agency shall submit to the congressional committees specified in paragraph (3) a report on the activities the agency carried out under the pilot program. An assessment of the impact of the pilot program on competition. procurements made using the pilot program; and procurements made using other competitive procedures that do not use general solicitations. A recommendation on whether the authority for the pilot program should be made permanent. The congressional committees specified in this paragraph are the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] of the House of Representatives. has the meaning given the term ‘commercial item’ in section 2.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation; and includes a commercial product or a commercial service, as defined in sections 103 and 103a, respectively, of title 41, United States Code; and any new technology, process, or method, including research and development; or any new application of an existing technology, process, or method. The authority to enter into a contract under a pilot program under this section terminates on September 30, 2027 .” The Administrator of General Services shall identify and develop a strategic sourcing initiative to enhance Governmentwide acquisition, shared use, and dissemination of software, as well as compliance with end user license agreements. The Administrator, in developing the initiative under subsection (a), shall allow for the purchase of a license agreement that is available for use by all Executive agencies (as defined in section 105 of title 5 , United States Code) as one user to the maximum extent practicable and as appropriate.”