§2464. Core logistics capabilities

(a) Necessity for Core Logistics Capabilities.-(1) It is essential for the national defense that the Department of Defense maintain a core logistics capability that is Government-owned and Government-operated (including Government personnel and Government-owned and Government-operated equipment and facilities) to ensure a ready and controlled source of technical competence and resources necessary to ensure effective and timely response to a mobilization, national defense contingency situations, and other emergency requirements.

(2) The Secretary of Defense shall identify the core logistics capabilities described in paragraph (1) and the workload required to maintain those capabilities.

(3) The core logistics capabilities identified under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall include those capabilities that are necessary to maintain and repair the weapon systems and other military equipment (including mission-essential weapon systems or materiel not later than four years after achieving initial operational capability, but excluding systems and equipment under special access programs, nuclear aircraft carriers, and commercial items described in paragraph (5)) that are identified by the Secretary, in consultation with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as necessary to enable the armed forces to fulfill the strategic and contingency plans prepared by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under section 153(a) of this title.

(4) The Secretary of Defense shall require the performance of core logistics workloads necessary to maintain the core logistics capabilities identified under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) at Government-owned, Government-operated facilities of the Department of Defense (including Government-owned, Government-operated facilities of a military department) and shall assign such facilities sufficient workload to ensure cost efficiency and technical competence in peacetime while preserving the surge capacity and reconstitution capabilities necessary to support fully the strategic and contingency plans referred to in paragraph (3).

(5) The commercial items covered by paragraph (3) are commercial items that have been sold or leased in substantial quantities to the general public and are purchased without modification in the same form that they are sold in the commercial marketplace, or with minor modifications to meet Federal Government requirements.

(b) Limitation on Contracting.-(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), performance of workload needed to maintain a logistics capability identified by the Secretary under subsection (a)(2) may not be contracted for performance by non-Government personnel under the procedures and requirements of Office of Management and Budget Circular A–76 or any successor administrative regulation or policy (hereinafter in this section referred to as OMB Circular A–76).

(2) The Secretary of Defense may waive paragraph (1) in the case of any such logistics capability and provide that performance of the workload needed to maintain that capability shall be considered for conversion to contractor performance in accordance with OMB Circular A–76. Any such waiver shall be made under regulations prescribed by the Secretary and shall be based on a determination by the Secretary that Government performance of the workload is no longer required for national defense reasons. Such regulations shall include criteria for determining whether Government performance of any such workload is no longer required for national defense reasons.

(3)(A) A waiver under paragraph (2) may not take effect until the expiration of the first period of 30 days of continuous session of Congress that begins on or after the date on which the Secretary submits a report on the waiver to the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

(B) For the purposes of subparagraph (A)-

(i) continuity of session is broken only by an adjournment of Congress sine die; and

(ii) the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than three days to a day certain are excluded in the computation of any period of time in which Congress is in continuous session.

(c) Notification of Determinations Regarding Certain Commercial Items.-The first time that a weapon system or other item of military equipment described in subsection (a)(3) is determined to be a commercial item for the purposes of the exception contained in that subsection, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a notification of the determination, together with the justification for the determination. The justification for the determination shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(1) The estimated percentage of commonality of parts of the version of the item that is sold or leased in the commercial marketplace and the Government's version of the item.

(2) The value of any unique support and test equipment and tools that are necessary to support the military requirements if the item were maintained by the Government.

(3) A comparison of the estimated life cycle logistics support costs that would be incurred by the Government if the item were maintained by the private sector with the estimated life cycle logistics support costs that would be incurred by the Government if the item were maintained by the Government.

(Added Pub. L. 100–370, §2(a)(1), July 19, 1988, 102 Stat. 853 ; amended Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title XVI, §1622(c)(7), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1604 ; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title III, §314, Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 251 ; Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title III, §356(a), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1694 ; Pub. L. 105–261, div. A, title III, §343(a), Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 1976 ; Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title X, §1067(1), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 774 .)

Historical and Revision Notes

Section is based on Pub. L. 98–525, title III, §307, Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2514 , as amended by Pub. L. 99–145, title XII, §1231(f), Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 733 .

Amendments

1999-Subsec. (b)(3)(A). Pub. L. 106–65 substituted "and the Committee on Armed Services" for "and the Committee on National Security".

1998-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 105–261 added subsec. (c).

1997-Pub. L. 105–85 substituted "capabilities" for "functions" in section catchline and amended text generally. Prior to amendment, text related to necessity for core logistics capabilities and restricted contracting out of certain logistics activities and functions of the Department of Defense to non-Government personnel.

1996-Subsec. (b)(3), (4). Pub. L. 104–106 added par. (3) and struck out former pars. (3) and (4) which read as follows:

"(3) A waiver under paragraph (2) may not take effect until-

"(A) the Secretary submits a report on the waiver to the Committees on Armed Services and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and House of Representatives; and

"(B) a period of 20 days of continuous session of Congress or 40 calendar days has passed after the receipt of the report by those committees.

"(4) For purposes of paragraph (3)(B), the continuity of a session of Congress is broken only by an adjournment sine die, and the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than three days to a day certain are excluded in the computation of such 20-day period."

1989-Subsec. (b)(3)(A). Pub. L. 101–189 substituted "Committees on Appropriations" for "Committee on Appropriations".

Effective Date of 1998 Amendment

Pub. L. 105–261, div. A, title III, §343(b), Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 1976 , provided that: "Subsection (c) of section 2464 of title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), shall apply with respect to determinations made after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 17, 1998]."

Conditions on Expansion of Functions Performed Under Prime Vendor Contracts for Depot-Level Maintenance and Repair

Pub. L. 105–261, div. A, title III, §346, Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 1979 , as amended by Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title III, §336, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 568 , provided that:

"(a) Conditions on Expanded Use.-The Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of a military department, as the case may be, may not enter into a prime vendor contract for depot-level maintenance and repair of a weapon system or other military equipment described in section 2464(a)(3) of title 10, United States Code, before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the Secretary submits to Congress a report, specific to the proposed contract, that-

"(1) describes the competitive procedures to be used to award the prime vendor contract;

"(2) contains an analysis of costs and benefits that demonstrates that use of the prime vendor contract will result in savings to the Government over the life of the contract;

"(3) contains an analysis of the extent to which the contract conforms to the requirements of section 2466 of title 10, United States Code; and

"(4) describes the measures taken to ensure that the contract does not violate the core logistics policies, requirements, and restrictions set forth in section 2464 of that title.

"(b) Definitions.-In this section:

"(1) The term 'prime vendor contract' means an innovative contract that gives a defense contractor the responsibility to manage, store, and distribute inventory, manage and provide services, or manage and perform research, on behalf of the Department of Defense on a frequent, regular basis, for users within the Department on request. The term includes contracts commonly referred to as prime vendor support contracts, flexible sustainment contracts, and direct vendor delivery contracts.

"(2) The term 'depot-level maintenance and repair' has the meaning given such term in section 2460 of title 10, United States Code.

"(c) Relationship to Other Laws.-Nothing in this section shall be construed to exempt a prime vendor contract from the requirements of section 2461 of title 10, United States Code, or any other provision of chapter 146 of such title."

Policy Regarding Performance of Depot-Level Maintenance and Repair for Department of Defense

Section 311 of Pub. L. 104–106, as amended by Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title III, §363, Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1702 , provided that:

"(a) Findings.-Congress makes the following findings:

"(1) The Department of Defense does not have a comprehensive policy regarding the performance of depot-level maintenance and repair of military equipment.

"(2) The absence of such a policy has caused the Congress to establish guidelines for the performance of such functions.

"(3) It is essential to the national security of the United States that the Department of Defense maintain an organic capability within the department, including skilled personnel, technical competencies, equipment, and facilities, to perform depot-level maintenance and repair of military equipment in order to ensure that the Armed Forces of the United States are able to meet training, operational, mobilization, and emergency requirements without impediment.

"(4) The organic capability of the Department of Defense to perform depot-level maintenance and repair of military equipment must satisfy known and anticipated core maintenance and repair requirements across the full range of peacetime and wartime scenarios.

"(5) Although it is possible that savings can be achieved by contracting with private-sector sources for the performance of some work currently performed by Department of Defense depots, the Department of Defense has not determined the type or amount of work that should be performed under contract with private-sector sources nor the relative costs and benefits of contracting for the performance of such work by those sources.

"(b) Sense of Congress.-It is the sense of Congress that there is a compelling need for the Department of Defense to articulate known and anticipated core maintenance and repair requirements, to organize the resources of the Department of Defense to meet those requirements economically and efficiently, and to determine what work should be performed by the private sector and how such work should be managed.

"(c) Requirement for Policy.-Not later than March 31, 1996, the Secretary of Defense shall develop and report to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives [now Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives] a comprehensive policy on the performance of depot-level maintenance and repair for the Department of Defense that maintains the capability described in section 2464 of title 10, United States Code.

"(d) Content of Policy.-In developing the policy, the Secretary of Defense shall do each of the following:

"(1) Identify for each military department, with the concurrence of the Secretary of that military department, those depot-level maintenance and repair activities that are necessary to ensure the depot-level maintenance and repair capability as required by section 2464 of title 10, United States Code.

"(2) Provide for performance of core depot-level maintenance and repair capabilities in facilities owned and operated by the United States.

"(3) Provide for the core capabilities to include sufficient skilled personnel, equipment, and facilities that-

"(A) is of the proper size (i) to ensure a ready and controlled source of technical competence and repair and maintenance capability necessary to meet the requirements of the National Military Strategy and other requirements for responding to mobilizations and military contingencies, and (ii) to provide for rapid augmentation in time of emergency; and

"(B) is assigned sufficient workload to ensure cost efficiency and technical proficiency in time of peace.

"(4) Address environmental liability.

"(5) In the case of depot-level maintenance and repair workloads in excess of the workload required to be performed by Department of Defense depots, provide for competition for those workloads between public and private entities when there is sufficient potential for realizing cost savings based on adequate private-sector competition and technical capabilities.

"(6) Address issues concerning exchange of technical data between the Federal Government and the private sector.

"(7) Provide for, in the Secretary's discretion and after consultation with the Secretaries of the military departments, the transfer from one military department to another, in accordance with merit-based selection processes, workload that supports the core depot-level maintenance and repair capabilities in facilities owned and operated by the United States.

"(8) Require that, in any competition for a workload (whether among private-sector sources or between depot-level activities of the Department of Defense and private-sector sources), bids are evaluated under a methodology that ensures that appropriate costs to the Government and the private sector are identified.

"(9) Provide for the performance of maintenance and repair for any new weapons systems defined as core, under section 2464 of title 10, United States Code, in facilities owned and operated by the United States.

"(e) Considerations.-In developing the policy, the Secretary shall take into consideration the following matters:

"(1) The national security interests of the United States.

"(2) The capabilities of the public depots and the capabilities of businesses in the private sector to perform the maintenance and repair work required by the Department of Defense.

"(3) Any applicable recommendations of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission that are required to be implemented under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 [part A of title XXIX of div. B of Pub. L. 101–510, set out as a note under section 2687 of this title].

"(4) The extent to which the readiness of the Armed Forces would be affected by a necessity to construct new facilities to accommodate any redistribution of depot-level maintenance and repair workloads that is made in accordance with the recommendation of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, that such workloads be consolidated at Department of Defense depots or private-sector facilities.

"(5) Analyses of costs and benefits of alternatives, including a comparative analysis of-

"(A) the costs and benefits, including any readiness implications, of any proposed policy to convert to contractor performance of depot-level maintenance and repair workloads where the workload is being performed by Department of Defense personnel; and

"(B) the costs and benefits, including any readiness implications, of a policy to transfer depot-level maintenance and repair workloads among depots.

"[(f), (g) Repealed. Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title III, §363, Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1702 .]

"(h) Review by General Accounting Office.-(1) The Secretary shall make available to the Comptroller General of the United States all information used by the Department of Defense in developing the policy under subsections (c) through (e) of this section.

"(2) Not later than 45 days after the date on which the Secretary submits to Congress the report required by subsection (c), the Comptroller General shall transmit to Congress a report containing a detailed analysis of the Secretary's proposed policy as reported under such subsection.

"(i) Report on Depot-Level Maintenance and Repair Workload.-Not later than March 31, 1996, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on the depot-level maintenance and repair workload of the Department of Defense. The report shall, to the maximum extent practicable, include the following:

"(1) An analysis of the need for and effect of the requirement under section 2466 of title 10, United States Code, that no more than 40 percent of the depot-level maintenance and repair work of the Department of Defense be contracted for performance by non-Government personnel, including a description of the effect on military readiness and the national security resulting from that requirement and a description of any specific difficulties experienced by the Department of Defense as a result of that requirement.

"(2) An analysis of the distribution during the five fiscal years ending with fiscal year 1995 of the depot-level maintenance and repair workload of the Department of Defense between depot-level activities of the Department of Defense and non-Government personnel, measured by direct labor hours and by amounts expended, and displayed, for that five-year period and for each year of that period, so as to show (for each military department (and separately for the Navy and Marine Corps)) such distribution.

"(3) A projection of the distribution during the five fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 1997 of the depot-level maintenance and repair workload of the Department of Defense between depot-level activities of the Department of Defense and non-Government personnel, measured by direct labor hours and by amounts expended, and displayed, for that five-year period and for each year of that period, so as to show (for each military department (and separately for the Navy and Marine Corps)) such distribution that would be accomplished under a new policy as required under subsection (c).

"(j) Other Review by General Accounting Office.-(1) The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an independent audit of the findings of the Secretary of Defense in the report under subsection (i). The Secretary of Defense shall provide to the Comptroller General for such purpose all information used by the Secretary in preparing such report.

"(2) Not later than 45 days after the date on which the Secretary of Defense submits to Congress the report required under subsection (i), the Comptroller General shall transmit to Congress a report containing a detailed analysis of the report submitted under that subsection."

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 2469a of this title.