The Specialty Metal Provision and the Berry Amendment: Issues for Congress
Abstract
Congress took action in the FY2007 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 109-364) to move the specialty metal provision from the Berry Amendment (Title 10, United States Code [U.S.C.] 2533a) into a separate section of Title 10 (10 U.S.C. 2533b). Section 843 of P.L. 109-364 directed the Secretary of Defense to establish a Strategic Materials Protection Board to determine, analyze, and recommend strategies to ensure the domestic availability of materials designated as critical to national security. The Board met in July 2007 and issued a report in September 2007. In July 2008, the Department of Defense (DOD) proposed to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement Section 842 of the FY2007 National Defense Authorization Act and Sections 804 and 884 of the FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act, P.L. 110-181. The FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 110-181) contains several provisions which may impact the procurement of specialty metal. Section 803 requires the Strategic Materials Protection Board to perform an assessment of the viability of domestic producers of strategic materials; Section 804 changes the requirement that DOD procure all specialty metal from domestic sources. This provision does not apply to contracts or subcontracts for the acquisition of commercially available off-the-shelf items (with certain exceptions), as defined in the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act, Section 35(c); and Section 884 requires DOD to publish a notice on the Federal Business Opportunities website before making any nonavailability determinations that would apply to multiple contracts.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 02, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA486553
Entities
People
- Valerie B. Grasso
Organizations
- Library of Congress