Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 98 Part 1.djvu/1240

 98 STAT. 1192

10 USC 2304 note.

PUBLIC LAW 98-369—JULY 18, 1984

"(2) All sealed bids or competitive proposals received in response to a solicitation may be rejected if the head of the agency determines that such action is in the public interest. "(3) Sealed bids shall be opened publicly at the time and place stated in the solicitation. The head of the agency shall evaluate the bids without discussions with the bidders and, except as provided in paragraph (2), shall award a contract with reasonable promptness to the responsible bidder whose bid conforms to the solicitation and is most advantageous to the United States, considering only price and the other price-related factors included in the solicitation. The award of a contract shall be made by transmitting written notice of the award to the successful bidder. "(4)(A) The head of an agency shall evaluate competitive proposals and may award a contract— "(i) after discussions conducted with the offerors at any time after receipt of the proposals and before the award of the contract; or "(ii) without discussions with the offerors (other than discussions conducted for the purpose of minor clarification) when it can be clearly demonstrated from the existence of full and open competition or accurate prior cost experience with the product or service that acceptance of an initial proposal without discussions would result in the lowest overall cost to the United States. "(B) In the case of award of a contract under subparagraph (A)(i), the head of the agency shall conduct, before such award, written or oral discussions with all responsible sources who submit proposals within the competitive range, considering only price and the other factors included in the solicitation. "(C) In the case of award of a contract under subparagraph (A)(ii), the head of the agency shall award the contract based on the proposals received (and as clarified, if necessary, in discussions conducted for the purpose of minor clarification). "(D) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the head of the agency shall award a contract with reasonable promptness to the responsible source whose proposal is most advantageous to the United States, considering only price and the other factors included in the solicitation. The head of the agency shall award the contract by transmitting written notice of the award to such source and shall promptly notify all other offerors of the rejection of their proposals. "(5) If the head of an agency considers that a bid or proposal evidences a violation of the antitrust laws, he shall refer the bid or proposal to the Attorney General for appropriate action.". (c) The amendments made by this section do not supersede or affect the provisions of section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)). COST OR PRICING DATA; CONFORMING AMENDMENTS

SEC. 2724. (a) The second sentence of subsection (a) of section 2306 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: "Subject to the limitation in the preceding sentence, the other provisions of this section, and other applicable provisions of law, the head of an agency, in awarding contracts under this chapter after using procedures other than sealed-bid procedures, may enter into any kind of contract that he considers will promote the best interests of the United States".

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