(a) Authority.--Until September 30, 2009 and subject to
subsection (d), the Secretary may carry out a pilot program
under which the Secretary may exercise the following
authorities:
(1) In general.--When the Secretary carries out
basic, applied, and advanced research and development
projects, including the expenditure of funds for such
projects, the Secretary may exercise the same authority
(subject to the same limitations and conditions) with
respect to such research and projects as the Secretary
of Defense may exercise under section 2371 of title 10,
United States Code (except for subsections (b) and
(f)), after making a determination that the use of a
contract, grant, or cooperative agreement for such
project is not feasible or appropriate. The annual
report required under subsection (b) of this section,
as applied to the Secretary by this paragraph, shall be
submitted to the President of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(2) Prototype projects.--The Secretary may, under
the authority of paragraph (1), carry out prototype
projects in accordance with the requirements and
conditions provided for carrying out prototype projects
under section 845 of the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (Public Law 103-160). In
applying the authorities of that section 845,
subsection (c) of that section shall apply with respect
to prototype projects under this paragraph, and the
Secretary shall perform the functions of the Secretary
of Defense under subsection (d) thereof.
(b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the effective
date of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Comptroller
General shall report to the Committee on Government Reform of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Governmental
Affairs of the Senate on--
(1) whether use of the authorities described in
subsection (a) attracts nontraditional Government
contractors and results in the acquisition of needed
technologies; and
(2) if such authorities were to be made permanent,
whether additional safeguards are needed with respect
to the use of such authorities.
(c) Procurement of Temporary and Intermittent Services.--
The Secretary may--
(1) procure the temporary or intermittent services
of experts or consultants (or organizations thereof) in
accordance with section 3109(b) of title 5, United
States Code; and
(2) whenever necessary due to an urgent homeland
security need, procure temporary (not to exceed 1 year)
or intermittent personal services, including the
services of experts or consultants (or organizations
thereof), without regard to the pay limitations of such
section 3109.
(d) Additional Requirements.--
(1) In general.--The authority of the Secretary
under this section shall terminate September 30, 2009,
unless before that date the Secretary--
(A) issues policy guidance detailing the
appropriate use of that authority; and
(B) provides training to each employee that
is authorized to exercise that authority.
(2) Report.--The Secretary shall provide an annual
report to the Committees on Appropriations of the
Senate and the House of Representatives, the Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the
Senate, and the Committee on Homeland Security of the
House of Representatives detailing the projects for
which the authority granted by subsection (a) was used,
the rationale for its use, the funds spent using that
authority, the outcome of each project for which that
authority was used, and the results of any audits of
such projects.
(e) Definition of Nontraditional Government Contractor.--In
this section, the term ``nontraditional Government contractor''
has the same meaning as the term ``nontraditional defense
contractor'' as defined in section 845(e) of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (Public Law 103-
160; 10 U.S.C. 2371 note).