(a) Authority.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may use the
authorities set forth in this section with respect to
any procurement made during the period beginning on the
effective date of this Act and ending September 30,
2007, if the Secretary determines in writing that the
mission of the Department (as described in section 101)
would be seriously impaired without the use of such
authorities.
(2) Delegation.--The authority to make the
determination described in paragraph (1) may not be
delegated by the Secretary to an officer of the
Department who is not appointed by the President with
the advice and consent of the Senate.
(3) Notification.--Not later than the date that is
7 days after the date of any determination under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Government Reform of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Governmental
Affairs of the Senate--
(A) notification of such determination; and
(B) the justification for such determination.
(b) Increased Micro-Purchase Threshold For Certain
Procurements.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may designate
certain employees of the Department to make
procurements described in subsection (a) for which in
the administration of section 32 of the Office of
Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 428) the
amount specified in subsections (c), (d), and (f) of
such section 32 shall be deemed to be $7,500.
(2) Number of employees.--The number of employees
designated under paragraph (1) shall be--
(A) fewer than the number of employees of
the Department who are authorized to make
purchases without obtaining competitive
quotations, pursuant to section 32(c) of the
Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41
U.S.C. 428(c));
(B) sufficient to ensure the geographic
dispersal of the availability of the use of the
procurement authority under such paragraph at
locations reasonably considered to be potential
terrorist targets; and
(C) sufficiently limited to allow for the
careful monitoring of employees designated
under such paragraph.
(3) Review.--Procurements made under the authority
of this subsection shall be subject to review by a
designated supervisor on not less than a monthly basis.
The supervisor responsible for the review shall be
responsible for no more than 7 employees making
procurements under this subsection.
(c) Simplified Acquisition Procedures.--
(1) In general.--With respect to a procurement
described in subsection (a), the Secretary may deem the
simplified acquisition threshold referred to in section
4(11) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act
(41 U.S.C. 403(11)) to be--
(A) in the case of a contract to be awarded
and performed, or purchase to be made, within
the United States, $200,000; and
(B) in the case of a contract to be awarded
and performed, or purchase to be made, outside
of the United States, $300,000.
* * * * * * *
(d) Application of Certain Commercial Items Authorities.--
(1) In general.--With respect to a procurement
described in subsection (a), the Secretary may deem any
item or service to be a commercial item for the purpose
of Federal procurement laws.
(2) Limitation.--The $5,000,000 limitation provided
in section 31(a)(2) of the Office of Federal
Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 427(a)(2)) and
section 303(g)(1)(B) of the Federal Property and
Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C.
253(g)(1)(B)) shall be deemed to be $7,500,000 for
purposes of property or services under the authority of
this subsection.
(3) Certain authority.--Authority under a provision
of law referred to in paragraph (2) that expires under
section 4202(e) of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996
(divisions D and E of Public Law 104-106; 10 U.S.C.
2304 note) shall, notwithstanding such section,
continue to apply for a procurement described in
subsection (a).
(e) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the end of
fiscal year 2005, the Comptroller General shall submit to the
Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives
a report on the use of the authorities provided in this
section. The report shall contain the following:
(1) An assessment of the extent to which property
and services acquired using authorities provided under
this section contributed to the capacity of the Federal
workforce to facilitate the mission of the Department
as described in section 101.
(2) An assessment of the extent to which prices for
property and services acquired using authorities
provided under this section reflected the best value.
(3) The number of employees designated by each
executive agency under subsection (b)(1).
(4) An assessment of the extent to which the
Department has implemented subsections (b)(2) and
(b)(3) to monitor the use of procurement authority by
employees designated under subsection (b)(1).
(5) Any recommendations of the Comptroller General
for improving the effectiveness of the implementation
of the provisions of this section.