10 U.S.C. § 2371 : US Code - Section 2371: Research projects: transactions other than contracts and grants

Search 10 U.S.C. § 2371 : US Code - Section 2371: Research projects: transactions other than contracts and grants

(a) Additional Forms of Transactions Authorized. - The Secretary
of Defense and the Secretary of each military department may enter
into transactions (other than contracts, cooperative agreements,
and grants) under the authority of this subsection in carrying out
basic, applied, and advanced research projects. The authority under
this subsection is in addition to the authority provided in section
2358 of this title to use contracts, cooperative agreements, and
grants in carrying out such projects.
(b) Exercise of Authority by Secretary of Defense. - In any
exercise of the authority in subsection (a), the Secretary of
Defense shall act through the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency or any other element of the Department of Defense that the
Secretary may designate.
(c) Advance Payments. - The authority provided under subsection
(a) may be exercised without regard to section 3324 of title 31.
(d) Recovery of Funds. - (1) A cooperative agreement for
performance of basic, applied, or advanced research authorized by
section 2358 of this title and a transaction authorized by
subsection (a) may include a clause that requires a person or other
entity to make payments to the Department of Defense or any other
department or agency of the Federal Government as a condition for
receiving support under the agreement or other transaction.
(2) The amount of any payment received by the Federal Government
pursuant to a requirement imposed under paragraph (1) may be
credited, to the extent authorized by the Secretary of Defense, to
the appropriate account established under subsection (f). Amounts
so credited shall be merged with other funds in the account and
shall be available for the same purposes and the same period for
which other funds in such account are available.
(e) Conditions. - (1) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that -

(A) to the maximum extent practicable, no cooperative agreement
containing a clause under subsection (d) and no transaction
entered into under subsection (a) provides for research that
duplicates research being conducted under existing programs
carried out by the Department of Defense; and
(B) to the extent that the Secretary determines practicable,
the funds provided by the Government under a cooperative
agreement containing a clause under subsection (d) or a
transaction authorized by subsection (a) do not exceed the total
amount provided by other parties to the cooperative agreement or
other transaction.
(2) A cooperative agreement containing a clause under subsection
(d) or a transaction authorized by subsection (a) may be used for a
research project when the use of a standard contract, grant, or
cooperative agreement for such project is not feasible or
appropriate.
(f) Support Accounts. - There is hereby established on the books
of the Treasury separate accounts for each of the military
departments and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for
support of research projects and development projects provided for
in cooperative agreements containing a clause under subsection (d)
and research projects provided for in transactions entered into
under subsection (a). Funds in those accounts shall be available
for the payment of such support.
(g) Regulations. - The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe
regulations to carry out this section.
(h) Annual Report. - (1) Not later than 90 days after the end of
each fiscal year, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the
Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on
Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report on the use
by the Department of Defense during such fiscal year of -
(A) cooperative agreements authorized under section 2358 of
this title that contain a clause under subsection (d); and
(B) transactions authorized by subsection (a).
(2) The report shall include, with respect to the cooperative
agreements and other transactions covered by the report, the
following:
(A) The technology areas in which research projects were
conducted under such agreements or other transactions.
(B) The extent of the cost-sharing among Federal Government and
non-Federal sources.
(C) The extent to which the use of the cooperative agreements
and other transactions -
(i) has contributed to a broadening of the technology and
industrial base available for meeting Department of Defense
needs; and
(ii) has fostered within the technology and industrial base
new relationships and practices that support the national
security of the United States.
(D) The total amount of payments, if any, that were received by
the Federal Government during the fiscal year covered by the
report pursuant to a clause described in subsection (d) that was
included in the cooperative agreements and other transactions,
and the amount of such payments, if any, that were credited to
each account established under subsection (f).
(3) No report is required under this subsection for a fiscal year
after fiscal year 2006.
(i) Protection of Certain Information From Disclosure. - (1)
Disclosure of information described in paragraph (2) is not
required, and may not be compelled, under section 552 of title 5
for five years after the date on which the information is received
by the Department of Defense.
(2)(A) Paragraph (1) applies to information described in
subparagraph (B) that is in the records of the Department of
Defense if the information was submitted to the Department in a
competitive or noncompetitive process having the potential for
resulting in an award, to the party submitting the information, of
a cooperative agreement for performance of basic, applied, or
advanced research authorized by section 2358 of this title or
another transaction authorized by subsection (a).
(B) The information referred to in subparagraph (A) is the
following:
(i) A proposal, proposal abstract, and supporting documents.
(ii) A business plan submitted on a confidential basis.
(iii) Technical information submitted on a confidential basis.