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Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§4024 Merit-based award of grants for research and development

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART V— - ACQUISITION › Subpart Subpart E— - Research and Engineering › Chapter CHAPTER 301— - RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING GENERALLY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - AGREEMENTS › § 4024

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Congress says agencies listed in section 3063 should not be forced by law to give a new research, development, test, or evaluation grant to a specific non-Federal group. Laws that name a program, project, or technology must let winners be chosen by merit instead of picking a particular group. A law cannot be read to require a new grant to a named non-Federal group unless the law points to this rule, names the group, and clearly says the award is required despite the merit rule. A "new grant" means work that is not just a continuation of a previous grant. Grants asking the National Academy of Sciences to study or report on science or art for those agencies are excluded.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §4024

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)It is the policy of Congress that an agency named in section 3063 of this title should not be required by legislation to award a new grant for research, development, test, or evaluation to a non-Federal Government entity. It is further the policy of Congress that any program, project, or technology identified in legislation be awarded through merit-based selection procedures.
(b)A provision of law may not be construed as requiring a new grant to be awarded to a specified non-Federal Government entity unless that provision of law—
(1)specifically refers to this subsection;
(2)specifically identifies the particular non-Federal Government entity involved; and
(3)specifically states that the award to that entity is required by such provision of law in contravention of the policy set forth in subsection (a).
(c)For purposes of this section, a grant is a new grant unless the work provided for in the grant is a continuation of the work performed by the specified entity under a preceding grant.
(d)This section shall not apply with respect to any grant that calls upon the National Academy of Sciences to investigate, examine, or experiment upon any subject of science or art of significance to an agency named in section 3063 of this title and to report on such matters to the Congress or any agency of the Federal Government.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 4024 was renumbered section 7374 of this title.

Amendments

2023—Subsecs. (a), (d). Pub. L. 118–31 substituted “section 3063 of this title” for “section 2303(a) of this title”. 2021—Pub. L. 116–283, § 1841(c), which directed the renumbering of section 2374 of this title as section 4008 instead of this section, was amended generally by Pub. L. 117–81, § 1701(u)(2)(D), effective as if included therein, so that such renumbering was no longer directed. Pub. L. 116–283, § 1841(b)(1), as amended by Pub. L. 117–81, § 1701(u)(2)(B), renumbered section 2374 of this title as this section. Subsecs. (a), (d). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1883(b)(2), which directed that each reference in the text of title 10 to a section that was redesignated by title XVIII of Pub. L. 116–283, as such section was in effect before the redesignation, be amended by striking such reference and inserting a reference to the appropriate redesignated section, was not executed with respect to “section 2303(a)”, which was redesignated as multiple sections.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2021 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 117–81 applicable as if included in the enactment of title XVIII of Pub. L. 116–283 as enacted, see section 1701(a)(2) of Pub. L. 117–81, set out in a note preceding section 3001 of this title and note below. Amendment by Pub. L. 116–283 effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed implementation and applicability of existing law, see section 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

Effective Date

For

Effective Date

and applicability of section, see section 10001 of Pub. L. 103–355, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1994 Amendment note under section 8752 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 4024

Title 10 — Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73