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Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110

§3709 Program to Accelerate Contracting and Pricing Processes

Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART V — ACQUISITION › Subpart D — General Contracting Provisions › CHAPTER 271 — TRUTHFUL COST OR PRICING DATA (TRUTH IN NEGOTIATIONS) › § 3709

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must set up a program to speed up contracting and pricing for contracts larger than $50,000,000. The program must use real cost and price information from past Department of Defense buys of the same or similar items to decide if a price is fair. It must also cut down on the amount of cost and pricing paperwork contractors must submit under this chapter. The Secretary must work through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment so senior contracting officials (top contracting leaders) can run the program effectively. The program must not favor any particular contract type or require special contract terms, and military department heads must not have extra, unique reporting duties to the Under Secretary about the program.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §3709

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In General.—
The Secretary of Defense shall establish a program to reform and accelerate the contracting and pricing processes associated with contracts in excess of $50,000,000 by—
(1)basing price reasonableness determinations on actual cost and pricing data for purchases of the same or similar products for the Department of Defense; and
(2)reducing the cost and pricing data to be submitted in accordance with this chapter.
(b)Implementation Guidance.—
The Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, shall ensure that each senior contracting official (as defined in section 1737 of this title) for a contract described in subsection (a) has the discretion to implement the program under this section efficiently and effectively by ensuring the following:
(1)That the program does not include any preferences for contract type or specific contract requirements.
(2)That each Secretary of a military department has no unique reporting requirements to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment with respect to the program.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section is based on Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 890, Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1919, as amended by Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title VIII, § 825, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1491; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, § 1831(j)(7), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4217; Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title VIII, § 818, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2708; Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title VIII, § 841, Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 339, which was formerly set out as a note preceding section 3701 of this title before being transferred to this chapter and renumbered as this section by Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title VIII, § 812(c)(1), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 952.

Amendments

2025—Pub. L. 119–60, § 812(c)(2)(A), (B), struck out “Pilot” before “program” in section catchline and “pilot” before “program” wherever appearing in text. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 119–60, § 812(c)(2)(C), substituted “this chapter” for “chapter 271 of title 10, United States Code”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 119–60, § 812(c)(2)(D)(i), substituted “section 1737 of this title” for “section 1737 of title 10, United States Code” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 119–60, § 812(c)(2)(D)(ii), substituted “no unique reporting” for “minimal reporting”. Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 119–60, § 812(c)(2)(E), struck out subsecs. (c) and (d), which, respectively, required submission of report on pilot program and provided that pilot program would expire on Jan. 2, 2028.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 3709

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110