§6328 Cost-benefit Analyses for Competition of Management and Operating Contracts

Summary

When the Administrator issues a request for proposals for a contract to manage and operate a facility, the Administrator must brief the congressional defense committees within 7 days on a first look at the costs and benefits of running a competition for that contract. If the Administrator awards a new contract, a full report must go to those committees no later than 30 days after the transition to the new contract finishes. The report must cover 9 items, including expected cost savings over the life of the contract with the analyses and assumptions used; key limits or uncertainties; the costs of the competition (including run-up costs, transition costs, and any higher lifecycle costs); any delays or disruptions to mission work; expected mission or operations benefits; whether the competition followed the Federal Acquisition Regulation rules for Federally funded research centers when that applies; the factors and steps used to decide to compete or extend and which work the contract covers; detailed explanations of the analyses, assumptions, and limits; and any other appropriate matters. Briefings and reports must follow the Department of Energy’s information quality rules and GAO and industry best practices for costing when needed. The Comptroller General, after talking with the congressional defense committees, will decide whether to do an initial review, a comprehensive review, or both. Any initial review must be briefed to the committees within 180 days after the report is sent. Any comprehensive review must be submitted within 3 years and must compare actual results to the report’s estimates (cost savings, extra costs, delays, and mission benefits). These briefing and reporting rules apply to requests for proposals issued or contracts awarded during fiscal years 2019 through 2032. They do not apply to a management and operations contract for a Naval Reactor facility.