cerns owned and controlled by veterans, small business conns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, quali1 HUBZone small business concerns, small business conns owned and controlled by socially and economically disvantaged individuals, and small business concerns owned d controlled by women to participate as subcontractors in e performance of any contract resulting from any solicitation, nd to submit its findings, which shall be advisory in nature, o the appropriate Federal agency; and

(C) evaluate compliance with subcontracting plans, either n a contract-by-contract basis, or in the case contractors havng multiple contracts, on an aggregate basis.

11) For purposes of determining the attainment of a subract utilization goal under any subcontracting plan entered with any executive agency pursuant to this subsection, a menfirm providing development assistance to a protege firm under pilot Mentor-Protege Program established pursuant to section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 blic Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2301 note) shall be granted credit such assistance in accordance with subsection (g) of such sec

1.

(e)(1) Except as provided in subsection (g)—

(A) an executive agency intending to—

(i) solicit bids or proposals for a contract for property or services for a price expected to exceed $25,000; or

(ii) place an order, expected to exceed $25,000, under a basic agreement, basis ordering agreement, or similar arrangement,

shall publish a notice described in subsection (f);

(B) an executive agency intending to solicit bids or proposals for a contract for property or services shall post, for a period of not less than ten days, in a public place at the contracting office issuing the solicitation a notice of solicitation described in subsection (f)

(i) in the case of an executive agency other than the Department of Defense, if the contract is for a price expected to exceed $10,000, but not to exceed $25,000; and (ii) in the case of the Department of Defense, if the contract is for a price expected to exceed $5,000, but not to exceed $25,000; and

(C) an executive agency awarding a contract for property or services for a price exceeding $100,000, or placing an order referred to in clause (A)(ii) exceeding $100,000, shall furnish for publication by the Secretary of Commerce a notice announcing the award or order if there is likely to be any subcontract under such contract or order.

(2)(A) A notice of solicitation required to be published under paragraph (1) may be published—

(i) by electronic means that meet the accessibility requirements under section 18(a)(7) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 416(a)(7)); or

(ii) by the Secretary of Commerce in the Commerce Business Daily.

(B) The Secretary of Commerce shall promptly publish in the Commerce Business Daily each notice or announcement received under this subsection for publication by that means.

(3) Whenever an executive agency is required by paragraph (1)(A) to publish a notice of solicitation, such executive agency may

not

(A) issue the solicitation earlier than 15 days after the date on which the notice is published; or

(B) in the case of a contract or order estimated to be greater than the simplified acquisition threshold, establish a deadline for the submission of all bids or proposals in response to the notice required by paragraph (1)(A) that

(i) in the case of an order under a basic agreement, basic_ordering agreement, or similar arrangement, is earlier than the date 30 days after the date the notice required by paragraph (1)(A)(ii) is published;

(ii) in the case of a solicitation for research and development, is earlier than the date 45 days after the date the notice required by paragraph (1)(A)(i) is published; or

(iii) in any other case, is earlier than the date 30 days after the date the solicitation is issued.

(f) Each notice of solicitation required by subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (e)(1) shall include

(1) an accurate description of the property or services to be contracted for, which description (A) shall not be unnecessarily restrictive of competition, and (B) shall include, as appropriate, the agency nomenclature, National Stock Number or other part number, and a brief description of the item's form, fit, or function, physical dimensions, predominant material of manufacture, or similar information that will assist a prospective contractor to make an informed business judgment as to whether a copy of the solicitation should be requested;

(2) provisions that

(A) state whether the technical data required to respond to the solicitation will not be furnished as part of such solicitation, and identify the source in the Government, if any, from which the technical data may be obtained; and

(B) state whether an offeror, its product, or service must meet a qualification requirement in order to be eligible for award, and, if so, identify the office from which a qualification requirement may be obtained;

(3) the name, business address, and telephone number of the contracting officer;

(4) a statement that all responsible sources may submit a bid, proposal, or quotation (as appropriate) which shall be considered by the agency;

(5) in the case of a procurement using procedures other than competitive procedures, a statement of the reason justifying the use of such procedures and the identity of the intended source; and

(6) in the case of a contract in an amount estimated to be greater than $25,000 but not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold

(A) a description of the procedures to be used in awarding the contract; and

(B) a statement specifying the periods for prospective offerors and the contracting officer to take the necessary preaward and award actions.

(g)(1) A notice is not required under subsection (e)(1) if—

(A) the proposed procurement is for an amount not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold and is to be conducted by

(i) using widespread electronic public notice of the solicitation in a form that allows convenient and universal user access through a single, Government-wide point of entry; and

(ii) permitting the public to respond to the solicitation electronically.

(B) the notice would disclose the executive agency's needs and the disclosure of such needs would compromise the national security;

(C) the proposed procurement would result from acceptance of

(i) any unsolicited proposal that demonstrates a unique and innovative research concept and the publication of any notice of such unsolicited research proposal would disclose the originality of thought or innovativeness of the proposal or would disclose proprietary information associated with the proposal; or

(ii) a proposal submitted under section 9 of this Act; (D) the procurement is made against an order placed under a requirements contract;

(E) the procurement is made for perishable subsistence supplies;

(F) the procurement is for utility services, other than telecommunication services, and only one source is available; or

(G) the procurement is for the services of an expert for use in any litigation or dispute (including preparation for any foreseeable litigation or dispute) that involves or could involve the Federal Government in any trial, hearing, or proceeding before any court, administrative tribunal, or agency, or in any part of an alternative dispute resolution process, whether or not the expert is expected to testify.

(2) The requirements of subsection (a)(1)(A) do not apply to any procurement under conditions described in paragraph (2), (3), (4), (5), or (7) of section 303(c) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253(c)) or paragraph (2), (3), (4), (5), and (7) of section 2304(c) of title 10, United States Code.

(3) The requirements of subsection (a)(1)(A) shall not apply in the case of any procurement for which the head of the executive agency makes a determination in writing, after consultation with the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, that it is not appropriate or reasonable to publish a notice before issuing a solicitation. (h)(1) An executive agency may not award a contract using procedures other than competitive procedures unless

(A) except as provided in paragraph (2), a written justification for the use of such procedures has been approved

(i) in the case of a contract for an amount exceeding $100,000 (but equal to or less than $1,000,000), by the advocate for competition for the procuring activity (without further delegation);

(ii) in the case of a contract for an amount exceeding $1,000,000 (but equal to or less than $10,000,000), by the head of the procuring activity or a delegate who, if a member of the Armed Forces, is a general or flag officer, or, if a civilian, is serving in a position in grade GS-16 or above under the General Schedule (or in a comparable or higher position under another schedule); or

(iii) in the case of a contract for an amount exceeding $10,000,000, by the senior procurement executive of the agency designated pursuant to section 16(3) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 414(3)) (without further delegation); and

(B) all other requirements applicable to the use of such procedures under title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 251 et sq.) or chapter 137 of title 10, United States Code, as appropriate, have been satisfied.

(2) The same exceptions as are provided in section 303(f)(2) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253(f)(2)) or section 2304(f)(2) of title 10, United States Code, shall apply with respect to the requirements of paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection in the same manner as such exceptions apply to the requirements of section 303(f)(1) of such Act or section 2304(f)(1) of such title, as appropriate.

(i) An executive agency shall make available to any business concern, or the authorized representative of such concern, the complete solicitation package for any on-going procurement announced pursuant to a notice under subsection (e). An executive agency may require the payment of a fee, not exceeding the actual cost of duplication, for a copy of such package.

(j) For purposes of this section, the term "executive agency" has the meaning provided such term in section 4(1) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(1)).

(k) NOTICES OF SUBCONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES.—

(1) IN GENERAL.-Notices of subcontracting opportunities may be submitted for publication in the Commerce Business Daily by

(A) a business concern awarded a contract by an executive agency subject to subsection (e)(1)(C); and

(B) a business concern that is a subcontractor or supplier (at any tier) to such contractor having a subcontracting opportunity in excess of $10,000.

(2) CONTENT OF NOTICE.-The notice of a subcontracting opportunity shall include

(A) a description of the business opportunity that is comparable to the description specified in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (f); and

(B) the due date for receipt of offers.

(1) MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES AFFECTED BY MILITARY OPERATIONS.-The Administration shall utilize, as appropriate, its entrepreneurial development and manage

ment assistance programs, including programs involving State or private sector partners, to provide business counseling and training to any small business concern adversely affected by the deployment of units of the Armed Forces of the United States in support of a period of military conflict (as defined in section 7(n)(1)).

(m) PROCUREMENT PROGRAM FOR WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS.—

(1) DEFINITIONS.-In this subsection, the following definitions apply:

(A) CONTRACTING OFFICER.-The term "contracting officer" has the meaning given such term in section 27(f)(5) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 423(f)(5)).

(B) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY WOMEN.-The term "small business concern owned and controlled by women" has the meaning given such term in section 3(n), except that ownership shall be determined without regard to any community property law.

(2) AUTHORITY TO RESTRICT COMPETITION.-In accordance with this subsection, a contracting officer may restrict competition for any contract for the procurement of goods or services by the Federal Government to small business concerns owned and controlled by women, if—

(A) each of the concerns is not less than 51 percent owned by one or more women who are economically disadvantaged (and such ownership is determined without regard to any community property law);

(B) the contracting officer has a reasonable expectation that two or more small business concerns owned and controlled by women will submit offers for the contract;

(C) the contract is for the procurement of goods or services with respect to an industry identified by the Administrator pursuant to paragraph (3);

(D) the anticipated award price of the contract (including options) does not exceed

(i) $5,000,000, in the case of a contract assigned an industrial classification code for manufacturing; or (ii) $3,000,000, in the case of all other contracts; (E) in the estimation of the contracting officer, the contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price; and

(F) each of the concerns

(i) is certified by a Federal agency, a State government, or a national certifying entity approved by the Administrator, as a small business concern owned and controlled by women; or

(ii) certifies to the contracting officer that it is a small business concern owned and controlled by women and provides adequate documentation, in accordance with standards established by the Administration, to support such certification.

(3) WAIVER.-With respect to a small business concern owned and controlled by women, the Administrator may waive subparagraph (2)(A) if the Administrator determines that the