Number:        118-6   
Date:             January 19, 2024

The “National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2024” Becomes Law

On December 22, 2023, the President signed H.R. 2670, the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024” (Public Law 118-31).  The House passed the bill on December 14, 2023 by a vote of 310-118.  The Senate previously passed the bill on December 13, 2023 by a vote of 87-13. 

The following are provisions of interest to the Social Security Administration (SSA), which relate to acquisitions, personnel, and information security.

DIVISION A – DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATIONS

TITLE VIII—Acquisition Policy, Acquisition Management, and Related Matters

Subtitle F—Small Business Matters

 Section 862. Payment of Subcontractors

• Amends 15 U.S.C.  §637(d)(13) to:


• reduce from 90 to 30 days the timeframe in which a prime contractor must notify the contracting official if the payment to a subcontractor is past due for goods or services provided for within the covered contract for which the Federal agency has paid the prime contractor;


• allow a contracting officer to enter or modify past performance information of the prime contractor in connection with the unjustified failure to make a full or timely payment to a subcontractor; and


• require a prime contractor to cooperate with a contracting officer regarding correcting and mitigating an unjustified failure to make a full or timely payment to a subcontractor.

Section 863. Increase in Governmentwide Goal for Participation in Federal Contract by Small Business Concerns Owned and Controlled by Service-Disabled Veterans

• Amends 15 U.S.C. 644(g)(1)(A)(ii) to increase the Governmentwide goal for participation by small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans from 3 percent to 5 percent of the total value of all prime contract and subcontract awards for each fiscal year.

Section 864. Eliminating Self-Certification for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses

• Allows the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to certify entities as small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, for each prime contract and subcontract award that is counted for the purpose of meeting the participation goals in procurement contracts for Federal agencies.

TITLE XI—Civilian Personnel

Section 1112. Military Spouse Employment Act

• Amends 5 U.S.C.  §3330d to:


• add definitions for ‘telework’ and ‘remote work’1;


• expand military spouse benefits to include telework and remote work;


• require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study and publish a report regarding the use of remote work by Federal agencies; and


• allow the head of an agency to appoint noncompetitively a spouse of an active duty, disabled or deceased member of the Armed Forces to a remote work position.

Section 1114. Including Military Service in Determining Family and Medical Leave Eligibility for Federal Employees

• Amends 5 U.S.C. §6381 to expand the definition of ‘employee’ for Family and Medical Leave eligibility purposes to include any individual who has completed 12 months of qualified honorable active service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, or Marine Corps of the United States.

Section 1119. Expansion of Noncompetitive Appointment Eligibility to Spouses of Department of Defense Civilians

• Amends 5 U.S.C. § 3330d to allow the head of an agency to appoint noncompetitively a spouse of civilian employees of the Department of Defense.

Title XVIII – Other Defense Matters

Subtitle B – Drone Security2
 
Section 1823. Prohibition on Procurement of Covered Unmanned Aircraft Systems from Covered Foreign Entities

• Prohibits the head of an executive agency from procuring any covered ‘unmanned aircraft system’3 that is manufactured or assembled by a covered foreign entity4.

 

Section 1824. Prohibition on Operation of Covered Unmanned Aircraft Systems from Covered Foreign Entities

• Effective 2 years after enactment of this Act, prohibits Federal departments or agencies from operating a covered unmanned aircraft system manufactured or assembled by a covered foreign entity (including systems used by an executive agency through a contractor.

 

Section 1825. Prohibition on Use of Federal Funds for Procurement and Operation of Covered Unmanned Aircraft Systems from Covered Foreign Entities

• Effective 2 years after enactment of this Act, with certain exemption for national interest, prohibits federal funds from being used to purchase or operate covered unmanned aircraft system manufactured or assembled by a covered entity.

 

Section 1826. Prohibition on use of Government-Issued Purchase Cards to Purchase Covered Unmanned Aircraft Systems from Covered Foreign Entities

• Prohibits use of Government-issued purchase cards to procure any covered unmanned aircraft system from a covered foreign entity.

 

DIVISION E – OTHER MATTERS

Title LIII – Federal Data and Information Security

Section 5302. Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative Amendments

• Amends 44 U.S.C. 3601 note (Public Law 113-291) to:


• remove the definition for Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative and add a definition for ‘new data center’5;


• require OMB’s Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government (Administrator), in consultation with General Services Administration and the Federal Chief Information Officers Council, to establish minimum requirements for new data centers within 180 days of enactment of this Act;


• require the Administrator to issue guidance as soon as possible, but not later than 90 days after establishment of the minimum requirements, to ensure federal agencies incorporate the minimum requirements into data center operations;


• require the head of a covered agency to notify the Administrator and certain Congressional Committees6 if the agency is likely to make management or financial decisions relating to a data center;


• require the head of a covered agency to regularly assess the agency’s application portfolio and leverage commercial data center solutions when determining to establish or continue an existing data center;


• require the Administrator to maintain a public website that includes information and data on covered agencies and the requirements of this section;


• require the head of an agency to oversee and manage the data center portfolio and information technology strategy according ot Federal guidelines, including guidance from National Institute of Standards and Technology, OMB, and Department of Homeland Security;


• require the Administrator to ensure that covered agencies regularly update their information and data, at least biannually, on the website based on the Administrator’s guidance; and


• extend the sunset of this provision from October 1, 2022 to October 1, 2026.

DIVISION G – INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024

Title VII – Security Clearance and Trusted Workforce

Section 7702. Timeliness Standard for Rendering Determinations of Trust for Personnel Vetting

• Requires the President, acting through the Security Executive Agent and the Suitability and Credentialing Executive Agent7, to establish and publish publicly new timeliness performance standards for processing personnel vetting trust determination in accordance with the Federal personnel vetting performance management standards; and


• Requires the President, acting through the Security Executive Agent and the Suitability and Credentialing Executive Agent, to review and update as appropriate the standards established under this section at least once every 5 years, and to publish the updates to the Federal Register.

 Section 7703. Annual Report on Personnel Vetting Trust Determinations

• No later than March 30, 2024, and annually thereafter for 5 years, requires the Security Executive Agent and the Suitability and Credentialing Executive Agent to jointly make available a report on specific types of personnel vetting trust determinations made during the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which the report is made available, separated to the extent possible by:


• eligibility for national security-sensitive positions;


• suitability or fitness for public trust positions; and


• status as a government employee, contractor or other category.

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