Conflict of interest standards for consultants

41 U.S.C. § 2304

• Title: 41 — Public Contracts
• Chapter: 23 — MISCELLANEOUS

Text

(a) Content of Regulations.—The Administrator shall prescribe under this division Government-wide regulations that set forth—
(1) conflict of interest standards for persons who provide consulting services described in subsection (b); and
(2) procedures, including registration, certification, and enforcement requirements as may be appropriate, to promote compliance with the standards.
(b) Services Subject to Regulations.—Regulations required by subsection (a) apply to—
(1) advisory and assistance services provided to the Federal Government to the extent necessary to identify and evaluate the potential for conflicts of interest that could be prejudicial to the interests of the United States;
(2) services related to support of the preparation or submission of bids and proposals for Federal contracts to the extent that inclusion of the services in the regulations is necessary to identify and evaluate the potential for conflicts of interest that could be prejudicial to the interests of the United States; and
(3) other services related to Federal contracts as specified in the regulations prescribed under subsection (a) to the extent necessary to identify and evaluate the potential for conflicts of interest that could be prejudicial to the interests of the United States.
(c) Intelligence Activities Exemption.—
(1) Activities that may be exempt.—Intelligence activities as defined in section 3.4(e) of Executive Order No. 12333 or a comparable definitional section in any successor order may be exempt from the regulations required by subsection (a).
(2) Report.—The Director of National Intelligence shall report to the Intelligence and Appropriations Committees of Congress each January 1, delineating the activities and organizations that have been exempted under paragraph (1).
(d) Presidential Determination.—Before the regulations required by subsection (a) are prescribed, the President shall determine if prescribing the regulations will have a significantly adverse effect on the accomplishment of the mission of the Defense Department or another Federal agency. If the President determines that the regulations will have such an adverse effect, the President shall so report to the appropriate committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, stating in full the reasons for the determination. If such a report is submitted, the requirement for the regulations shall be null and void.

History

(Pub. L. 111–350, §3, Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3736.)

Editorial Notes

In this section, the text of 41:405b(c) is omitted as obsolete.
In subsection (a), before paragraph (1), the words "The Administrator shall prescribe under this division Government-wide regulations" are substituted for "Not later than 90 days after October 1, 1988, the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy shall issue a policy, and not later than 180 days thereafter Government-wide regulations shall be issued under the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 401 et seq.)" to eliminate obsolete words.
In subsection (b), before paragraph (1), the words "the following types of consulting services" are omitted as unnecessary.
In subsection (c)(2), the words "Director of National Intelligence" are substituted for "Director of Central Intelligence" because of section 1081(a) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–458, 50 U.S.C. 401 note). The words "each January 1" are substituted for "no later than January 1, 1990, and annually thereafter to eliminate obsolete and unnecessary words. The words "exempted under paragraph (1)" are substituted for "exempted from the regulations required by subsection (a) of this section in accordance with the provisions of this subsection" to eliminate unnecessary words.

Editorial Notes

References in Text
Executive Order 12333, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), is set out as a note under section 3001 of Title 50, War and National Defense.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Clarification of Waiver Authority for Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest
Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title VIII, §881, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2017, provided that: "Section 9.503 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation shall be revised to require that—
"(1) a request for a waiver under such section include a written justification for such waiver; and
"(2) the head of a Federal agency may not delegate such waiver authority below the level of the deputy head of such agency."