(a) Authority

(1) In general

The Secretary may use the authorities set forth in this section with respect to any procurement made during the period beginning on the effective date of this chapter and ending September 30, 2007, if the Secretary determines in writing that the mission of the Department (as described in section 111 of this title) would be seriously impaired without the use of such authorities.

(2) Delegation

The authority to make the determination described in paragraph (1) may not be delegated by the Secretary to an officer of the Department who is not appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(3) Notification

Not later than the date that is 7 days after the date of any determination under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate—

(A) notification of such determination; and

(B) the justification for such determination.

(b) Increased micro-purchase threshold for certain procurements

(1) In general

The Secretary may designate certain employees of the Department to make procurements described in subsection (a) of this section for which in the administration of section 428 of title 41 the amount specified in subsections (c), (d), and (f) of such section 428 shall be deemed to be $7,500.

(2) Number of employees

The number of employees designated under paragraph (1) shall be—

(A) fewer than the number of employees of the Department who are authorized to make purchases without obtaining competitive quotations, pursuant to section 428(c) of title 41;

(B) sufficient to ensure the geographic dispersal of the availability of the use of the procurement authority under such paragraph at locations reasonably considered to be potential terrorist targets; and

(3) Review

Procurements made under the authority of this subsection shall be subject to review by a designated supervisor on not less than a monthly basis. The supervisor responsible for the review shall be responsible for no more than 7 employees making procurements under this subsection.

(1) In general

With respect to a procurement described in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary may deem the simplified acquisition threshold referred to in section 403(11) of title 41 to be—

(A) in the case of a contract to be awarded and performed, or purchase to be made, within the United States, $200,000; and

(B) in the case of a contract to be awarded and performed, or purchase to be made, outside of the United States, $300,000.

(2) Omitted

(d) Application of certain commercial items authorities

(1) In general

With respect to a procurement described in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary may deem any item or service to be a commercial item for the purpose of Federal procurement laws.

(2) Limitation

The $5,000,000 limitation provided in section 427(a)(2) of title 41 and section 253(g)(1)(B) of title 41 shall be deemed to be $7,500,000 for purposes of property or services under the authority of this subsection.

(3) Certain authority

Authority under a provision of law referred to in paragraph (2) that expires under section 4202(e) of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (divisions D and E of Public Law 104–106; 10 U.S.C. 2304 note) shall, notwithstanding such section, continue to apply for a procurement described in subsection (a) of this section.

(e) Report

Not later than 180 days after the end of fiscal year 2005, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives a report on the use of the authorities provided in this section. The report shall contain the following:

(1) An assessment of the extent to which property and services acquired using authorities provided under this section contributed to the capacity of the Federal workforce to facilitate the mission of the Department as described in section 111 of this title.

(2) An assessment of the extent to which prices for property and services acquired using authorities provided under this section reflected the best value.

(3) The number of employees designated by each executive agency under subsection (b)(1) of this section.

(4) An assessment of the extent to which the Department has implemented subsections (b)(2) and (b)(3) of this section to monitor the use of procurement authority by employees designated under subsection (b)(1) of this section.

(5) Any recommendations of the Comptroller General for improving the effectiveness of the implementation of the provisions of this section.