---
kind: "section"
citation: "41 U.S.C. § 1705"
title: "41"
title_heading: "Public Contracts"
number: "1705"
heading: "Advocates for competition"
release: "119-102"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/41/1705"
units:
  - "Subtitle I — Federal Procurement Policy"
  - "Division B — Office of Federal Procurement Policy"
  - "Chapter 17 — Agency Responsibilities and Procedures"
---

# §1705. Advocates for competition

- (a) **Establishment and Designation.—**
  - (1) **Establishment.—** Each [executive agency](/usc/41/3302.md?p=a-1) has an advocate for competition.
  - (2) **Designation.—** The head of each [executive agency](/usc/41/3302.md?p=a-1) shall—
    - (A) designate for the [executive agency](/usc/41/3302.md?p=a-1) and for each procuring activity of the [executive agency](/usc/41/3302.md?p=a-1) one officer or [employee](/usc/41/8101.md?p=a-6) serving in a position authorized for the [executive agency](/usc/41/3302.md?p=a-1) on July 18, 1984 (other than the senior [procurement](/usc/41/111.md) executive designated pursuant to [section 1702(c) of this title](/usc/41/1702.md?p=c)) to serve as the advocate for competition;
    - (B) not assign those officers or [employees](/usc/41/8101.md?p=a-6) duties or responsibilities that are inconsistent with the duties and responsibilities of the advocates for competition; and
    - (C) provide those officers or [employees](/usc/41/8101.md?p=a-6) with the staff or assistance necessary to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the advocate for competition, such as individuals who are specialists in engineering, technical operations, contract administration, financial management, supply management, and utilization of small and disadvantaged business concerns.
- (b) **Duties and Functions.—** The advocate for competition of an [executive agency](/usc/41/3302.md?p=a-1) shall—
  - (1) be responsible for challenging barriers to, and promoting [full and open competition](/usc/41/107.md) in, the [procurement](/usc/41/111.md) of property and services by the [executive agency](/usc/41/3302.md?p=a-1);
  - (2) review the [procurement](/usc/41/111.md) activities of the [executive agency](/usc/41/3302.md?p=a-1);
  - (3) identify and report to the senior [procurement](/usc/41/111.md) executive of the [executive agency](/usc/41/3302.md?p=a-1)—
    - (A) opportunities and actions taken to achieve [full and open competition](/usc/41/107.md) in the [procurement](/usc/41/111.md) activities of the [executive agency](/usc/41/3302.md?p=a-1); and
    - (B) any condition or action which has the effect of unnecessarily restricting competition in the [procurement](/usc/41/111.md) actions of the [executive agency](/usc/41/3302.md?p=a-1);
  - (4) prepare and transmit to the senior [procurement](/usc/41/111.md) executive an annual report describing—
    - (A) the advocate’s activities under this section;
    - (B) new initiatives required to increase competition; and
    - (C) remaining barriers to [full and open competition](/usc/41/107.md);
  - (5) recommend to the senior [procurement](/usc/41/111.md) executive—
    - (A) goals and the plans for increasing competition on a fiscal year basis; and
    - (B) a system of personal and organizational accountability for competition, which may include the use of recognition and awards to motivate program managers, contracting officers, and others in authority to promote competition in [procurement](/usc/41/111.md) programs; and
  - (6) describe other ways in which the [executive agency](/usc/41/3302.md?p=a-1) has emphasized competition in programs for [procurement](/usc/41/111.md) training and research.
- (c) **Responsibilities.—** The advocate for competition for each procuring activity is responsible for promoting [full and open competition](/usc/41/107.md), promoting the acquisition of [commercial products](/usc/41/103.md) and [commercial services](/usc/41/103a.md), and challenging barriers to acquisition, including unnecessarily restrictive statements of need, unnecessarily detailed specifications, and unnecessarily burdensome contract clauses.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 111–350, § 3, Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3709; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 836(b)(2), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1861.)

## Notes

| Historical and Revision Notes |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Revised<br>Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| 1705 | 41:418. | Pub. L. 93–400, § 20, as added Pub. L. 98–369, title VII, § 2732(a), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1197; Pub. L. 103–355, title VIII, § 8303(a), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3398. |

### Editorial Notes

### Amendments

2018—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted “commercial products and commercial services” for “commercial items”.

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 2018 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Jan. 1, 2020, subject to a savings provision, see section 836(h) of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as an Effective Date of 2018 Amendment; Savings Provision note under section 453b of Title 6, Domestic Security.