Report on contractors seeking compensatory relief from inflation

(a) Findings; sense of Congress (1) Findings Congress makes the following findings: (A) During the COVID-19 pandemic, Department of Defense contractors faced historic inflation for goods and services they provided to the Department of Defense after signing initial firm-fixed price contracts. (B) In the amendments made to Public Law 85–804 (50 U.S.C. 1431) by section 822 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117–263) and in section 826 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118–31; 10 U.S.C. note prec. 4601), Congress provided increased flexibility to the Department of Defense to modify contracts to provide extraordinary relief due to the effects of inflation. (C) Despite such authority, numerous contractors still incurred increased costs for multi-year projects and seek economic price adjustments to stay solvent. (2) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the Department of Defense should reimburse low- to mid-tier suppliers for increased production costs caused from inflation to avoid disincentivizing their participation in Government contracting. (b) Report Not later than June 1, 2027, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the plan of the Department to rectify legal claims from contractors that seek compensatory relief from inflation.