2015 US Code
Title 50 - War and National Defense (Sections 1 - 4705)
Chapter 29 - National Defense Contracts (Sections 1431 - 1436)
Sec. 1433 - Public record; examination of records by Comptroller General; exemptions: exceptional conditions; reports to Congress

(a) All actions under the authority of this chapter shall be made a matter of public record under regulations prescribed by the President and when deemed by him not to be detrimental to the national security.

(b) All contracts entered into, amended, or modified pursuant to authority contained in this chapter shall include a clause to the effect that the Comptroller General of the United States or any of his duly authorized representatives shall, until the expiration of three years after final payment, have access to and the right to examine any directly pertinent books, documents, papers, and records of the contractor or any of his subcontractors engaged in the performance of and involving transactions related to such contracts or subcontracts. Under regulations to be prescribed by the President, however, such clause may be omitted from contracts with foreign contractors or foreign subcontractors if the agency head determines, with the concurrence of the Comptroller General of the United States or his designee, that the omission will serve the best interests of the United States. However, the concurrence of the Comptroller General of the United States or his designee is not required for the omission of such clause—

(1) where the contractor or subcontractor is a foreign government or agency thereof or is precluded by the laws of the country involved from making its books, documents, papers, or records available for examination; and

(2) where the agency head determines, after taking into account the price and availability of the property or services from United States sources, that the public interest would be best served by the omission of the clause.

If the clause is omitted based on a determination under clause (2), a written report shall be furnished to the Congress.

(Pub. L. 85–804, §3, Aug. 28, 1958, 72 Stat. 972; Pub. L. 89–607, §3, Sept. 27, 1966, 80 Stat. 851.)

1966—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 89–607 provided for exemption of certain contracts with foreign contractors from the requirement for an examination-of-records clause, such determination to be reported to Congress.

Functions with respect to purchases authorized to be made outside the limits of the United States or the District of Columbia under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended [see Short Title note set out under section 2151 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse], as exempt, see Ex. Ord. No. 11223, eff. May 12, 1965, 30 F.R. 6635, set out under section 2393 of Title 22.

Secretaries of Defense, Army, Navy, or Air Force, or their designees, to determine, prior to exercising the authority provided in the amendment by Pub. L. 89–607 to exempt certain contracts with foreign contractors from the requirement of an examination-of-records clause, that all reasonable efforts have been made to include such examination-of-records clause, as required by par. 11 of Part I of Ex. Ord. No. 10789, and that alternate sources of supply are not reasonably available, see par. 11 of Part I of Ex. Ord. No. 10789, eff. Nov. 14, 1958, 23 F.R. 8897, as amended, set out under section 1431 of this title.

The provisions of the National Emergencies Act [see Short Title note set out under section 1601 of this title] shall not apply to the powers and authorities conferred by this section and actions taken hereunder, see section 1651(a)(4) of this title.