(a) Authority for Net-Cost Basis Contracts.—When the Secretary of the Navy awards a contract for the dismantling of a vessel stricken from the Naval Vessel Register, the Secretary may award the contract on a net-cost basis.

(b) Retention by Contractor of Proceeds of Sale of Scrap and Reusable Items.—When the Secretary awards a contract on a net-cost basis under subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide in the contract that the contractor may retain the proceeds from the sale of scrap and reusable items removed from the vessel dismantled under the contract.

(c) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) The term "net-cost basis", with respect to a contract for the dismantling of a vessel, means that the amount to be paid to the contractor under the contract for dismantling and for removal and disposal of hazardous waste material is discounted by the offeror's estimate of the value of scrap and reusable items that the contractor will remove from the vessel during performance of the contract.

(2) The term "scrap" means personal property that has no value except for its basic material content.

(3) The term "reusable item" means a demilitarized component or a removable portion of a vessel or equipment that the Secretary of the Navy has identified as excess to the needs of the Navy but which has potential resale value on the open market.