“(3) CVN–78 class aircraft carriers change orders.—
“(A) As part of each report required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include a description of new design and engineering changes to CVN–78 class aircraft carriers if applicable.
“(B) The additional reporting requirement in subparagraph (A) shall include, with respect to CVN–78 class aircraft carriers in each reporting period—
“(i) any design or engineering change with an associated cost greater than $5,000,000;
“(ii) any program or ship cost increases for each design or engineering change identified in subparagraph (A); and
“(iii) any cost reduction achieved.
“(C) The Secretary and the Chief of Naval Operations, without delegation, shall jointly certify the design and engineering changes included in each report under paragraph (1), as required by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph. Each certification shall include a determination that each such change—
“(i) serves the national security interests of the United States; and
“(ii) cannot be deferred to a future ship because of operational necessity, safety, or substantial cost reduction that still meets threshold requirements.”
“(8) With respect to the aircraft carrier designated as CVN–79, the amounts of increases not exceeding $100,000,000 if the Chief of Naval Operations determines that achieving the amount set forth in subsection (a)(2) (as amended by section 122(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016) would result in unacceptable reductions to the operational capability of the ship.”
“(6) A Littoral Combat Ship seaframe acquisition strategy for the Littoral Combat Ships designated as LCS 25 through LCS 32, including upgrades to be installed on these ships that were identified for the upgraded Littoral Combat Ship, which is proposed to commence with LCS 33.
“(7) A Littoral Combat Ship mission module acquisition strategy to reach the total acquisition quantity of each mission module.
“(8) A cost and schedule plan to outfit Flight 0 and Flight 0+ Littoral Combat Ships with capabilities identified for the upgraded Littoral Combat Ship.
“(9) A current Test and Evaluation Master Plan for the Littoral Combat Ship Mission Modules, approved by the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, which includes the performance levels expected to be demonstrated during developmental testing for each component and mission module prior to commencing the associated operational test phase.”
Ҥ 2368. Centers for Science, Technology, and Engineering Partnership
“(a) Designation.—
(1) The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall designate each science and technology reinvention laboratory as a Center for Science, Technology, and Engineering Partnership (in this section referred to as ‘Centers’) in the recognized core competencies of the designee.
“(2) The Secretary of Defense shall establish a policy to encourage the Secretary of each military department to reengineer management and business processes and adopt best-business and personnel practices at the Centers of the Secretary concerned in connection with the capability requirements of the Centers, so as to serve as recognized leaders in such capabilities throughout the Department of Defense and in the national technology and industrial base.
“(3) The Secretary of Defense, acting through the directors of the Centers, may conduct one or more pilot programs, consistent with applicable requirements of law, to test any practices referred to in paragraph (2) that the Directors determine could—
“(A) improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations at Centers;
“(B) improve the support provided by the Centers for the elements of the Department of Defense who use the services of the Centers; and
“(C) enhance capabilities by reducing the cost and improving the performance and efficiency of executing laboratory missions.
“(b) Public-private Partnerships.—
(1) To achieve one or more objectives set forth in paragraph (2), the Secretary may authorize and establish incentives for the Director of a Center to enter into public-private cooperative arrangements (in this section referred to as a ‘public-private partnership’) to provide for any of the following:
“(A) For employees of the Center, academia, private industry, State and local governments, or other entities outside the Department of Defense to perform (under contract, subcontract, or otherwise) work related to the capabilities of the Center, including any work that—
“(i) involves one or more capabilities of the Center; and
“(ii) may be applicable to both the Department and commercial entities.
“(B) For private industry or other entities outside the Department of Defense to use for either Government or commercial purposes any capabilities of the Center that are not fully used for Department of Defense activities for any period determined to be consistent with the needs of the Department of Defense.
“(2) The objectives for exercising the authority provided in paragraph (1) are as follows:
“(A) To maximize the use of the capacity of a Center.
“(B) To reduce or eliminate the cost of ownership of a Center by the Department of Defense.
“(C) To reduce the cost of science, technology, and engineering activities of the Department of Defense.
“(D) To leverage private sector investment in—
“(i) such efforts as research and equipment recapitalization for a Center; and
“(ii) the promotion of the undertaking of commercial business ventures based on the capabilities of a Center, as determined by the director of the Center.
“(E) To foster cooperation and technology transfer between the armed forces, academia, private industry, and State and local governments.
“(F) To increase access by a Center to a skilled technical workforce that can contribute to the effective and efficient execution of the missions of the Department of Defense.
“(G) To increase the ability of a Center to access and use non-Department of Defense methods to develop and innovate and access capabilities that contribute to the effective and efficient execution of the missions of the Department of Defense.
“(3)
(A) Public-private partnerships entered into under paragraph (1) may be used for purposes relating to technology transfer and other authorities described in subparagraph (B).
“(B) The authorities described in this subparagraph are provisions of law that provide for cooperation and partnership by the Department of Defense with academia, private industry, and State and local governments, including the following:
“(i) Sections 3371 through 3375 of title 5.
“(ii) Sections 2194, 2358, 2371, 2511, 2539b, and 2563 of this title.
“(iii) Section 209 of title 35.
“(iv) Sections 8, 12, and 23 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3706, 3710a, and 3715).
“(c) Private Sector Use of Excess Capacity.—Any capability of a Center made available to the private sector may be used to perform research and testing activities in order to make more efficient and economical use of Government-owned capabilities and encourage the creation and preservation of jobs to ensure the availability of a workforce with the necessary research and technical skills to meet the needs of the armed forces.
“(d) Crediting of Amounts for Performance.—Amounts received by a Center for work performed under a public-private partnership may—
“(1) be credited to the appropriation or fund, including a working-capital or revolving fund, that incurs the cost of performing the work; or
“(2) be used by the Director of the Center as the Director considers appropriate and consistent with section 219 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110–417; 10 U.S.C. 2358 note).
“(e) Availability of Excess Capacities to Private-sector Partners.—Capacities of a Center may be made available for use by a private-sector entity under this section only if—
“(1) the use of the capacities will not have a significant adverse effect on the performance of the Center or the ability of the Center to achieve the mission of the Center, as determined by the Director of the Center; and
“(2) the private-sector entity agrees—
“(A) to reimburse the Department of Defense when required in accordance with the guidance of the Department for the direct and indirect costs (including any rental costs) that are attributable to the use of the capabilities by the private-sector entity, as determined by the Secretary of the military departments; and
“(B) to hold harmless and indemnify the United States from—
“(i) any claim for damages or injury to any person or property arising out of the use of the capabilities, except under the circumstances described in section 2563(c)(3) of this title; and
“(ii) any liability or claim for damages or injury to any person or property arising out of a decision by the Secretary to suspend or terminate that use of capabilities during a war or national emergency.
“(f) Construction of Provision.—Nothing in this section may be construed to authorize a change, otherwise prohibited by law, from the performance of work at a Center by personnel of the Department of Defense to performance by a contractor.
“(g) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) The term ‘capabilities’, with respect to a Center for Science, Technology, and Engineering Partnership, means the facilities, equipment, personnel, intellectual property, and other assets that support the core competencies of the Center.
“(2) The term ‘national technology and industrial base’ has the meaning given that term in section 2500 of this title.
“(3) The term ‘science and technology reinvention laboratory’ means a science and technology reinvention laboratory designated under section 1105 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (Public Law 111–84; 10 U.S.C. 2358 note).”
“2368. Centers for Science, Technology, and Engineering Partnership.”.
“(g) Limitation on Participation.—
(1) The Secretary may not award scholarships or fellowships under this section to more than five individuals described in paragraph (2) per year.
“(2) An individual described in this paragraph is an individual who—
“(A) has not previously been awarded a scholarship or fellowship under the program under this section;
“(B) is not a citizen of the United States; and
“(C) is a citizen of a country the government of which is a party to The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) memorandum of understanding of October 24, 1995.”
“(4) providing in the defense laboratory sabbatical opportunities for faculty and internship opportunities for students;”
; and
“(a) Coordination of Department of Defense Research, Development, and Technological Data.—The Secretary of Defense shall promote, monitor, and evaluate programs for the communication and exchange of research, development, and technological data—
“(1) among the Defense research facilities, combatant commands, and other organizations that are involved in developing for the Department of Defense the technological requirements for new items for use by combat forces;
“(2) among Defense research facilities and other offices, agencies, and bureaus in the Department that are engaged in related technological matters;
“(3) among other research facilities and other departments or agencies of the Federal Government that are engaged in research, development, and technological matters;
“(4) among private commercial, research institution, and university entities engaged in research, development, and technological matters potentially relevant to defense on a voluntary basis;
“(5) to the extent practicable, to achieve full awareness of scientific and technological advancement and innovation wherever it may occur, whether funded by the Department of Defense, another element of the Federal Government, or other entities; and
“(6) through development and distribution of clear technical communications to the public, military operators, acquisition organizations, and civilian and military decision-makers that conveys successes of research and engineering activities supported by the Department and the contributions of such activities to support national needs.”
“(3) that the managers of such facilities have broad latitude to choose research and development projects based on awareness of activities throughout the technology domain, including within the Federal Government, the Department of Defense, public and private research institutions and universities, and the global commercial marketplace;”
“(6) that, in light of Defense research facilities being funded by the public, Defense research facilities are broadly authorized and encouraged to support national technological development goals and support technological missions of other departments and agencies of the Federal Government, when such support is determined by the Secretary of Defense to be in the best interests of the Federal Government.”
“2364. Coordination and communication of defense research activities and technology domain awareness.”.
“(1) The issuance of an annual broad agency announcement or the use of any other competitive or merit-based processes by the Department of Defense for candidate proposals in support of defense acquisition programs as described in subsection (a).”
“(5) Mechanisms to facilitate transition of follow-on or current projects carried out under the program into defense acquisition programs, through the use of the authorities of section 819 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (Public Law 111–84; 10 U.S.C. 2302 note) or such other authorities as may be appropriate to conduct further testing, low rate production, or full rate production of technologies developed under the program.
“(6) Projects are selected using merit-based selection procedures and the selection of projects is not subject to undue influence by Congress or other Federal agencies.”
Ҥ 2922h. Limitation on procurement of drop-in fuels
“(a) Limitation.—Except as provided in subsection (b), the Secretary of Defense may not make a bulk purchase of a drop-in fuel for operational purposes unless the fully burdened cost of that drop-in fuel is cost-competitive with the fully burdened cost of a traditional fuel available for the same purpose.
“(b) Waiver.—
(1) Subject to the requirements of paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense may waive the limitation under subsection (a) with respect to a purchase.
“(2) Not later than 30 days after issuing a waiver under this subsection, the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees notice of the waiver. Any such notice shall include each of the following:
“(A) The rationale of the Secretary for issuing the waiver.
“(B) A certification that the waiver is in the national security interest of the United States.
“(C) The expected fully burdened cost of the purchase for which the waiver is issued.
“(c) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) The term ‘drop-in fuel’ means a neat or blended liquid hydrocarbon fuel designed as a direct replacement for a traditional fuel with comparable performance characteristics and compatible with existing infrastructure and equipment.
“(2) The term ‘traditional fuel’ means a liquid hydrocarbon fuel derived or refined from petroleum.
“(3) The term ‘operational purposes’—
“(A) means for the purposes of conducting military operations, including training, exercises, large scale demonstrations, and moving and sustaining military forces and military platforms; and
“(B) does not include research, development, testing, evaluation, fuel certification, or other demonstrations.
“(4) The term ‘fully burdened cost’ means the commodity price of the fuel plus the total cost of all personnel and assets required to move and, when necessary, protect the fuel from the point at which the fuel is received from the commercial supplier to the point of use.”
“2922h. Limitation on procurement of drop-in fuels.”.
Ҥ 7235. Establishment of the Southern Sea Otter Military Readiness Areas
“(a) Establishment.—The Secretary of the Navy shall establish areas, to be known as ‘Southern Sea Otter Military Readiness Areas’, for national defense purposes. Such areas shall include each of the following:
“(1) The area that includes Naval Base Ventura County, San Nicolas Island, and Begg Rock and the adjacent and surrounding waters within the following coordinates:
| “N. Latitude/W. Longitude |
|---|
| 33°27.8′/119°34.3′ |
| 33°20.5′/119°15.5′ |
| 33°13.5′/119°11.8′ |
| 33°06.5′/119°15.3′ |
| 33°02.8′/119°26.8′ |
| 33°08.8′/119°46.3′ |
| 33°17.2′/119°56.9′ |
| 33°30.9′/119°54.2′. |
“(2) The area that includes Naval Base Coronado, San Clemente Island and the adjacent and surrounding waters running parallel to shore to 3 nautical miles from the high tide line designated by part 165 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, on May 20, 2010, as the San Clemente Island 3NM Safety Zone.
“(b) Activities Within the Southern Sea Otter Military Readiness Areas.—
“(1) Incidental takings under endangered species act of 1973.—Sections 4 and 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533, 1538) shall not apply with respect to the incidental taking of any southern sea otter in the Southern Sea Otter Military Readiness Areas in the course of conducting a military readiness activity.
“(2) Incidental takings under marine mammal protection act of 1972.—Sections 101 and 102 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1371, 1372) shall not apply with respect to the incidental taking of any southern sea otter in the Southern Sea Otter Military Readiness Areas in the course of conducting a military readiness activity.
“(3) Treatment as species proposed to be listed.—For purposes of conducting a military readiness activity, any southern sea otter while within the Southern Sea Otter Military Readiness Areas shall be treated for the purposes of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536) as a member of a species that is proposed to be listed as an endangered species or a threatened species under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533).
“(c) Removal.—Nothing in this section or any other Federal law shall be construed to require that any southern sea otter located within the Southern Sea Otter Military Readiness Areas be removed from the Areas.
“(d) Revision or Termination of Exceptions.—The Secretary of the Interior may revise or terminate the application of subsection (b) if the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, determines that military activities occurring in the Southern Sea Otter Military Readiness Areas are impeding the southern sea otter conservation or the return of southern sea otters to optimum sustainable population levels.
“(e) Monitoring.—
“(1) In general.—The Secretary of the Navy shall conduct monitoring and research within the Southern Sea Otter Military Readiness Areas to determine the effects of military readiness activities on the growth or decline of the southern sea otter population and on the near-shore ecosystem. Monitoring and research parameters and methods shall be determined in consultation with the Service.
“(2) Reports.—Not later than 24 months after the date of the enactment of this section and every three years thereafter, the Secretary of the Navy shall report to Congress and the public on monitoring undertaken pursuant to paragraph (1).
“(f) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) Southern sea otter.—The term ‘southern sea otter’ means any member of the subspecies Enhydra lutris nereis.
“(2) Take.—The term ‘take’—
“(A) when used in reference to activities subject to regulation by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), shall have the meaning given such term in that Act; and
“(B) when used in reference to activities subject to regulation by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) shall have the meaning given such term in that Act.
“(3) Incidental taking.—The term ‘incidental taking’ means any take of a southern sea otter that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, the carrying out of an otherwise lawful activity.
“(4) Military readiness activity.—The term ‘military readiness activity’ has the meaning given that term in section 315(f) of the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 (16 U.S.C. 703 note) and includes all training and operations of the armed forces that relate to combat and the adequate and realistic testing of military equipment, vehicles, weapons, and sensors for proper operation and suitability for combat use.
“(5) Optimum sustainable population.—The term ‘optimum sustainable population’ means, with respect to any population stock, the number of animals that will result in the maximum productivity of the population or the species, keeping in mind the carrying capacity of the habitat and the health of the ecosystem of which they form a constituent element.”
“7235. Establishment of the Southern Sea Otter Military Readiness Areas.”.
“(7) A description and estimate of the progress made by the military departments in meeting current high performance and sustainable building standards under the Unified Facilities Criteria.”
“(9) Details of all commercial utility outages caused by threats and those caused by hazards at military installations that last eight hours or longer, whether or not the outage was mitigated by backup power, including non-commercial utility outages and Department of Defense-owned infrastructure, including the total number and location of outages, the financial impact of the outages, and measure taken to mitigate outages in the future at the affected locations and across the Department of Defense.”
; and
“(11) At the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, a classified annex, as appropriate.”
“(j) Applicability of Section.—This section does not apply to a non-energy project.”
“(4) The term ‘energy project’ means a project that provides for the generation or transmission of electrical energy.
“(5) The term ‘non-energy project’ means a project that is not an energy project.
“(6) The term ‘landowner’ means a person or other legal entity that owns a fee interest in real property on which a proposed energy project is planned to be located.”
“(8) A list of any equipment used in support of contingency operations slated for retrograde and subsequent inclusion in the prepositioned stocks.”
Ҥ 2241b. Prohibition on contracts providing payments for activities at sporting events to honor members of the armed forces
“(a) Prohibition.—The Department of Defense may not enter into any contract or other agreement under which payments are to be made in exchange for activities by the contractor intended to honor, or giving the appearance of honoring, members of the armed forces (whether members of the regular components or the reserve components) at any form of sporting event.
“(b) Construction.—Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed as prohibiting the Department of Defense from taking actions to facilitate activities intended to honor members of the armed forces at sporting events that are provided on a pro bono basis or otherwise funded with non-Federal funds if such activities are provided and received in accordance with applicable rules and regulations regarding the acceptance of gifts by the military departments, the armed forces, and members of the armed forces.”
“2241b. Prohibition on contracts providing payments for activities at sporting events to honor members of the armed forces.”.
“(c) Authorized Recipients.—
(1) A military animal shall be made available for adoption under this section, in order of recommended priority—
“(A) by former handlers of the animal;
“(B) by other persons capable of humanely caring for the animal; and
“(C) by law enforcement agencies.
“(2) If the Secretary of the military department concerned determines that an adoption is justified under subsection (a)(2) under circumstances under which the handler of a military working dog is wounded in action, the dog shall be made available for adoption only by the handler. If the Secretary of the military department concerned determines that such an adoption is justified under circumstances under which the handler of a military working dog is killed in action or dies of wounds received in action, the military working dog shall be made available for adoption only by a parent, child, spouse, or sibling of the deceased handler.”
“(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply if at the time of retirement—
“(A) the dog is located outside the United States and a United States citizen or service member living abroad adopts the dog; or
“(B) the dog is located within the United States and suitable adoption is available where the dog is located.”
“(g) Preference in Adoption of Retired Military Working Dogs for Former Handlers.—
(1) In providing for the adoption under this section of a retired military working dog described in paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection (a), the Secretary of the military department concerned shall accord a preference to the former handler of the dog unless the Secretary determines that adoption of the dog by the former handler would not be in the best interests of the dog.
“(2) In the case of a dog covered by paragraph (1) with more than one former handler seeking adoption of the dog at the time of adoption, the Secretary shall provide for the adoption of the dog by such former handler whose adoption of the dog will best serve the interests of the dog and such former handlers. The Secretary shall make any determination required by this paragraph with respect to a dog following consultation with the kennel master of the unit at which the dog was last located before adoption under this section.
“(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as altering, revising, or overriding any policy of a military department for the adoption of military working dogs by law enforcement agencies before the end of the dogs’ useful lives.”
“(1) For the Army, 475,000.
“(2) For the Navy, 329,200.
“(3) For the Marine Corps, 184,000.
“(4) For the Air Force, 317,000.”
; and
“(E) If the Secretary of the military department concerned determines that one or more officers or former officers were not placed on an all-fully-qualified-list under this paragraph because of administrative error, the Secretary may prepare a supplemental all-fully-qualified-officers list containing the names of any such officers for approval in accordance with this paragraph.”
“(E) If the Secretary of the military department concerned determines that one or more officers or former officers were not placed on an all-fully-qualified-list under this paragraph because of administrative error, the Secretary may prepare a supplemental all-fully-qualified-officers list containing the names of any such officers for approval in accordance with this paragraph.”
“(c) Deferred Retirement of Chaplains.—
(1) The Secretary of the military department concerned may defer the retirement under subsection (a) of an officer serving in a general or flag officer grade who is the Chief of Chaplains or Deputy Chief of Chaplains of that officer’s armed force.
“(2) A deferment of the retirement of an officer referred to in paragraph (1) may not extend beyond the first day of the month following the month in which the officer becomes 68 years of age.
“(3) The authority to defer the retirement of an officer referred to in paragraph (1) expires December 31, 2020. Subject to paragraph (2), a deferment granted before that date may continue on and after that date.”
“§ 1253. Age 64: regular commissioned officers in general and flag officer grades; exceptions”
“1253. Age 64: regular commissioned officers in general and flag officer grades; exceptions.”.
Ҥ 1371. Warrant officers: general rule
“Unless entitled to a higher retired grade under some other provision of law, a warrant officer shall be retired in the highest regular or reserve warrant officer grade in which the warrant officer served satisfactorily, as determined by the Secretary concerned.”
“(b)
(1) In applying Ready Reserve continuous screening under this section, an individual who is both a member of the Ready Reserve and a Member of Congress may not be transferred to the Standby Reserve or discharged on account of the individual’s position as a Member of Congress.
“(2) The transfer or discharge of an individual who is both a member of the Ready Reserve and a Member of Congress may be ordered—
“(A) only by the Secretary of Defense or, in the case of a Member of Congress who also is a member of the Coast Guard Reserve, the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating when it is not operating as a service in the Navy; and
“(B) only on the basis of the needs of the service, taking into consideration the position and duties of the individual in the Ready Reserve.
“(3) In this subsection, the term ‘Member of Congress’ includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to Congress and a Member-elect.”
“(3) measure the combat readiness of combat units, including special operations forces.”
“(e) Enforcement by Court of Criminal Appeals.—
(1) If the victim of an offense under this chapter believes that a preliminary hearing ruling under section 832 of this title (article 32) or a court-martial ruling violates the rights of the victim afforded by a section (article) or rule specified in paragraph (4), the victim may petition the Court of Criminal Appeals for a writ of mandamus to require the preliminary hearing officer or the court-martial to comply with the section (article) or rule.
“(2) If the victim of an offense under this chapter is subject to an order to submit to a deposition, notwithstanding the availability of the victim to testify at the court-martial trying the accused for the offense, the victim may petition the Court of Criminal Appeals for a writ of mandamus to quash such order.
“(3) A petition for a writ of mandamus described in this subsection shall be forwarded directly to the Court of Criminal Appeals, by such means as may be prescribed by the President, and, to the extent practicable, shall have priority over all other proceedings before the court.
“(4) Paragraph (1) applies with respect to the protections afforded by the following:
“(A) This section (article).
“(B) Section 832 (article 32) of this title.
“(C) Military Rule of Evidence 412, relating to the admission of evidence regarding a victim’s sexual background.
“(D) Military Rule of Evidence 513, relating to the psychotherapist-patient privilege.
“(E) Military Rule of Evidence 514, relating to the victim advocate-victim privilege.
“(F) Military Rule of Evidence 615, relating to the exclusion of witnesses.”
“(C) A civilian employee of the Department of Defense who is not eligible for military legal assistance under section 1044(a)(7) of this title, but who is the victim of an alleged sex-related offense, and the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of the military department concerned waives the condition in such section for the purposes of offering Special Victims’ Counsel services to the employee.”
“(9) Legal consultation and assistance in connection with—
“(A) any complaint against the Government, including an allegation under review by an inspector general and a complaint regarding equal employment opportunities;
“(B) any request to the Government for information, including a request under section 552a of title 5 (commonly referred to as a ‘Freedom of Information Act request’); and
“(C) any correspondence or other communications with Congress.”
“(2) Subject to such exceptions for exigent circumstances as the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating may prescribe, notice of the availability of a Special Victims’ Counsel shall be provided to an individual described in subsection (a)(2) before any military criminal investigator or trial counsel interviews, or requests any statement from, the individual regarding the alleged sex-related offense.”
“(3) Subject to such exceptions for exigent circumstances as the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating may prescribe, notice of the availability of a Special Victims’ Counsel under section 1044e of this title shall be provided to a member of the armed forces or dependent who is the victim of sexual assault before any military criminal investigator or trial counsel interviews, or requests any statement from, the member or dependent regarding the alleged sexual assault.”
“(2) The Secretary of Defense shall—
“(A) develop a policy to standardize the time period within which a Special Victims’ Counsel receives training; and
“(B) establish the baseline training requirements for a Special Victims’ Counsel.”
“(3) The Secretary of Defense, in collaboration with the Secretaries of the military departments and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating, shall establish—
“(A) guiding principles for the Special Victims’ Counsel program, to include ensuring that—
“(i) Special Victims’ Counsel are assigned to locations that maximize the opportunity for face-to-face communication between counsel and clients; and
“(ii) effective means of communication are available to permit counsel and client interactions when face-to-face communication is not feasible;
“(B) performance measures and standards to measure the effectiveness of the Special Victims’ Counsel program and client satisfaction with the program; and
“(C) processes by which the Secretaries of the military departments and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating will evaluate and monitor the Special Victims’ Counsel program using such guiding principles and performance measures and standards.”
“(3) In the case of information disclosed pursuant to paragraph (1), any State law or regulation that would require an individual specified in paragraph (2) to disclose the personally identifiable information of the adult victim or alleged perpetrator of the sexual assault to a State or local law enforcement agency shall not apply, except when reporting is necessary to prevent or mitigate a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of an individual.”
“(c) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) Sexual assault.—The term ‘sexual assault’ includes the offenses of rape, sexual assault, forcible sodomy, aggravated sexual contact, abusive sexual contact, and attempts to commit such offenses, as punishable under applicable Federal or State law.
“(2) State.—The term ‘State’ includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any territory or possession of the United States.”
“(l) Eligible Individuals Defined.—For the purposes of this section, the term ‘eligible individual’ means a member of a reserve component, a member of their family, or a designated representative who the Secretary of Defense determines to be eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program.”
“(3) Grants.—The Office for Reintegration Programs may make grants to conduct data collection, trend analysis, and curriculum development and to prepare reports in support of activities under this section.”
“(g) Operation of Program.—
“(1) In general.—The Office for Reintegration Programs shall assist State National Guard and Reserve organizations with the development and provision of information, events, and activities to support the health and well-being of eligible individuals before, during, and after periods of activation, mobilization, or deployment.
“(2) Focus of information, events, and activities.—
“(A) Before activation, mobilization, or deployment.—Before a period of activation, mobilization, or deployment, the information, events, and activities described in paragraph (1) should focus on preparing eligible individuals and affected communities for the rigors of activation, mobilization, and deployment.
“(B) During activation, mobilization, or deployment.—During such a period, the information, events, and activities described in paragraph (1) should focus on—
“(i) helping eligible individuals cope with the challenges and stress associated with such period;
“(ii) decreasing the isolation of eligible individuals during such period; and
“(iii) preparing eligible individuals for the challenges associated with reintegration.
“(C) After activation, mobilization, or deployment.—After such a period, but no earlier than 30 days after demobilization, the information, events, and activities described in paragraph (1) should focus on—
“(i) reconnecting the member with their families, friends, and communities;
“(ii) providing information on employment opportunities;
“(iii) helping eligible individuals deal with the challenges of reintegration;
“(iv) ensuring that eligible individuals understand what benefits they are entitled to and what resources are available to help them overcome the challenges of reintegration; and
“(v) providing a forum for addressing negative behaviors related to operational stress and reintegration.
“(3) Member pay.—Members shall receive appropriate pay for days spent attending such events and activities.
“(4) Minimum number of events and activities.—The State National Guard and Reserve Organizations shall provide to eligible individuals—
“(A) one event or activity before a period of activation, mobilization, or deployment;
“(B) one event or activity during a period of activation, mobilization, or deployment; and
“(C) two events or activities after a period of activation, mobilization, or deployment.”
“(16) Stress management and positive coping skills.”
“(i) Support of Suicide Prevention Efforts.—The Office for Reintegration Programs shall assist the Defense Suicide Prevention Office and the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury to collect and analyze information, suggestions, and best practices from State National Guard and Reserve organizations with suicide prevention and community response programs.”
“(C) For purposes of calculating the days of active duty of a member under subparagraph (A), the Secretary concerned shall exclude any day on which—
“(i) the member performed full-time training duty or annual training duty; and
“(ii) the member attended, while in the active military service, a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.”
“(f) Additional Training Opportunities.—
(1) As part of the program carried out under this section, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating, when the Coast Guard is not operating within the Department of the Navy, shall permit a member of the armed forces eligible for assistance under the program to elect to receive additional training in any of the following subjects:
“(A) Preparation for higher education or training.
“(B) Preparation for career or technical training.
“(C) Preparation for entrepreneurship.
“(D) Other training options determined by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating, when the Coast Guard is not operating within the Department of the Navy.
“(2) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating, when the Coast Guard is not operating within the Department of the Navy, shall ensure that a member of the armed forces who elects to receive additional training in subjects available under paragraph (1) is able to receive the training.”
Ҥ 16167. Sunset
“(a) Sunset.—The authority to provide educational assistance under this chapter shall terminate on the date that is four years after the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016.
“(b) Limitation on Provision of Assistance Pending Sunset.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 and ending on the date that is four years after the date of the enactment of that Act, educational assistance may be provided under this chapter only to a member otherwise eligible for educational assistance under this chapter who received educational assistance under this chapter for a course of study at an educational institution for the enrollment period at the educational institution that immediately preceded the date of the enactment of that Act.”
“16167. Sunset.”.
Ҥ 4362. Support of athletic programs
“(a) Authority.—
“(1) Contracts and cooperative agreements.—The Secretary of the Army may enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with the Army West Point Athletic Association for the purpose of supporting the athletic programs of the Academy. Notwithstanding section 2304(k) of this title, the Secretary may enter such contracts or cooperative agreements on a sole source basis pursuant to section 2304(c)(5) of this title. Notwithstanding chapter 63 of title 31, a cooperative agreement under this section may be used to acquire property or services for the direct benefit or use of the Academy.
“(2) Financial controls.—
(A) Before entering into a contract or cooperative agreement under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure that such contract or agreement includes appropriate financial controls to account for Academy and Association resources in accordance with accepted accounting principles.
“(B) Any such contract or cooperative agreement shall contain a provision that allows the Secretary, at the Secretary’s discretion, to review the financial accounts of the Association to determine whether the operations of the Association—
“(i) are consistent with the terms of the contract or cooperative agreement; and
“(ii) will not compromise the integrity or appearance of integrity of any program of the Department of the Army.
“(3) Leases.—Section 2667(h) of this title shall not apply to any leases the Secretary may enter into with the Association for the purpose of supporting the athletic programs of the Academy.
“(b) Support Services.—
“(1) Authority.—To the extent required by a contract or cooperative agreement under subsection (a), the Secretary may provide support services to the Association while the Association conducts its support activities at the Academy. The Secretary may provide support services described in paragraph (2) only if the Secretary determines that the provision of such services is essential for the support of the athletic programs of the Academy.
“(2) Support services defined.—
(A) In this subsection, the term ‘support services’ includes utilities, office furnishings and equipment, communications services, records staging and archiving, audio and video support, and security systems in conjunction with the leasing or licensing of property.
“(B) Such term includes—
“(i) housing for Association personnel on United States Army Garrison, West Point, New York; and
“(ii) enrollment of dependents of Association personnel in elementary and secondary schools under the same criteria applied to dependents of Federal employees under section 2164(a) of this title, except that educational services provided pursuant to this clause shall be provided on a reimbursable basis.
“(3) No liability of the united states.—Any such support services may only be provided without any liability of the United States to the Association.
“(c) Acceptance of Support.—
“(1) Support received from the association.—Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, the Secretary may accept from the Association funds, supplies, and services for the support of the athletic programs of the Academy. For the purposes of this section, employees or personnel of the Association may not be considered to be employees of the United States.
“(2) Funds received from ncaa.—The Secretary may accept funds from the National Collegiate Athletic Association to support the athletic programs of the Academy.
“(3) Limitation.—The Secretary shall ensure that contributions under this subsection and expenditure of funds pursuant to subsection (e) do not reflect unfavorably on the ability of the Department of the Army, any of its employees, or any member of the armed forces to carry out any responsibility or duty in a fair and objective manner, or compromise the integrity or appearance of integrity of any program of the Department of the Army, or any individual involved in such a program.
“(d) Trademarks and Service Marks.—
“(1) Licensing, marketing, and sponsorship agreements.—An agreement under subsection (a) may, consistent with section 2260 of this title (other than subsection (d) of such section), authorize the Association to enter into licensing, marketing, and sponsorship agreements relating to trademarks and service marks identifying the Academy, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Army.
“(2) Limitations.—No licensing, marketing, or sponsorship agreement may be entered into under paragraph (1) if—
“(A) such agreement would reflect unfavorably on the ability of the Department of the Army, any of its employees, or any member of the armed forces to carry out any responsibility or duty in a fair and objective manner; or
“(B) the Secretary determines that the use of the trademark or service mark would compromise the integrity or appearance of integrity of any program of the Department of the Army, or any individual involved in such a program.
“(e) Retention and Use of Funds.—Any funds received by the Secretary under this section may be retained for use in support of the athletic programs of the Academy and shall remain available until expended.
“(f) Service on Association Board of Directors.—The Association is a designated entity for which authorization under sections 1033(a) and 1589(a) of this title may be provided.
“(g) Conditions.—The authority provided in this section with respect to the Association is available only so long as the Association continues—
“(1) to qualify as a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and operates in accordance with this section, the law of the State of New York, and the constitution and bylaws of the Association; and
“(2) to operate exclusively to support the athletic programs of the Academy.
“(h) Association Defined.—In this section, the term ‘Association’ means the Army West Point Athletic Association.”
“4362. Support of athletic programs.”.
“(c) Quality Assurance of Certification Programs and Standards.—
(1) Commencing not later than three years after the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, each Secretary concerned shall ensure that any credentialing program used in connection with the program under subsection (a) is accredited by an accreditation body that meets the requirements specified in paragraph (2).
“(2) The requirements for accreditation bodies specified in this paragraph are requirements that an accreditation body—
“(A) be an independent body that has in place mechanisms to ensure objectivity and impartiality in its accreditation activities;
“(B) meet a recognized national or international standard that directs its policy and procedures regarding accreditation;
“(C) apply a recognized national or international certification standard in making its accreditation decisions regarding certification bodies and programs;
“(D) conduct on-site visits, as applicable, to verify the documents and records submitted by credentialing bodies for accreditation;
“(E) have in place policies and procedures to ensure due process when addressing complaints and appeals regarding its accreditation activities;
“(F) conduct regular training to ensure consistent and reliable decisions among reviewers conducting accreditations; and
“(G) meet such other criteria as the Secretary concerned considers appropriate in order to ensure quality in its accreditation activities.”
“(2) except in the case of an individual described in subsection (a), an educational assistance allowance under chapter 33 of title 38; or”
“(a) Subsection (b)(2) does not apply to an individual who—
“(1) is otherwise entitled to compensation under this subchapter;
“(2) is described in section 3311(b) of title 38;
“(3) is not receiving retired pay under title 10; and
“(4) was discharged or released from service in the Armed Forces or the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (including through a reduction in force) under honorable conditions, but did not voluntarily separate from such service.”
“(e) Job Training and Post-Service Placement Executive Committee.—The Job Training and Post-Service Placement Executive Committee described in subsection (b)(2) shall—
“(1) review existing policies, procedures, and practices of the Departments (including the military departments) with respect to job training and post-service placement programs; and
“(2) identify changes to such policies, procedures, and practices to improve job training and post-service placement.”
; and
“(E) conducts outreach to individuals transitioning from serving on active duty in the Armed Forces who are participating in the Transition Assistance Program of the Department of Defense or other similar transition programs to inform such individuals of the community oriented veteran peer support network under paragraph (1) and other support programs and opportunities that are available to such individuals.”
“(E) the number of veterans who—
“(i) received outreach from the Department of Veterans Affairs while serving on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces; and
“(ii) participated in a peer support program under the pilot program for veterans transitioning from serving on active duty.”
“(e) Overseas Defense Dependents’ School Defined.—In this section, the term ‘overseas defense dependents’ school’ means the following:
“(1) A school established as part of the defense dependents’ education system provided for under the Defense Dependents’ Education Act of 1978 (20 U.S.C. 921 et seq.).
“(2) An elementary or secondary school established pursuant to section 2164 of this title that is located in a territory, commonwealth, or possession of the United States.”
“§ 2243. Authority to use appropriated funds to support student meal programs in overseas defense dependents’ schools”
“2243. Authority to use appropriated funds to support student meal programs in overseas defense dependents’ schools.”.
“(g) Report Required.—
“(1) In general.—Not later than March 1, 2016, and each March 1 thereafter though the conclusion of the pilot programs conducted under subsection (a), the Commander, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report describing the progress made in achieving the goals of the pilot programs.
“(2) Elements of report.—Each report under this subsection shall include the following for each pilot program:
“(A) A description of the pilot program to address family support requirements not being provided by the Secretary of a military department to immediate family members of members of the Armed Forces assigned to special operations forces.
“(B) An assessment of the impact of the pilot program on the readiness of members of the Armed Forces assigned to special operations forces.
“(C) A comparison of the pilot program to other programs conducted by the Secretaries of the military departments to provide family support to immediate family members of members of the Armed Forces.
“(D) Recommendations for incorporating the lessons learned from the pilot program into family support programs conducted by the Secretaries of the military departments.
“(E) Any other matters considered appropriate by the Commander or the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.”
“(4) After September 30, 2016, a member is eligible for a supplemental subsistence allowance under this section only if the member is serving outside the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or Guam.”
“(i) One percent for months occurring during 2015.
“(ii) Two percent for months occurring during 2016.
“(iii) Three percent for months occurring during 2017.
“(iv) Four percent for months occurring during 2018.
“(v) Five percent for months occurring after 2018.”
“(1) Incentive pay authorized.—The Secretary”
; and
“(2) Officers not currently engaged in flying duty.—The Secretary concerned may pay aviation incentive pay under this section to an officer who is otherwise qualified for such pay but who is not currently engaged in the performance of operational flying duty or proficiency flying duty if the Secretary determines, under regulations prescribed under section 374 of this title, that payment of aviation incentive pay to that officer is in the best interests of the service.”
“(i) $1,000 per month for officers performing qualifying flying duty relating to remotely piloted aircraft (RPA); or
“(ii) $850 per month for officers performing other qualifying flying duty; and”
; and
“(i) $35,000 for officers performing qualifying flying duty relating to remotely piloted aircraft; or
“(ii) $25,000 for officers performing other qualifying flying duty.”
“(4) Modernized retirement system.—
“(A) Reduced multiplier for full tsp members.—Notwithstanding paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), in the case of a member who first becomes a member of the uniformed services on or after January 1, 2018, or a member who makes the election described in subparagraph (B) (referred to as a ‘full TSP member’)—
“(i) paragraph (1)(A) shall be applied by substituting ‘2’ for ‘2½’;
“(ii) clause (i) of paragraph (3)(B) shall be applied by substituting ‘60 percent’ for ‘75 percent’; and
“(iii) clause (ii)(I) of such paragraph shall be applied by substituting ‘2’ for ‘2½’.
“(B) Election to participate in modernized retirement system.—Pursuant to subparagraph (C), a member of a uniformed service serving on December 31, 2017, who has served in the uniformed services for fewer than 12 years as of December 31, 2017, may elect, in exchange for the reduced multipliers described in subparagraph (A) for purposes of calculating the retired pay of the member, to receive Thrift Savings Plan contributions pursuant to section 8440e(e) of title 5.
“(C) Election period.—
“(i) In general.—Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), a member of a uniformed service described in subparagraph (B) may make the election authorized by that subparagraph only during the period that begins on January 1, 2018, and ends on December 31, 2018.
“(ii) Hardship extension.—The Secretary concerned may extend the election period described in clause (i) for a member who experiences a hardship as determined by the Secretary concerned.
“(iii) Effect of break in service.—A member of a uniformed service who returns to service after a break in service that occurs during the election period specified in clause (i) shall make the election described in subparagraph (B) within 30 days after the date of the reentry into service of the member.
“(D) No retroactive contributions pursuant to election.—Thrift Savings Plan contributions may not be made for a member making an election pursuant to subparagraph (B) for any period beginning before the date of the member’s election under that subparagraph by reason of the member’s election.
“(E) Regulations.—The Secretary concerned shall prescribe regulations to implement this paragraph.”
“(f) Modernized Retirement System.—
“(1) Reduced multiplier for full tsp members.—Notwithstanding subsection (a) or (c), in the case of a person who first performs reserve component service on or after January 1, 2018, after not having performed regular or reserve component service on or before that date, or a person who makes the election described in paragraph (2) (referred to as a ‘full TSP member’)—
“(A) subsection (a)(2) shall be applied by substituting ‘2 percent’ for ‘2½ percent’;
“(B) subparagraph (A) of subsection (c)(2) shall be applied by substituting ‘60 percent’ for ‘75 percent’; and
“(C) subparagraph (B)(ii) of such subsection shall be applied by substituting ‘2 percent’ for ‘2½ percent’.
“(2) Election to participate in modernized retirement system.—
“(A) In general.—Pursuant to subparagraph (B), a person performing reserve component service on December 31, 2017, who has performed fewer than 12 years of service as of December 31, 2017 (as computed in accordance with section 12733 of this title), may elect, in exchange for the reduced multipliers described in paragraph (1) for purposes of calculating the retired pay of the person, to receive Thrift Savings Plan contributions pursuant to section 8440e(e) of title 5.
“(B) Election period.—
“(i) In general.—Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), a person described in subparagraph (A) may make the election described in that subparagraph during the period that begins on January 1, 2018, and ends on December 31, 2018.
“(ii) Hardship extension.—The Secretary concerned may extend the election period described in clause (i) for a person who experiences a hardship as determined by the Secretary concerned.
“(iii) Persons experiencing break in service.—A person returning to reserve component service after a break in reserve component service in which falls the election period specified in clause (i) shall make the election described in subparagraph (A) on the date of the reentry into service of the person.
“(C) No retroactive contributions pursuant to election.—Thrift Savings Plan contributions may not be made for a person making an election pursuant to subparagraph (A) for any pay period beginning before the date of the person’s election under that subparagraph by reason of the person’s election.
“(3) Regulations.—The Secretary concerned shall prescribe regulations to implement this subsection.”
“(5) Adjustments for participants in modernized retirement system.—Notwithstanding paragraph (3), if a member or former member participates in the modernized retirement system by reason of section 1409(b)(4) of this title (including pursuant to an election under subparagraph (B) of that section), the Secretary shall increase the retired pay of such member in accordance with paragraph (2).”
“(2) If a person who is paid a bonus under this section subsequently makes an election described in section 1409(b)(4)(B) of title 10, the person shall repay any bonus payments received under this section in the same manner as repayments are made under section 373 of this title.”
; and
“(g) Sunset and Continuation of Payments.—
(1) A Secretary concerned may not pay a new bonus under this section after December 31, 2017.
“(2) Subject to subsection (f)(2), the Secretary concerned may continue to make payments for bonuses that were awarded under this section on or before the date specified in paragraph (1).”
“(2) the retired pay multiplier determined under section 1409 of such title for the number of years of service that may be credited to the officer under section 1405 of such title as if the officer’s service were service as a member of the Armed Forces.”
“(1) the term ‘basic pay’ means basic pay payable under section 204 of title 37;
“(2) the term ‘full TSP member’ means a member described in subsection (e)(1);
“(3) the term ‘member’ has the meaning given the term in section 211 of title 37; and
“(4) the term ‘Secretary concerned’ has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 37.”
“(e) Modernized Retirement System.—
“(1) TSP contributions.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary concerned shall make contributions to the Thrift Savings Fund, in accordance with section 8432 (except to the extent the requirements under such section are modified by this subsection), for the benefit of a member—
“(A) who first enters a uniformed service on or after January 1, 2018; or
“(B) who—
“(i) first entered a uniformed service before January 1, 2018;
“(ii) has completed fewer than 12 years of service in the uniformed services as of December 31, 2017; and
“(iii) makes the election described in section 1409(b)(4)(B) or 12729(f)(2) of title 10 to receive Thrift Savings Plan contributions under this subsection in exchange for the reduced multipliers described in section 1409(b)(4)(A) or 12739(f)(1) of title 10, as applicable, for purposes of calculating the retired pay of the member.
“(2) Maximum amount.—The amount contributed under this subsection by the Secretary concerned for the benefit of a full TSP member for any pay period shall not be more than 5 percent of the member’s basic pay for such pay period. Any such contribution under this subsection, though in accordance with section 8432 as provided in paragraph (1), is instead of, and not in addition to, amounts contributable under section 8432 as provided in section 8432(c).
“(3) Timing and duration of contributions.—
“(A) Automatic contributions.—The Secretary concerned shall make a contribution described in section 8432(c)(1) under this subsection for the benefit of a member described in paragraph (1) for any pay period during the period that—
“(i) begins—
“(I) on or after the day that is 60 days afer the date the member first enters a uniformed service, in the case of a member described in paragraph (1)(A); or
“(II) on or after the date the member makes the election described in paragraph (1)(B), in the case of a member making such an election; and
“(ii) ends on the day such member completes 26 years of service as a member of the uniformed services.
“(B) Matching contributions.—The Secretary concerned shall make a contribution described in section 8432(c)(2) under this subsection for the benefit of a member described in paragraph (1) for any pay period during the period that—
“(i) begins—
“(I) on or after the day that is 2 years and 1 day after the date the member first enters a uniformed service, in the case of a member described in paragraph (1)(A); or
“(II) on or after the date the member makes the election described in paragraph (1)(B), in the case of a member making such an election; and
“(ii) ends on the day such member completes 26 years of service as a member of the uniformed services.
“(4) Protections for spouses and former spouses.—Section 8435 shall apply to a full TSP member in the same manner as such section is applied to an employee or Member under such section.”
“(F) Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, if a full TSP member (as defined in section 8440e(a)) has declined automatic enrollment into the Thrift Savings Plan for a year, the full TSP member shall be automatically reenrolled on January 1 of the succeeding year, with contributions under subsection (a) at the default percentage of basic pay.”
“(C) 2 years of service in the case of a member of the uniformed services.”
“(6) For purposes of this subsection, a member of the uniformed services shall be considered to have separated from Government employment if the member is discharged or released from service in the uniformed services.”
Ҥ 1415. Lump sum payment of certain retired pay
“(a) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) Covered retired pay.—The term ‘covered retired pay’ means retired pay under—
“(A) this title;
“(B) title 14;
“(C) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 (33 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); or
“(D) the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et seq.).
“(2) Eligible person.—The term ‘eligible person’ means a person who—
“(A)
(i) first becomes a member of a uniformed service on or after January 1, 2018; or
“(ii) makes the election described in section 1409(b)(4)(B) or 12739(f)(2) of this title; and
“(B) does not retire or separate under chapter 61 of this title.
“(3) Retirement age.—The term ‘retirement age’ has the meaning given the term in section 216(l) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 416(l)).
“(b) Election of Lump Sum Payment of Certain Retired Pay.—
“(1) In general.—An eligible person entitled to covered retired pay (including an eligible person who is entitled to such pay by reason of an election described in subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii)) may elect to receive—
“(A) a lump sum payment of the discounted present value at the time of the election of an amount of the covered retired pay that the eligible person is otherwise entitled to receive for the period beginning on the date of retirement and ending on the date the eligible person attains the eligible person’s retirement age equal to—
“(i) 50 percent of the amount of such covered retired pay during such period; or
“(ii) 25 percent of the amount of such covered retired pay during such period; and
“(B) a monthly amount during the period described in subparagraph (A) equal to—
“(i) in the case of an eligible person electing to receive an amount described in subparagraph (A)(i), 50 percent of the amount of monthly covered retired pay the eligible person is otherwise entitled to receive during such period; and
“(ii) in the case of an eligible person electing to receive an amount described in subparagraph (A)(ii), 75 percent of the amount of monthly covered retired pay the eligible person is otherwise entitled to receive during such period
“(2) Discounted present value.—The Secretary of Defense shall compute the discounted present value of amounts of covered retired pay that an eligible person is otherwise entitled to receive for a period for purposes of paragraph (1)(A) by—
“(A) estimating the aggregate amount of retired pay the person would receive for the period, taking into account cost-of-living adjustments under section 1401a of this title projected by the Secretary at the time the person separates from service and would otherwise begin receiving covered retired pay; and
“(B) reducing the aggregate amount estimated pursuant to subparagraph (A) by an appropriate percentage determined by the Secretary—
“(i) using average personal discount rates (as defined and calculated by the Secretary taking into consideration applicable and reputable studies of personal discount rates for military personnel and past actuarial experience in the calculation of personal discount rates under this paragraph); and
“(ii) in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles and practices.
“(3) Timing of election.—An eligible person shall make the election under this subsection not later than 90 days before the date of the retirement of the eligible person from the uniformed services.
“(4) Single payment or combination of payments.—An eligible person may elect to receive a lump sum payment under this subsection in a single payment or in a combination of payments.
“(5) Commencement of payment.—An eligible person who makes an election under this subsection shall receive the lump sum payment, or the first installment of a combination of payments of the lump sum payment if elected under paragraph (4), as follows:
“(A) Not later than 60 days after the date of the retirement of the eligible person from the uniformed services.
“(B) In the case of an eligible person who is a member of a reserve component, not later than 60 days after the earlier of—
“(i) the date on which the eligible person attains 60 years of age; or
“(ii) the date on which the eligible person first becomes entitled to covered retired pay.
“(6) No subsequent adjustment.—An eligible person who accepts payment of a lump sum under this subsection may not seek the review of or otherwise challenge the amount of the lump sum in light of any variation in cost-of-living adjustments under section 1401a of this title, actuarial assumptions, or other factors used by the Secretary in calculating the amount of the lump sum that occur after the Secretary pays the lump sum.
“(c) Resumption of Monthly Annuity.—
“(1) General rule.—Subject to paragraph (2), an eligible person who makes an election described in subsection (b)(1) shall be entitled to receive the eligible person’s monthly covered retired pay calculated in accordance with paragraph (2) after the eligible person attains the eligible person’s retirement age.
“(2) Restoration of full retirement amount at retirement age.—The retired pay of an eligible person who makes an election described in subsection (a) shall be recomputed, effective on the first day of the first month beginning after the person attains the eligible person’s retirement age, so as to be an amount equal to the amount of covered retired pay to which the eligible person would otherwise be entitled on that date if the annual increases, in the retired pay of the eligible person made to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index, had been made in accordance with section 1401a of this title.
“(d) Payment of Retired Pay to Persons Not Making Election.—An eligible person who does not make the election described in subsection (b)(1) shall be paid the retired pay to which the eligible person is otherwise entitled under the applicable provisions of law referred to in subsection (a)(1).
“(e) Regulations.—The Secretary of Defense concerned shall prescribe regulations to carry out the provisions of this section.”
“1415. Lump sum payment of certain retired pay.”.
“(d)
(1) Other than amounts payable under section 1413a or 1414 of title 10, the amount of pension and compensation benefits payable to a person under this title shall be reduced by the amount of any lump sum payment made to such person under section 1415 of title 10.
“(2) The Secretary shall collect any reduction under paragraph (1) from amounts otherwise payable to the person under this title, including pension and compensation payable under this title, before any pension and compensation payments under this title may be paid to the person.”
Ҥ 356. Continuation pay: full TSP members with 12 years of service
“(a) Continuation Pay.—The Secretary concerned shall make a payment of continuation pay to each full TSP member (as defined in section 8440e(a) of title 5) of the uniformed services under the jurisdiction of the Secretary who—
“(1) completes 12 years of service; and
“(2) enters into an agreement with the Secretary to serve for an additional 4 years of obligated service.
“(b) Amount.—The amount of continuation pay payable to a full TSP member under subsection (a) shall be the amount that is equal to—
“(1) in the case of a member of a regular component—
“(A) the monthly basic pay of the member at 12 years of service multiplied by 2.5; plus
“(B) at the discretion of the Secretary concerned, the monthly basic pay of the member at 12 years of service multiplied by such number of months (not to exceed 13 months) as the Secretary concerned shall specify in the agreement of the member under subsection (a); and
“(2) in the case of a member of a reserve component—
“(A) the amount of monthly basic pay to which the member would be entitled at 12 years of service if the member were a member of a regular component multiplied by 0.5; plus
“(B) at the discretion of the Secretary concerned, the amount of monthly basic pay described in subparagraph (A) multiplied by such number of months (not to exceed 6 months) as the Secretary concerned shall specify in the agreement of the member under subsection (a).
“(c) Additional Discretionary Authority.—In addition to the continuation pay required under subsection (a), the Secretary concerned may provide continuation pay under this subsection to a full TSP member described in subsection (a), and subject to the service agreement referred to in paragraph (2) of such subsection, in an amount determined by the Secretary concerned.
“(d) Timing of Payment.—The Secretary concerned shall pay continuation pay under subsection (a) to a full TSP member when the member completes 12 years of service. If the Secretary concerned also provides continuation pay under subsection (c) to the member, that continuation pay shall be provided when the member completes 12 years of service.
“(e) Lump Sum or Installments.—A full TSP member may elect to receive continuation pay provided under subsection (a) or (c) in a lump sum or in a series of not more than four payments.
“(f) Relationship to Other Pay and Allowances.—Continuation pay under this section is in addition to any other pay or allowance to which the full TSP member is entitled.
“(g) Repayment.—A full TSP member who receives continuation pay under this section (a) and fails to complete the obligated service required under such subsection shall be subject to the repayment provisions of section 373 of this title.
“(h) Regulations.—Each Secretary concerned shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section.”
“356. Continuation pay: full TSP members with 12 years of service.”.
“(7) Effect of death of former spouse beneficiary.—
“(A) Termination of participation in plan.—A person who elects to provide an annuity to a former spouse under paragraph (2) or (3) and whose former spouse subsequently dies is no longer a participant in the Plan, effective on the date of death of the former spouse.
“(B) Authority for election of new spouse beneficiary.—If a person’s participation in the Plan is discontinued by reason of the death of a former spouse beneficiary, the person may elect to resume participation in the Plan and to elect a new spouse beneficiary as follows:
“(i) Married on the date of death of former spouse.—A person who is married at the time of the death of the former spouse beneficiary may elect to provide coverage to that person’s spouse. Such an election must be received by the Secretary concerned within one year after the date of death of the former spouse beneficiary.
“(ii) Marriage after death of former spouse beneficiary.—A person who is not married at the time of the death of the former spouse beneficiary and who later marries may elect to provide spouse coverage. Such an election must be received by the Secretary concerned within one year after the date on which that person marries.
“(C) Effective date of election.—The effective date of election under this paragraph shall be as follows:
“(i) An election under subparagraph (B)(i) is effective as of the first day of the first calendar month following the death of the former spouse beneficiary.
“(ii) An election under subparagraph (B)(ii) is effective as of the first day of the first calendar month following the month in which the election is received by the Secretary concerned.
“(D) Level of coverage.—A person making an election under subparagraph (B) may not reduce the base amount previously elected.
“(E) Procedures.—An election under this paragraph shall be in writing, signed by the participant, and made in such form and manner as the Secretary concerned may prescribe.
“(F) Irrevocability.—An election under this paragraph is irrevocable.”
may elect to provide spouse coverage for such spouse under the Plan, regardless of whether the person married such spouse before or after the death of the former spouse beneficiary. Any such election may only be made during the one-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
“(2) Training under this subsection shall be provided to a member of the armed forces—
“(A) as a component of the initial entry training of the member;
“(B) upon arrival at the first duty station of the member;
“(C) upon arrival at each subsequent duty station, in the case of a member in pay grade E–4 or below or in pay grade O–3 or below;
“(D) on the date of promotion of the member, in the case of a member in pay grade E–5 or below or in pay grade O–4 or below;
“(E) when the member vests in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) under section 8432(g)(2)(C) of title 5;
“(F) when the member becomes entitled to receive continuation pay under section 356 of title 37, at which time the training shall include, at a minimum, information on options available to the member regarding the use of continuation pay;
“(G) at each major life event during the service of the member, such as—
“(i) marriage;
“(ii) divorce;
“(iii) birth of first child; or
“(iv) disabling sickness or condition;
“(H) during leadership training;
“(I) during pre-deployment training and during post-deployment training;
“(J) at transition points in the service of the member, such as—
“(i) transition from a regular component to a reserve component;
“(ii) separation from service; or
“(iii) retirement; and
“(K) as a component of periodically recurring required training that is provided to the member at a military installation.”
“(4) The Secretary concerned shall prescribe regulations setting forth any other events and circumstances (in addition to the events and circumstances described in paragraph (2)) upon which the training required by this subsection shall be provided.”
“(d) Financial Literacy and Preparedness Survey.—
(1) The Director of the Defense Manpower Data Center shall annually include in the status of forces survey a survey of the status of the financial literacy and preparedness of members of the armed forces.
“(2) The results of the annual financial literacy and preparedness survey—
“(A) shall be used by each of the Secretaries concerned as a benchmark to evaluate and update training provided under this section; and
“(B) shall be submitted to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives.”
“(4) Health insurance, budget management, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), retirement lump sum payments (including rollover options and tax consequences), and Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP).”
“§ 992. Financial literacy training: financial services”
“992. Financial literacy training: financial services.”.
Ҥ 1015. Recordation of installment payment obligations for incentive pays and similar benefits
“(a) In General.—In the case of any pay, allowance, bonus, or other benefit described in subsection (b) that is paid to a member of the uniformed services on an installment basis, each installment payment shall be charged to appropriations that are available for obligation at the time such payment is payable.
“(b) Covered Pay and Benefits.—Subsection (a) applies to any incentive pay, special pay, or bonus, or similar periodic payment of pay or allowances, or of educational benefits or stipends, that is paid to a member of the uniformed services under this title or title 10.”
“1015. Recordation of installment payment obligations for incentive pays and similar benefits.”.
“(3) Residence at time of election.—
“(A) Except as provided by subparagraph (B), an affected eligible beneficiary may not make the one-time election under paragraph (1) if, at the time of such election, the beneficiary does not reside—
“(i) in a ZIP code that is in a region described in subsection (d)(1)(B); and
“(ii) within 100 miles of a military medical treatment facility.
“(B) Subparagraph (A)(ii) shall not apply with respect to an affected eligible beneficiary who—
“(i) as of December 25, 2013, resides farther than 100 miles from a military medical treatment facility; and
“(ii) is such an eligible beneficiary by reason of service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps.”
“(ii) The amount of the increase otherwise provided for a year by clause (i) shall be computed as follows:
“(I) If the amount of the increase is equal to or greater than 50 cents, the amount of the increase shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $1.
“(II) If the amount of the increase is less than 50 cents, the increase shall not be made for such year, but shall be carried over to, and accumulated with, the amount of the increase for the subsequent year or years and made when the aggregate amount of increases under this clause for a year is equal to or greater than 50 cents.”
“(2) A member of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of a reserve component of the armed forces who—
“(A) is discharged or released from service in the Selected Reserve, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, under other than adverse conditions, as characterized by the Secretary concerned;
“(B) immediately preceding that discharge or release, is enrolled in TRICARE Reserve Select; and
“(C) after that discharge or release, would not otherwise be eligible for any benefits under this chapter.”
“(2) In the case of a member described in subsection (b)(2), the written election shall be submitted to the Secretary concerned before the end of the 60-day period beginning on the later of—
“(A) the date of the discharge or release of the member from service in the Selected Reserve; and
“(B) the date the member receives the notification required pursuant to subsection (c).”
“(B) in the case of a member described in subsection (b)(2), the date which is 18 months after the date the member ceases to be eligible to enroll in TRICARE Reserve Select;”
“(h) TRICARE Reserve Select Defined.—In this section, the term ‘TRICARE Reserve Select’ means TRICARE Standard coverage provided under section 1076d of this title.”
Ҥ 1095g. TRICARE program: waiver of recoupment of erroneous payments caused by administrative error
“(a) Waiver of Recoupment.—The Secretary of Defense may waive recoupment from an individual who has benefitted from an erroneous TRICARE payment in a case in which each of the following applies:
“(1) The payment was made because of an administrative error by an employee of the Department of Defense or a contractor under the TRICARE program.
“(2) The individual (or in the case of a minor, the parent or guardian of the individual) had a good faith, reasonable belief that the individual was entitled to the benefit of such payment under this chapter.
“(3) The individual relied on the expectation of such entitlement.
“(4) The Secretary determines that a waiver of recoupment of such payment is necessary to prevent an injustice.
“(b) Responsibility of Contractor.—In any case in which the Secretary waives recoupment under subsection (a) and the administrative error was on the part of a contractor under the TRICARE program, the Secretary shall, consistent with the requirements and procedures of the applicable contract, impose financial responsibility on the contractor for the erroneous payment.
“(c) Finality of Determinations.—Any determination by the Secretary under this section to waive or decline to waive recoupment under subsection (a) is a final determination and shall not be subject to appeal or judicial review.”
“1095g. TRICARE program: waiver of recoupment of erroneous payments caused by administrative error.”.
“(c) Publication of Data on Patient Safety, Quality of Care, Satisfaction, and Health Outcome Measures.—
(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, the Secretary of Defense shall publish on a publically available Internet website of the Department of Defense data on all measures that the Secretary considers appropriate that are used by the Department to assess patient safety, quality of care, patient satisfaction, and health outcomes for health care provided under the TRICARE program at each military medical treatment facility.
“(2) The Secretary shall publish an update to the data published under paragraph (1) not less frequently than once each quarter during each fiscal year.
“(3) The Secretary may not include data relating to risk management activities of the Department in any publication under paragraph (1) or update under paragraph (2).
“(4) The Secretary shall ensure that the data published under paragraph (1) and updated under paragraph (2) is accessible to the public through the primary Internet website of the Department and the primary Internet website of the military medical treatment facility with respect to which such data applies.”
“(3) address patient safety, quality of care, and access to care at military medical treatment facilities, including—
“(A) an identification of the number of practitioners providing health care in military medical treatment facilities that were reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank during the year preceding the evaluation; and
“(B) with respect to each military medical treatment facility, an assessment of—
“(i) the current accreditation status of such facility, including any recommendations for corrective action made by the relevant accrediting body;
“(ii) any policies or procedures implemented during such year by the Secretary of the military department concerned that were designed to improve patient safety, quality of care, and access to care at such facility;
“(iii) data on surgical and maternity care outcomes during such year;
“(iv) data on appointment wait times during such year; and
“(v) data on patient safety, quality of care, and access to care as compared to standards established by the Department of Defense with respect to patient safety, quality of care, and access to care.”
Ҥ 2546a. Customer-oriented acquisition system
“(a) Objective.—It shall be the objective of the defense acquisition system to meet the needs of its customers in the most cost-effective manner practicable. The acquisition policies, directives, and regulations of the Department of Defense shall be modified as necessary to ensure the development and implementation of a customer-oriented acquisition system.
“(b) Customer.—The customer of the defense acquisition system is the armed force that will have primary responsibility for fielding the system or systems acquired. The customer is represented with regard to a major defense acquisition program by the Secretary of the military department concerned and the Chief of the armed force concerned.
“(c) Role of Customer.—The customer of a major defense acquisition program shall be responsible for balancing resources against priorities on the acquisition program and ensuring that appropriate trade-offs are made among cost, schedule, technical feasibility, and performance on a continuing basis throughout the life of the acquisition program.”
“2546a. Customer-oriented acquisition system.”.
“(2) Decisions regarding the balancing of resources and priorities, and associated trade-offs among cost, schedule, technical feasibility, and performance on major defense acquisition programs.”
; and
“(d) Duties of Principal Military Deputies.—Each Principal Military Deputy to a service acquisition executive shall be responsible for—
“(1) keeping the Chief of Staff of the Armed Force concerned informed of the progress of major defense acquisition programs;
“(2) informing the Chief of Staff on a continuing basis of any developments on major defense acquisition programs, which may require new or revisited trade-offs among cost, schedule, technical feasibility, and performance, including—
“(A) significant cost growth or schedule slippage; and
“(B) requirements creep (as defined in section 2547(c)(1) of title 10, United States Code); and
“(3) ensuring that the views of the Chief of Staff on cost, schedule, technical feasibility, and performance trade-offs are strongly considered by program managers and program executive officers in all phases of the acquisition process.”
“(3) The Council shall seek, and strongly consider, the views of the Chiefs of Staff of the armed forces, in their roles as customers of the acquisition system, on matters pertaining to trade-offs among cost, schedule, technical feasibility, and performance under subsection (b)(1)(C) and the balancing of resources with priorities pursuant to subsection (b)(3).”
“(c) Response to Combat Emergencies and Certain Urgent Operational Needs.—
“(1) Determination of need for rapid acquisition and deployment.—
(A) In the case of any supplies and associated support services that, as determined in writing by the Secretary of Defense, are urgently needed to eliminate a documented deficiency that has resulted in combat casualties, or is likely to result in combat casualties, the Secretary may use the procedures developed under this section in order to accomplish the rapid acquisition and deployment of the needed supplies and associated support services.
“(B) In the case of any supplies and associated support services that, as determined in writing by the Secretary of Defense, are urgently needed to eliminate a documented deficiency that impacts an ongoing or anticipated contingency operation and that, if left unfulfilled, could potentially result in loss of life or critical mission failure, the Secretary may use the procedures developed under this section in order to accomplish the rapid acquisition and deployment of the needed supplies and associated support services.
“(C)
(i) In the case of any supplies and associated support services that, as determined in writing by the Secretary of Defense without delegation, are urgently needed to eliminate a deficiency that as the result of a cyber attack has resulted in critical mission failure, the loss of life, property destruction, or economic effects, or if left unfilled is likely to result in critical mission failure, the loss of life, property destruction, or economic effects, the Secretary may use the procedures developed under this section in order to accomplish the rapid acquisition and deployment of the needed offensive or defensive cyber capabilities, supplies, and associated support services.
“(ii) In this subparagraph, the term ‘cyber attack’ means a deliberate action to alter, disrupt, deceive, degrade, or destroy computer systems or networks or the information or programs resident in or transiting these systems or networks.
“(2) Designation of senior official responsible.—
(A) Whenever the Secretary makes a determination under subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1) that certain supplies and associated support services are urgently needed to eliminate a deficiency described in that subparagraph, the Secretary shall designate a senior official of the Department of Defense to ensure that the needed supplies and associated support services are acquired and deployed as quickly as possible, with a goal of awarding a contract for the acquisition of the supplies and associated support services within 15 days.
“(B) Upon designation of a senior official under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall authorize that official to waive any provision of law, policy, directive, or regulation described in subsection (d) that such official determines in writing would unnecessarily impede the rapid acquisition and deployment of the needed supplies and associated support services. In a case in which the needed supplies and associated support services cannot be acquired without an extensive delay, the senior official shall require that an interim solution be implemented and deployed using the procedures developed under this section to minimize adverse consequences resulting from the urgent need.
“(3) Use of funds.—
(A) In any fiscal year in which the Secretary makes a determination described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1), the Secretary may use any funds available to the Department of Defense for acquisitions of supplies and associated support services if the determination includes a written finding that the use of such funds is necessary to address the deficiency in a timely manner.
“(B) The authority of this section may only be used to acquire supplies and associated support services—
“(i) in the case of determinations by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(A), in an amount aggregating not more than $200,000,000 during any fiscal year;
“(ii) in the case of determinations by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(B), in an amount aggregating not more than $200,000,000 during any fiscal year; and
“(iii) in the case of determinations by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(C), in an amount aggregating not more than $200,000,000 during any fiscal year.
“(4) Notification to congressional defense committees.—
(A) In the case of a determination by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall notify the congressional defense committees of the determination within 15 days after the date of the determination.
“(B) In the case of a determination by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(B) the Secretary shall notify the congressional defense committees of the determination at least 10 days before the date on which the determination is effective.
“(C) A notice under this paragraph shall include the following:
“(i) The supplies and associated support services to be acquired.
“(ii) The amount anticipated to be expended for the acquisition.
“(iii) The source of funds for the acquisition.
“(D) A notice under this paragraph shall be sufficient to fulfill any requirement to provide notification to Congress for a new start program.
“(E) A notice under this paragraph shall be provided in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
“(5) Time for transitioning to normal acquisition system.—Any acquisition initiated under this subsection shall transition to the normal acquisition system not later than two years after the date on which the Secretary makes the determination described in paragraph (1) with respect to the supplies and associated support services concerned.
“(6) Limitation on officers with authority to make a determination.—The authority to make a determination under subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1) may be exercised only by the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of Defense.”
“(D) to the extent such data—
“(i) relates to an offset agreement in connection with a contract for the sale of a weapon system or defense-related item to a foreign country or foreign firm; and
“(ii) does not relate to a contract or subcontract under the offset agreement for work performed in such foreign country or by such foreign firm that is directly related to the weapon system or defense-related item being purchased under the contract.”
“(2) In the case of a challenge to a use or release restriction that is asserted with respect to technical data of a contractor or subcontractor for a major system or a subsystem or component thereof on the basis that the major weapon system, subsystem, or component was developed exclusively at private expense—
“(A) the presumption in paragraph (1) shall apply—
“(i) with regard to a commercial subsystem or component of a major system, if the major system was acquired as a commercial item in accordance with section 2379(a) of this title;
“(ii) with regard to a component of a subsystem, if the subsystem was acquired as a commercial item in accordance with section 2379(b) of this title; and
“(iii) with regard to any other component, if the component is a commercially available off-the-shelf item or a commercially available off-the-shelf item with modifications of a type customarily available in the commercial marketplace or minor modifications made to meet Federal Government requirements; and
“(B) in all other cases, the challenge to the use or release restriction shall be sustained unless information provided by the contractor or subcontractor demonstrates that the item was developed exclusively at private expense.”
Ҥ 2371b. Authority of the Department of Defense to carry out certain prototype projects
“(a) Authority.—
(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Secretary of a military department, or any other official designated by the Secretary of Defense may, under the authority of section 2371 of this title, carry out prototype projects that are directly relevant to enhancing the mission effectiveness of military personnel and the supporting platforms, systems, components, or materials proposed to be acquired or developed by the Department of Defense, or to improvement of platforms, systems, components, or materials in use by the armed forces.
“(2) The authority of this section—
“(A) may be exercised for a prototype project that is expected to cost the Department of Defense in excess of $50,000,000 but not in excess of $250,000,000 (including all options) only upon a written determination by the senior procurement executive for the agency as designated for the purpose of section 1702(c) of title 41, or, for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or the Missile Defense Agency, the director of the agency that—
“(i) the requirements of subsection (d) will be met; and
“(ii) the use of the authority of this section is essential to promoting the success of the prototype project; and
“(B) may be exercised for a prototype project that is expected to cost the Department of Defense in excess of $250,000,000 (including all options) only if—
“(i) the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics determines in writing that—
“(I) the requirements of subsection (d) will be met; and
“(II) the use of the authority of this section is essential to meet critical national security objectives; and
“(ii) the congressional defense committees are notified in writing at least 30 days before such authority is exercised.
“(3) The authority of a senior procurement executive or director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or Missile Defense Agency under paragraph (2)(A), and the authority of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics under paragraph (2)(B), may not be delegated.
“(b) Exercise of Authority.—
“(1) Subsections (e)(1)(B) and (e)(2) of such section 2371 shall not apply to projects carried out under subsection (a).
“(2) To the maximum extent practicable, competitive procedures shall be used when entering into agreements to carry out projects under subsection (a).
“(c) Comptroller General Access to Information.—
(1) Each agreement entered into by an official referred to in subsection (a) to carry out a project under that subsection that provides for payments in a total amount in excess of $5,000,000 shall include a clause that provides for the Comptroller General, in the discretion of the Comptroller General, to examine the records of any party to the agreement or any entity that participates in the performance of the agreement.
“(2) The requirement in paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to a party or entity, or a subordinate element of a party or entity, that has not entered into any other agreement that provides for audit access by a Government entity in the year prior to the date of the agreement.
“(3)
(A) The right provided to the Comptroller General in a clause of an agreement under paragraph (1) is limited as provided in subparagraph (B) in the case of a party to the agreement, an entity that participates in the performance of the agreement, or a subordinate element of that party or entity if the only agreements or other transactions that the party, entity, or subordinate element entered into with Government entities in the year prior to the date of that agreement are cooperative agreements or transactions that were entered into under this section or section 2371 of this title.
“(B) The only records of a party, other entity, or subordinate element referred to in subparagraph (A) that the Comptroller General may examine in the exercise of the right referred to in that subparagraph are records of the same type as the records that the Government has had the right to examine under the audit access clauses of the previous agreements or transactions referred to in such subparagraph that were entered into by that particular party, entity, or subordinate element.
“(4) The head of the contracting activity that is carrying out the agreement may waive the applicability of the requirement in paragraph (1) to the agreement if the head of the contracting activity determines that it would not be in the public interest to apply the requirement to the agreement. The waiver shall be effective with respect to the agreement only if the head of the contracting activity transmits a notification of the waiver to Congress and the Comptroller General before entering into the agreement. The notification shall include the rationale for the determination.
“(5) The Comptroller General may not examine records pursuant to a clause included in an agreement under paragraph (1) more than three years after the final payment is made by the United States under the agreement.
“(d) Appropriate Use of Authority.—
(1) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that no official of an agency enters into a transaction (other than a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement) for a prototype project under the authority of this section unless one of the following conditions is met:
“(A) There is at least one nontraditional defense contractor participating to a significant extent in the prototype project.
“(B) All significant participants in the transaction other than the Federal Government are small businesses or nontraditional defense contractors.
“(C) At least one third of the total cost of the prototype project is to be paid out of funds provided by parties to the transaction other than the Federal Government.
“(D) The senior procurement executive for the agency determines in writing that exceptional circumstances justify the use of a transaction that provides for innovative business arrangements or structures that would not be feasible or appropriate under a contract, or would provide an opportunity to expand the defense supply base in a manner that would not be practical or feasible under a contract.
“(2)
(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the amounts counted for the purposes of this subsection as being provided, or to be provided, by a party to a transaction with respect to a prototype project that is entered into under this section other than the Federal Government do not include costs that were incurred before the date on which the transaction becomes effective.
“(B) Costs that were incurred for a prototype project by a party after the beginning of negotiations resulting in a transaction (other than a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement) with respect to the project before the date on which the transaction becomes effective may be counted for purposes of this subsection as being provided, or to be provided, by the party to the transaction if and to the extent that the official responsible for entering into the transaction determines in writing that—
“(i) the party incurred the costs in anticipation of entering into the transaction; and
“(ii) it was appropriate for the party to incur the costs before the transaction became effective in order to ensure the successful implementation of the transaction.
“(e) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) The term ‘nontraditional defense contractor’ has the meaning given the term under section 2302(9) of this title.
“(2) The term ‘small business’ means a small business concern as defined under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
“(f) Follow-on Production Contracts or Transactions.—
(1) A transaction entered into under this section for a prototype project may provide for the award of a follow-on production contract or transaction to the participants in the transaction.
“(2) A follow-on production contract or transaction provided for in a transaction under paragraph (1) may be awarded to the participants in the transaction without the use of competitive procedures, notwithstanding the requirements of section 2304 of this title, if—
“(A) competitive procedures were used for the selection of parties for participation in the transaction; and
“(B) the participants in the transaction successfully completed the prototype project provided for in the transaction.
“(3) Contracts and transactions entered into pursuant to this subsection may be awarded using the authority in subsection (a), under the authority of chapter 137 of this title, or under such procedures, terms, and conditions as the Secretary of Defense may establish by regulation.
“(g) Authority To Provide Prototypes and Follow-on Production Items as Government-furnished Equipment.—An agreement entered into pursuant to the authority of subsection (a) or a follow-on contract or transaction entered into pursuant to the authority of subsection (f) may provide for prototypes or follow-on production items to be provided to another contractor as Government-furnished equipment.
“(h) Applicability of Procurement Ethics Requirements.—An agreement entered into under the authority of this section shall be treated as a Federal agency procurement for the purposes of chapter 21 of title 41.”
“2371b. Authority of the Department of Defense to carry out certain prototype projects.”.
“(9) The term ‘nontraditional defense contractor’, with respect to a procurement or with respect to a transaction authorized under section 2371(a) or 2371b of this title, means an entity that is not currently performing and has not performed, for at least the one-year period preceding the solicitation of sources by the Department of Defense for the procurement or transaction, any contract or subcontract for the Department of Defense that is subject to full coverage under the cost accounting standards prescribed pursuant to section 1502 of title 41 and the regulations implementing such section.”
“(B) sections 2371 and 2371b of title 10, United States Code.”
“(D) not less than $1,000,000, but less than $10,000,000, to the nearest $500,000;
“(E) not less than $10,000,000, but less than $100,000,000, to the nearest $5,000,000;
“(F) not less than $100,000,000, but less than $1,000,000,000, to the nearest $50,000,000; and
“(G) $1,000,000,000 or more, to the nearest $500,000,000.”
Ҥ 2431a. Acquisition strategy
“(a) Acquisition Strategy Required.—There shall be an acquisition strategy for each major defense acquisition program, each major automated information system, and each major system approved by a milestone decision authority.
“(b) Responsible Official.—For each acquisition strategy required by subsection (a), the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics is responsible for issuing and maintaining the requirements for—
“(1) the content of the strategy; and
“(2) the review and approval process for the strategy.
“(c) Considerations.—
(1) In issuing requirements for the content of an acquisition strategy for a major defense acquisition program, major automated information system, or major system, the Under Secretary shall ensure that—
“(A) the strategy clearly describes the proposed top-level business and technical management approach for the program or system, in sufficient detail to allow the milestone decision authority to assess the viability of the proposed approach, the method of implementing laws and policies, and program objectives;
“(B) the strategy contains a clear explanation of how the strategy is designed to be implemented with available resources, such as time, funding, and management capacity;
“(C) the strategy is tailored to address program requirements and constraints; and
“(D) the strategy considers the items listed in paragraph (2).
“(2) Each strategy shall, where appropriate, consider the following:
“(A) An approach that delivers required capability in increments, each depending on available mature technology, and that recognizes up front the need for future capability improvements.
“(B) Acquisition approach, including industrial base considerations in accordance with section 2440 of this title.
“(C) Risk management, including such methods as competitive prototyping at the system, subsystem, or component level, in accordance with section 2431b of this title.
“(D) Business strategy, including measures to ensure competition at the system and subsystem level throughout the life-cycle of the program or system in accordance with section 2337 of this title.
“(E) Contracting strategy, including—
“(i) contract type and how the type selected relates to level of program risk in each acquisition phase;
“(ii) how the plans for the program or system to reduce risk enable the use of fixed-price elements in subsequent contracts and the timing of the use of those fixed price elements;
“(iii) market research; and
“(iv) consideration of small business participation.
“(F) Intellectual property strategy in accordance with section 2320 of this title.
“(G) International involvement, including foreign military sales and cooperative opportunities, in accordance with section 2350a of this title.
“(H) Multiyear procurement in accordance with section 2306b of this title.
“(I) Integration of current intelligence assessments into the acquisition process.
“(J) Requirements related to logistics, maintenance, and sustainment in accordance with sections 2464 and 2466 of this title.
“(d) Review.—
(1) Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, the milestone decision authority shall review and approve, as appropriate, the acquisition strategy for a major defense acquisition program, major automated information system, or major system at each of the following times:
“(A) Milestone A approval.
“(B) The decision to release the request for proposals for development of the program or system.
“(C) Milestone B approval.
“(D) Each subsequent milestone.
“(E) Review of any decision to enter into full-rate production.
“(F) When there has been—
“(i) a significant change to the cost of the program or system;
“(ii) a critical change to the cost of the program or system;
“(iii) a significant change to the schedule of the program or system; or
“(iv) a significant change to the performance of the program or system.
“(G) Any other time considered relevant by the milestone decision authority.
“(2) If the milestone decision authority revises an acquisition strategy for a program or system, the milestone decision authority shall provide notice of the revision to the congressional defense committees.
“(e) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) The term ‘major defense acquisition program’ has the meaning provided in section 2430 of this title.
“(2) The term ‘major system’ has the meaning provided in section 2302(5) of this title.
“(3) The term ‘Milestone A approval’ means a decision to enter into technology maturation and risk reduction pursuant to guidance prescribed by the Secretary of Defense for the management of Department of Defense acquisition programs.
“(4) The term ‘Milestone B approval’ has the meaning provided in section 2366(e)(7) of this title.
“(5) The term ‘milestone decision authority’, with respect to a major defense acquisition program, major automated information system, or major system, means the official within the Department of Defense designated with the overall responsibility and authority for acquisition decisions for the program or system, including authority to approve entry of the program or system into the next phase of the acquisition process.
“(6) The term ‘management capacity’, with respect to a major defense acquisition program, major automated information system, or major system, means the capacity to manage the program or system through the use of highly qualified organizations and personnel with appropriate experience, knowledge, and skills.
“(7) The term ‘significant change to the cost’, with respect to a major defense acquisition program or major system, means a significant cost growth threshold, as that term is defined in section 2433(a)(4) of this title.
“(8) The term ‘critical change to the cost’, with respect to a major defense acquisition program or major system, means a critical cost growth threshold, as that term is defined in section 2433(a)(5) of this title.
“(9) The term ‘significant change to the schedule’, with respect to a major defense acquisition program, major automated information system, or major system, means any schedule delay greater than six months in a reported event.”
“2431a. Acquisition strategy.”.
Ҥ 2431b. Risk management and mitigation in major defense acquisition programs and major systems
“(a) Requirement.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the initial acquisition strategy (required under section 2431a of this title) approved by the milestone decision authority and any subsequent revisions include the following:
“(1) A comprehensive approach for managing and mitigating risk (including technical, cost, and schedule risk) during each of the following periods or when determined appropriate by the milestone decision authority:
“(A) The period preceding engineering manufacturing development, or its equivalent.
“(B) The period preceding initial production.
“(C) The period preceding full-rate production.
“(2) An identification of the major sources of risk in each of the periods listed in paragraph (1) to improve programmatic decisionmaking and appropriately minimize and manage program concurrency.
“(b) Approach to Manage and Mitigate Risks.—The comprehensive approach to manage and mitigate risk included in the acquisition strategy for purposes of subsection (a)(1) shall, at a minimum, include consideration of risk mitigation techniques such as the following:
“(1) Prototyping (including prototyping at the system, subsystem, or component level and competitive prototyping, where appropriate) and, if prototyping at either the system, subsystem, or component level is not used, an explanation of why it is not appropriate.
“(2) Modeling and simulation, the areas that modeling and simulation will assess, and identification of the need for development of any new modeling and simulation tools in order to support the comprehensive strategy.
“(3) Technology demonstrations and decision points for disciplined transition of planned technologies into programs or the selection of alternative technologies.
“(4) Multiple design approaches.
“(5) Alternative designs, including any designs that meet requirements but do so with reduced performance.
“(6) Phasing of program activities or related technology development efforts in order to address high-risk areas as early as feasible.
“(7) Manufacturability and industrial base availability.
“(8) Independent risk element assessments by outside subject matter experts.
“(9) Schedule and funding margins for identified risks.
“(c) Preference for Prototyping.—To the maximum extent practicable and consistent with the economical use of available financial resources, the milestone decision authority for each major defense acquisition program shall ensure that the acquisition strategy for the program provides for—
“(1) the production of competitive prototypes at the system or subsystem level before Milestone B approval; or
“(2) if the production of competitive prototypes is not practicable, the production of single prototypes at the system or subsystem level.
“(d) Definitions.—In this section, the terms ‘major defense acquisition program’ and ‘major system’ have the meanings provided in section 2431a of this title.”
“2431b. Risk reduction in major defense acquisition programs and major systems.”.
Ҥ 2366a. Major defense acquisition programs: determination required before Milestone A approval
“(a) Responsibilities.—Before granting Milestone A approval for a major defense acquisition program or a major subprogram, the milestone decision authority for the program or subprogram shall ensure that—
“(1) information about the program or subprogram is sufficient to warrant entry of the program or subprogram into the risk reduction phase;
“(2) the Secretary of the military department concerned and the Chief of the armed force concerned concur in the cost, schedule, technical feasibility, and performance trade-offs that have been made with regard to the program; and
“(3) there are sound plans for progression of the program or subprogram to the development phase.
“(b) Written Determination Required.—A major defense acquisition program or subprogram may not receive Milestone A approval or otherwise be initiated prior to Milestone B approval until the milestone decision authority determines in writing, after consultation with the Joint Requirements Oversight Council on matters related to program requirements and military needs—
“(1) that the program fulfills an approved initial capabilities document;
“(2) that the program has been developed in light of appropriate market research;
“(3) if the program duplicates a capability already provided by an existing system, the duplication provided by such program is necessary and appropriate;
“(4) that, with respect to any identified areas of risk, there is a plan to reduce the risk;
“(5) that planning for sustainment has been addressed and that a determination of applicability of core logistics capabilities requirements has been made;
“(6) that an analysis of alternatives has been performed consistent with study guidance developed by the Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation;
“(7) that a cost estimate for the program has been submitted, with the concurrence of the Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, and that the level of resources required to develop, procure, and sustain the program is sufficient for successful program execution; and
“(8) that the program or subprogram meets any other considerations the milestone decision authority considers relevant.
“(c) Submission to Congress.—At the request of any of the congressional defense committees, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the committee an explanation of the basis for a determination made under subsection (b) with respect to a major defense acquisition program, together with a copy of the written determination. The explanation shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
“(d) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) The term ‘major defense acquisition program’ has the meaning provided in section 2430 of this title.
“(2) The term ‘initial capabilities document’ means any capabilities requirement document approved by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council that establishes the need for a materiel approach to resolve a capability gap.
“(3) The term ‘Milestone A approval’ means a decision to enter into technology maturation and risk reduction pursuant to guidance prescribed by the Secretary of Defense for the management of Department of Defense acquisition programs.
“(4) The term ‘Milestone B approval’ has the meaning provided that term in section 2366(e)(7) of this title.
“(5) The term ‘core logistics capabilities’ means the core logistics capabilities identified under section 2464(a) of this title.
“(6) the term ‘major subprogram’ means a major subprogram of a major defense acquisition program designated under section 2430a(a)(1) of this title.
“(7) The term ‘milestone decision authority’, with respect to a major defense acquisition program or a major subprogram, means the official within the Department of Defense designated with the overall responsibility and authority for acquisition decisions for the program or subprogram, including authority to approve entry of the program or subprogram into the next phase of the acquisition process.”
“2366a. Major defense acquisition programs: determination required before Milestone A approval.”.
Ҥ 2366b. Major defense acquisition programs: certification required before Milestone B approval
“(a) Certifications and Determination Required.—A major defense acquisition program may not receive Milestone B approval until the milestone decision authority—
“(1) has received a preliminary design review and conducted a formal post-preliminary design review assessment, and certifies on the basis of such assessment that the program demonstrates a high likelihood of accomplishing its intended mission;
“(2) further certifies that the technology in the program has been demonstrated in a relevant environment, as determined by the milestone decision authority on the basis of an independent review and assessment by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, in consultation with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Developmental Test and Evaluation;
“(3) determines in writing that—
“(A) the program is affordable when considering the ability of the Department of Defense to accomplish the program’s mission using alternative systems;
“(B) appropriate trade-offs among cost, schedule, technical feasibility, and performance objectives have been made to ensure that the program is affordable when considering the per unit cost and the total acquisition cost in the context of the total resources available during the period covered by the future-years defense program submitted during the fiscal year in which the certification is made;
“(C) reasonable cost and schedule estimates have been developed to execute, with the concurrence of the Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, the product development and production plan under the program; and
“(D) funding is available to execute the product development and production plan under the program, through the period covered by the future-years defense program submitted during the fiscal year in which the certification is made, consistent with the estimates described in subparagraph (C) for the program;
“(E) appropriate market research has been conducted prior to technology development to reduce duplication of existing technology and products;
“(F) the Department of Defense has completed an analysis of alternatives with respect to the program;
“(G) the Joint Requirements Oversight Council has accomplished its duties with respect to the program pursuant to section 181(b) of this title, including an analysis of the operational requirements for the program;
“(H) life-cycle sustainment planning, including corrosion prevention and mitigation planning, has identified and evaluated relevant sustainment costs throughout development, production, operation, sustainment, and disposal of the program, and any alternatives, and that such costs are reasonable and have been accurately estimated;
“(I) an estimate has been made of the requirements for core logistics capabilities and the associated sustaining workloads required to support such requirements;
“(J) there is a plan to mitigate and account for any costs in connection with any anticipated de-certification of cryptographic systems and components during the production and procurement of the major defense acquisition program to be acquired;
“(K) the program complies with all relevant policies, regulations, and directives of the Department of Defense; and
“(L) the Secretary of the military department concerned and the Chief of the armed force concerned concur in the trade-offs made in accordance with subparagraph (B); and
“(4) in the case of a space system, performs a cost benefit analysis for any new or follow-on satellite system using a dedicated ground control system instead of a shared ground control system, except that no cost benefit analysis is required to be performed under this paragraph for any Milestone B approval of a space system after December 31, 2019.
“(b) Changes to Certifications or Determination.—
(1) The program manager for a major defense acquisition program that has received certifications or a determination under subsection (a) shall immediately notify the milestone decision authority of any changes to the program or a designated major subprogram of such program that—
“(A) alter the substantive basis for the certifications or determination of the milestone decision authority relating to any component of such certifications or determination specified in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a); or
“(B) otherwise cause the program or subprogram to deviate significantly from the material provided to the milestone decision authority in support of such certifications or determination.
“(2) Upon receipt of information under paragraph (1), the milestone decision authority may withdraw the certifications or determination concerned or rescind Milestone B approval if the milestone decision authority determines that such certifications, determination, or approval are no longer valid.
“(c) Submission to Congress.—
(1) The certifications and determination under subsection (a) with respect to a major defense acquisition program shall be submitted to the congressional defense committees with the first Selected Acquisition Report submitted under section 2432 of this title after completion of the certification.
“(2) The milestone decision authority shall retain records of the basis for the certifications and determination under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a).
“(3) At the request of any of the congressional defense committees, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the committee an explanation of the basis for the certifications and determination under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a) with respect to a major defense acquisition program. The explanation shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
“(d) Waiver for National Security.—
(1) The milestone decision authority may, at the time of Milestone B approval or at the time that such milestone decision authority withdraws a certification or rescinds Milestone B approval pursuant to subsection (b)(2), waive the applicability to a major defense acquisition program of one or more components (as specified in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a)) of the certification and determination requirements if the milestone decision authority determines that, but for such a waiver, the Department would be unable to meet critical national security objectives.
“(2) Whenever the milestone decision authority makes such a determination and authorizes such a waiver—
“(A) the waiver, the waiver determination, and the reasons for the waiver determination shall be submitted in writing to the congressional defense committees within 30 days after the waiver is authorized; and
“(B) the milestone decision authority shall review the program not less often than annually to determine the extent to which such program currently satisfies the certification and determination components specified in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a) until such time as the milestone decision authority determines that the program satisfies all such certification and determination components.
“(3) The requirement in paragraph (2)(B) shall not apply to a program for which a certification was required pursuant to section 2433a(c) of this title if the milestone decision authority—
“(A) determines in writing that—
“(i) the program has reached a stage in the acquisition process at which it would not be practicable to meet the certification component that was waived; and
“(ii) the milestone decision authority has taken appropriate alternative actions to address the underlying purposes of such certification component; and
“(B) submits the written determination, and an explanation of the basis for the determination, to the congressional defense committees.
“(e) Designation of Certification Status in Budget Documentation.—Any budget request, budget justification material, budget display, reprogramming request, Selected Acquisition Report, or other budget documentation or performance report submitted by the Secretary of Defense to the President regarding a major defense acquisition program receiving a waiver pursuant to subsection (d) shall prominently and clearly indicate that such program has not fully satisfied the certification requirements of this section until such time as the milestone decision authority makes the determination that such program has satisfied all such certification requirements.
“(f) Nondelegation.—The milestone decision authority may not delegate the certification requirement under subsection (a) or the authority to waive any component of such requirement under subsection (d).
“(g) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) The term ‘major defense acquisition program’ means a Department of Defense acquisition program that is a major defense acquisition program for purposes of section 2430 of this title.
“(2) The term ‘designated major subprogram’ means a major subprogram of a major defense acquisition program designated under section 2430a(a)(1) of this title.
“(3) The term ‘milestone decision authority’, with respect to a major defense acquisition program, means the official within the Department of Defense designated with the overall responsibility and authority for acquisition decisions for the program, including authority to approve entry of the program into the next phase of the acquisition process.
“(4) The term ‘Milestone B approval’ has the meaning provided that term in section 2366(e)(7) of this title.
“(5) The term ‘core logistics capabilities’ means the core logistics capabilities identified under section 2464(a) of this title.”
“(d)
(1) The milestone decision authority for a major defense acquisition program reaching Milestone A after October 1, 2016, shall be the service acquisition executive of the military department that is managing the program, unless the Secretary of Defense designates, under paragraph (2), another official to serve as the milestone decision authority.
“(2) The Secretary of Defense may designate an alternate milestone decision authority for a program with respect to which—
“(A) the Secretary determines that the program is addressing a joint requirement;
“(B) the Secretary determines that the program is best managed by a Defense Agency;
“(C) the program has incurred a unit cost increase greater than the significant cost threshold or critical cost threshold under section 2433 of this title;
“(D) the program is critical to a major interagency requirement or technology development effort, or has significant international partner involvement; or
“(E) the Secretary determines that an alternate official serving as the milestone decision authority will best provide for the program to achieve desired cost, schedule, and performance outcomes.
“(3)
(A) After designating an alternate milestone decision authority under paragraph (2) for a program, the Secretary of Defense may revert the position of milestone decision authority for the program back to the service acquisition executive upon request of the Secretary of the military department concerned. A decision on the request shall be made within 180 days after receipt of the request from the Secretary of the military department concerned.
“(B) If the Secretary of Defense denies the request for reversion of the milestone decision authority back to the service acquisition executive, the Secretary shall report to the congressional defense committees on the basis of the Secretary’s decision that an alternate official serving as milestone decision authority will best provide for the program to achieve desired cost, schedule, and performance outcomes. No such reversion is authorized after a program has incurred a unit cost increase greater than the significant cost threshold or critical cost threshold under section 2433 of this title, except in exceptional circumstances.
“(4)
(A) For each major defense acquisition program, the Secretary of the military department concerned and the Chief of the armed force concerned shall, in each Selected Acquisition Report required under section 2432 of this title, certify that program requirements are stable and funding is adequate to meet cost, schedule, and performance objectives for the program and identify and report to the congressional defense committees on any increased risk to the program since the last report.
“(B) The Secretary of Defense shall review the acquisition oversight process for major defense acquisition programs and shall limit outside requirements for documentation to an absolute minimum on those programs where the service acquisition executive of the military department that is managing the program is the milestone decision authority and ensure that any policies, procedures, and activities related to oversight efforts conducted outside of the military departments with regard to major defense acquisition programs shall be implemented in a manner that does not unnecessarily increase program costs or impede program schedules.”
“(A) Monitoring changes in program requirements and ensuring the Chief of Staff of the Armed Force concerned, in consultation with the Secretary of the military department concerned, approves of any proposed changes that could have an adverse effect on program cost or schedule.”
“§ 2434. Independent cost estimates”
“2434. Independent cost estimates.”.
“(C) For purposes of this paragraph, the applicable percentage for a fiscal year is the percentage that results in the credit to the Fund of $500,000,000 in each fiscal year.”
“(ii) a description of steps that will be taken to address any new or expanded critical skills and competencies the civilian employee workforce will need to address recent trends in defense acquisition, emerging best practices, changes in the Government and commercial marketplace, and new requirements established in law or regulation; and”
; and
“(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1), contractor personnel shall be treated as directly supporting the acquisition processes of the Department if, and to the extent that, such contractor personnel perform functions in support of personnel in Department of Defense positions designated by the Secretary of Defense under section 1721 of this title.”
“(2) A dual-track career path that attracts the highest quality officers and enlisted personnel and allows them to gain experience in and receive credit for a primary career in combat arms and a functional secondary career in the acquisition field in order to more closely align the military operational, requirements, and acquisition workforces of each armed force.”
“(F) acquisition matters addressed by military personnel and covered under chapter 87 of this title.”
“(d) Market Research Training Required.—The Secretary of Defense shall provide mandatory training for members of the armed forces and employees of the Department of Defense responsible for the conduct of market research required under subsection (c). Such mandatory training shall, at a minimum—
“(1) provide comprehensive information on the subject of market research and the function of market research in the acquisition of commercial items;
“(2) teach best practices for conducting and documenting market research; and
“(3) provide methodologies for establishing standard processes and reports for collecting and sharing market research across the Department.”
Ҥ 2380. Commercial item determinations by Department of Defense
“The Secretary of Defense shall—
“(1) establish and maintain a centralized capability with necessary expertise and resources to oversee the making of commercial item determinations for the purposes of procurements by the Department of Defense; and
“(2) provide public access to Department of Defense commercial item determinations for the purposes of procurements by the Department of Defense.”
“2380. Commercial item determinations by Department of Defense.”.
“(4) Commercial item determination.—
(A) For purposes of applying the commercial item exception under paragraph (1)(B) to the required submission of certified cost or pricing data, the contracting officer may presume that a prior commercial item determination made by a military department, a Defense Agency, or another component of the Department of Defense shall serve as a determination for subsequent procurements of such item.
“(B) If the contracting officer does not make the presumption described in subparagraph (A) and instead chooses to proceed with a procurement of an item previously determined to be a commercial item using procedures other than the procedures authorized for the procurement of a commercial item, the contracting officer shall request a review of the commercial item determination by the head of the contracting activity.
“(C) Not later than 30 days after receiving a request for review of a commercial item determination under subparagraph (B), the head of a contracting activity shall—
“(i) confirm that the prior determination was appropriate and still applicable; or
“(ii) issue a revised determination with a written explanation of the basis for the revision.”
“(d) Information Submitted.—
(1) To the extent necessary to determine the reasonableness of the price for items acquired under this section, the contracting officer shall require the offeror to submit—
“(A) prices paid for the same or similar commercial items under comparable terms and conditions by both Government and commercial customers;
“(B) if the contracting officer determines that the offeror does not have access to and cannot provide sufficient information described in subparagraph (A) to determine the reasonableness of price, information on—
“(i) prices for the same or similar items sold under different terms and conditions;
“(ii) prices for similar levels of work or effort on related products or services;
“(iii) prices for alternative solutions or approaches; and
“(iv) other relevant information that can serve as the basis for a price assessment; and
“(C) if the contracting officer determines that the information submitted pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) is not sufficient to determine the reasonableness of price, other relevant information regarding the basis for price or cost, including information on labor costs, material costs, and overhead rates.
“(2) An offeror may not be required to submit information described in paragraph (1)(C) with regard to a commercially available off-the-shelf item and may be required to submit such information with regard to any other item that was developed exclusively at private expense only after the head of the contracting activity determines in writing that the information submitted pursuant to paragraphs (1)(A) and (1)(B) is not sufficient to determine the reasonableness of price.”
“(5) A contracting officer shall consider evidence provided by an offeror of recent purchase prices paid by the Government for the same or similar commercial items in establishing price reasonableness on a subsequent purchase if the contracting officer is satisfied that the prices previously paid remain a valid reference for comparison after considering the totality of other relevant factors such as the time elapsed since the prior purchase and any differences in the quantities purchased or applicable terms and conditions.”
Ҥ 2380A. Treatment of goods and services provided by nontraditional defense contractors as commercial items
“Notwithstanding section 2376(1) of this title, items and services provided by nontraditional defense contractors (as that term is defined in section 2302(9) of this title) may be treated by the head of an agency as commercial items for purposes of this chapter.”
“2380A. Treatment of goods and services provided by nontraditional defense contractors as commercial items.”.
“(1) enhance the capabilities of disadvantaged small business concerns to perform as subcontractors and suppliers under Department of Defense contracts and other contracts and subcontracts; and
“(2) increase the participation of such business concerns as subcontractors and suppliers under Department of Defense contracts, other Federal Government contracts, and commercial contracts.”
“(1) the mentor firm is not affiliated with the protege firm prior to the approval of that agreement; and
“(2) the mentor firm demonstrates that it—
“(A) is qualified to provide assistance that will contribute to the purpose of the program;
“(B) is of good financial health and character and does not appear on a Federal list of debarred or suspended contractors; and
“(C) can impart value to a protege firm because of experience gained as a Department of Defense contractor or through knowledge of general business operations and government contracting, as demonstrated by evidence that—”
“(1) A developmental program for the protege firm, in such detail as may be reasonable, including—
“(A) factors to assess the protege firm’s developmental progress under the program;
“(B) a description of the quantitative and qualitative benefits to the Department of Defense from the agreement, if applicable; and
“(C) goals for additional awards that protege firm can compete for outside the Mentor-Protege Program.”
“(D) The Secretary may not reimburse any fee assessed by the mentor firm for services provided to the protege firm pursuant to subsection (f)(6) or for business development expenses incurred by the mentor firm under a contract awarded to the mentor firm while participating in a joint venture with the protege firm.”
; and
“(l) Report by Mentor Firms.—To comply with section 8(d)(7) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(7)), each mentor firm shall submit a report to the Secretary not less than once each fiscal year that includes, for the preceding fiscal year—
“(1) all technical or management assistance provided by mentor firm personnel for the purposes described in subsection (f)(1);
“(2) any new awards of subcontracts on a competitive or noncompetitive basis to the protege firm under Department of Defense contracts or other contracts, including the value of such subcontracts;
“(3) any extensions, increases in the scope of work, or additional payments not previously reported for prior awards of subcontracts on a competitive or noncompetitive basis to the protege firm under Department of Defense contracts or other contracts, including the value of such subcontracts;
“(4) the amount of any payment of progress payments or advance payments made to the protege firm for performance under any subcontract made under the Mentor-Protege Program;
“(5) any loans made by mentor firm to the protege firm;
“(6) all Federal contracts awarded to the mentor firm and the protege firm as a joint venture, designating whether the award was a restricted competition or a full and open competition;
“(7) any assistance obtained by the mentor firm for the protege firm from one or more—
“(A) small business development centers established pursuant to section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648);
“(B) entities providing procurement technical assistance pursuant to chapter 142 of title 10, United States Code; or
“(C) historically Black colleges or universities or minority institutions of higher education;
“(8) whether there have been any changes to the terms of the mentor-protege agreement; and
“(9) a narrative describing the success assistance provided under subsection (f) has had in addressing the developmental needs of the protege firm, the impact on Department of Defense contracts, and addressing any problems encountered.
“(m) Review of Report by the Office of Small Business Programs.—The Office of Small Business Programs of the Department of Defense shall review the report required by subsection (l) and, if the Office finds that the mentor-protege agreement is not furthering the purpose of the Mentor-Protege Program, decide not to approve any continuation of the agreement.”
; and
“(H) a small business concern that—
“(i) is a nontraditional defense contractor, as such term is defined in section 2302 of title 10, United States Code; or
“(ii) currently provides goods or services in the private sector that are critical to enhancing the capabilities of the defense supplier base and fulfilling key Department of Defense needs.”
“(8) The term ‘severely disabled individual’ means an individual who is blind (as defined in section 8501 of title 41, United States Code) or a severely disabled individual (as defined in such section).”
; and
“(9) The term ‘affiliated’, with respect to the relationship between a mentor firm and a protege firm, means—
“(A) the mentor firm shares, directly or indirectly, with the protege firm ownership or management of the protege firm;
“(B) the mentor firm has an agreement, at the time the mentor firm enters into a mentor-protege agreement under subsection (e), to merge with the protege firm;
“(C) the owners and managers of the mentor firm are the parent, child, spouse, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, grandparent, grandchild, or first cousin of an owner or manager of the protege firm;
“(D) the mentor firm has, during the 2-year period before entering into a mentor-protege agreement, employed any officer, director, principal stock holder, managing member, or key employee of the protege firm;
“(E) the mentor firm has engaged in a joint venture with the protege firm during the 2-year period before entering into a mentor-protege agreement, unless such joint venture was approved by the Small Business Administration prior to making any offer on a contract;
“(F) the mentor firm is, directly or indirectly, the primary party providing contracts to the protege firm, as measured by the dollar value of the contracts; and
“(G) the Small Business Administration has made a determination of affiliation or control under subsection (h).”
“(4) Implementation.—Not later than October 1, 2016, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall implement the plan described in this subsection.
“(5) Certification.—The Administrator shall annually provide to the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a certification of the accuracy and completeness of data reported on bundled and consolidated contracts.”
“(3) Strategy specifications.—If the head of a contracting agency determines that an acquisition plan for a procurement involves a substantial bundling of contract requirements, the head of a contracting agency shall publish a notice on a public website that such determination has been made not later than 7 days after making such determination. Any solicitation for a procurement related to the acquisition plan may not be published earlier than 7 days after such notice is published. Along with the publication of the solicitation, the head of a contracting agency shall publish a justification for the determination, which shall include the following information:
“(A) The specific benefits anticipated to be derived from the bundling of contract requirements and a determination that such benefits justify the bundling.
“(B) An identification of any alternative contracting approaches that would involve a lesser degree of bundling of contract requirements.
“(C) An assessment of—
“(i) the specific impediments to participation by small business concerns as prime contractors that result from the bundling of contract requirements; and
“(ii) the specific actions designed to maximize participation of small business concerns as subcontractors (including suppliers) at various tiers under the contract or contracts that are awarded to meet the requirements.”
“(C) Notice.—Not later than 7 days after making a determination that an acquisition strategy involving a consolidation of contract requirements is necessary and justified under subparagraph (A), the senior procurement executive or Chief Acquisition Officer shall publish a notice on a public website that such determination has been made. Any solicitation for a procurement related to the acquisition strategy may not be published earlier than 7 days after such notice is published. Along with the publication of the solicitation, the senior procurement executive or Chief Acquisition Officer shall publish a justification for the determination, which shall include the information in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1).”
“(C) Limitation.—This paragraph shall not apply to a contract that has as its principal purpose the acquisition of services or construction.”
“(g) Certification Requirements for Business Opportunity Specialists.—
“(1) In general.—Consistent with the requirements of paragraph (2), a Business Opportunity Specialist described under section 7(j)(10)(D) shall have a Level I Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (or any successor certification) or the equivalent Department of Defense certification, except that a Business Opportunity Specialist who was serving on or before January 3, 2013, may continue to serve as a Business Opportunity Specialist for a period of 5 years beginning on such date without such a certification.
“(2) Delay of certification requirement.—
“(A) Timing.—The certification described in paragraph (1) is not required for any person serving as a Business Opportunity Specialist until the date that is one calendar year after the date such person is appointed as a Business Opportunity Specialist.
“(B) Application.—The requirements of subparagraph (A) shall—
“(i) be included in any initial job posting for the position of a Business Opportunity Specialist; and
“(ii) apply to any person appointed as a Business Opportunity Specialist after January 3, 2013.”
“(h) Certification Requirements for Commercial Market Representatives.—
“(1) In general.—Consistent with the requirements of paragraph (2), a commercial market representative referred to in section 15(q)(3) shall have a Level I Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (or any successor certification) or the equivalent Department of Defense certification, except that a commercial market representative who was serving on or before the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 may continue to serve as a commercial market representative for a period of 5 years beginning on such date without such a certification.
“(2) Delay of certification requirement.—
“(A) Timing.—The certification described in paragraph (1) is not required for any person serving as a commercial market representative until the date that is one calendar year after the date such person is appointed as a commercial market representative.
“(B) Application.—The requirements of subparagraph (A) shall—
“(i) be included in any initial job posting for the position of a commercial market representative; and
“(ii) apply to any person appointed as a commercial market representative after the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016.”
“(iii) have the certification described in subparagraph (C).”
; and
“(C) Certification requirements.—
“(i) In general.—Consistent with the requirements of clause (ii), a procurement center representative shall have a Level III Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (or any successor certification) or the equivalent Department of Defense certification, except that any person serving in such a position on or before January 3, 2013, may continue to serve in that position for a period of 5 years without the required certification.
“(ii) Delay of certification requirements.—
“(I) Timing.—The certification described in clause (i) is not required for any person serving as a procurement center representative until the date that is one calendar year after the date such person is appointed as a procurement center representative.
“(II) Application.—The requirements of subclause (I) shall—
“(aa) be included in any initial job posting for the position of a procurement center representative; and
“(bb) apply to any person appointed as a procurement center representative after January 3, 2013.”
“(F) qualified disaster areas.”
“(D) a small business concern—
“(i) that is wholly owned by one or more Native Hawaiian Organizations (as defined in section 8(a)(15)), or by a corporation that is wholly owned by one or more Native Hawaiian Organizations; or
“(ii) that is owned in part by one or more Native Hawaiian Organizations, or by a corporation that is wholly owned by one or more Native Hawaiian Organizations, if all other owners are either United States citizens or small business concerns;”
“(D) Base closure area.—
“(i) In general.—Subject to clause (ii), the term ‘base closure area’ means—
“(I) lands within the external boundaries of a military installation that were closed through a privatization process under the authority of—
“(aa) the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of division B of Public Law 101–510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note);
“(bb) title II of the Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act (Public Law 100–526; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note);
“(cc) section 2687 of title 10, United States Code; or
“(dd) any other provision of law authorizing or directing the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of a military department to dispose of real property at the military installation for purposes relating to base closures of redevelopment, while retaining the authority to enter into a leaseback of all or a portion of the property for military use;
“(II) the census tract or nonmetropolitan county in which the lands described in subclause (I) are wholly contained;
“(III) a census tract or nonmetropolitan county the boundaries of which intersect the area described in subclause (I); and
“(IV) a census tract or nonmetropolitan county the boundaries of which are contiguous to the area described in subclause (II) or subclause (III).
“(ii) Limitation.—A base closure area shall be treated as a HUBZone—
“(I) with respect to a census tract or nonmetropolitan county described in clause (i), for a period of not less than 8 years, beginning on the date the military installation undergoes final closure and ending on the date the Administrator makes a final determination as to whether or not to implement the applicable designation described in subparagraph (A) or (B) in accordance with the results of the decennial census conducted after the area was initially designated as a base closure area; and
“(II) if such area was treated as a HUBZone at any time after 2010, until such time as the Administrator makes a final determination as to whether or not to implement the applicable designation described in subparagraph (A) or (B), after the 2020 decennial census.
“(iii) Definitions.—In this subparagraph:
“(I) Census tract.—The term ‘census tract’ means a census tract delineated by the United States Bureau of the Census in the most recent decennial census that is not located in a nonmetropolitan county and does not otherwise qualify as a qualified census tract.
“(II) Nonmetropolitan county.—The term ‘nonmetropolitan county’ means a county that was not located in a metropolitan statistical area (as defined in section 143(k)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) at the time of the most recent census taken for purposes of selecting qualified census tracts and does not otherwise qualify as a qualified nonmetropolitan county.”
; and
“(E) Qualified disaster area.—
“(i) In general.—Subject to clause (ii), the term ‘qualified disaster area’ means any census tract or nonmetropolitan county located in an area for which the President has declared a major disaster under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) or located in an area in which a catastrophic incident has occurred if such census tract or nonmetropolitan county ceased to be qualified under subparagraph (A) or (B), as applicable, during the period beginning 5 years before the date on which the President declared the major disaster or the catastrophic incident occurred and ending 2 years after such date, except that such census tract or nonmetropolitan county may be a ‘qualified disaster area’ only—
“(I) in the case of a major disaster declared by the President, during the 5-year period beginning on the date on which the President declared the major disaster for the area in which the census tract or nonmetropolitan county, as applicable, is located; and
“(II) in the case of a catastrophic incident, during the 10-year period beginning on the date on which the catastrophic incident occurred in the area in which the census tract or nonmetropolitan county, as applicable, is located.
“(ii) Limitation.—A qualified disaster area described in clause (i) shall be treated as a HUBZone for a period of not less than 8 years, beginning on the date the Administrator makes a final determination as to whether or not to implement the designations described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) in accordance with the results of the decennial census conducted after the area was initially designated as a qualified disaster area.”
; and
“(bb) pursuant to subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or (F) of paragraph (3), that its principal office is located within a base closure area and that not fewer than 35 percent of its employees reside in such base closure area or in another HUBZone; or”
“(4) Contract teaming.—
“(A) In general.—In the case of a solicitation of offers for a bundled or consolidated contract that is issued by the head of an agency, a small business concern that provides for use of a particular team of subcontractors or a joint venture of small business concerns may submit an offer for the performance of the contract.
“(B) Evaluation of offers.—The head of the agency shall evaluate an offer described in subparagraph (A) in the same manner as other offers, with due consideration to the capabilities of all of the proposed subcontractors or members of the joint venture as follows:
“(i) Teams.—When evaluating an offer of a small business prime contractor that includes a proposed team of small business subcontractors, the head of the agency shall consider the capabilities and past performance of each first tier subcontractor that is part of the team as the capabilities and past performance of the small business prime contractor.
“(ii) Joint ventures.—When evaluating an offer of a joint venture of small business concerns, if the joint venture does not demonstrate sufficient capabilities or past performance to be considered for award of a contract opportunity, the head of the agency shall consider the capabilities and past performance of each member of the joint venture as the capabilities and past performance of the joint venture.
“(C) Status as a small business concern.—Participation of a small business concern in a team or a joint venture under this paragraph shall not affect the status of that concern as a small business concern for any other purpose.”
“(A) In general.—Each Federal agency”
; and
“(B) Teams.—When evaluating an offer of a small business prime contractor that includes a proposed team of small business subcontractors for any multiple award contract above the substantial bundling threshold of the Federal agency, the head of the agency shall consider the capabilities and past performance of each first tier subcontractor that is part of the team as the capabilities and past performance of the small business prime contractor.
“(C) Joint ventures.—When evaluating an offer of a joint venture of small business concerns for any multiple award contract above the substantial bundling threshold of the Federal agency, if the joint venture does not demonstrate sufficient capabilities or past performance to be considered for award of a contract opportunity, the head of the agency shall consider the capabilities and past performance of each member of the joint venture as the capabilities and past performance of the joint venture.”
“(i) Office of Hearings and Appeals.—
“(1) Establishment.—
“(A) Office.—There is established in the Administration an Office of Hearings and Appeals—
“(i) to impartially decide matters relating to program decisions of the Administrator—
“(I) for which Congress requires a hearing on the record; or
“(II) that the Administrator designates for hearing by regulation; and
“(ii) which shall contain the office of the Administration that handles requests submitted pursuant to sections 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘Freedom of Information Act’) and maintains records pursuant to section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘Privacy Act of 1974’).
“(B) Jurisdiction.—The Office of Hearings and Appeals shall only hear appeals of matters as described in this Act, the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 661 et seq.), and title 13 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
“(C) Associate administrator.—The head of the Office of Hearings and Appeals shall be the Chief Hearing Officer appointed under section 4(b)(1), who shall be responsible to the Administrator.
“(2) Chief hearing officer duties.—
“(A) In general.—The Chief Hearing Officer shall—
“(i) be a career appointee in the Senior Executive Service and an attorney licensed by a State, commonwealth, territory or possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia; and
“(ii) be responsible for the operation and management of the Office of Hearings and Appeals.
“(B) Alternative dispute resolution.—The Chief Hearing Officer may assign a matter for mediation or other means of alternative dispute resolution.
“(3) Hearing officers.—
“(A) In general.—The Office of Hearings and Appeals shall appoint Hearing Officers to carry out the duties described in paragraph (1)(A)(i).
“(B) Conditions of employment.—A Hearing Officer appointed under this paragraph—
“(i) shall serve in the excepted service as an employee of the Administration under section 2103 of title 5, United States Code, and under the supervision of the Chief Hearing Officer;
“(ii) shall be classified at a position to which section 5376 of title 5, United States Code, applies; and
“(iii) shall be compensated at a rate not exceeding the maximum rate payable under such section.
“(C) Authority; powers.—Notwithstanding section 556(b) of title 5, United States Code—
“(i) a Hearing Officer may hear cases arising under section 554 of such title;
“(ii) a Hearing Officer shall have the powers described in section 556(c) of such title; and
“(iii) the relevant provisions of subchapter II of chapter 5 of such title (except for section 556(b) of such title) shall apply to such Hearing Officer.
“(D) Treatment of current personnel.—An individual serving as a Judge in the Office of Hearings and Appeals (as that position and office are designated in section 134.101 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations) on the effective date of this subsection shall be considered as qualified to be, and redesignated as, a Hearing Officer.
“(4) Hearing officer defined.—In this subsection, the term ‘Hearing Officer’ means an individual appointed or redesignated under this subsection who is an attorney licensed by a State, commonwealth, territory or possession of the United States, or the District of Columbia.”
“(9) Petitions for reconsideration of size standards.—
“(A) In general.—A person may file a petition for reconsideration with the Office of Hearings and Appeals (as established under section 5(i)) of a size standard revised, modified, or established by the Administrator pursuant to this subsection.
“(B) Time limit.—A person filing a petition for reconsideration described in subparagraph (A) shall file such petition not later than 30 days after the publication in the Federal Register of the notice of final rule to revise, modify, or establish size standards described in paragraph (6).
“(C) Process for agency review.—The Office of Hearings and Appeals shall use the same process it uses to decide challenges to the size of a small business concern to decide a petition for review pursuant to this paragraph.
“(D) Judicial review.—The publication of a final rule in the Federal Register described in subparagraph (B) shall be considered final agency action for purposes of seeking judicial review. Filing a petition for reconsideration under subparagraph (A) shall not be a condition precedent to judicial review of any such size standard.”
“(17) shall, when notified by a small business concern prior to the award of a contract that the small business concern believes that a solicitation, request for proposal, or request for quotation unduly restricts the ability of the small business concern to compete for the award—
“(A) submit the notice of the small business concern to the contracting officer and, if necessary, recommend ways in which the solicitation, request for proposal, or request for quotation may be altered to increase the opportunity for competition;
“(B) inform the advocate for competition of such agency (as established under section 1705 of title 41, United States Code, or section 2318 of title 10, United States Code) of such notice; and
“(C) ensure that the small business concern is aware of other resources and processes available to address unduly restrictive provisions in a solicitation, request for proposal, or request for quotation, even if such resources and processes are provided by such agency, the Administration, the Comptroller General, or a procurement technical assistance program established under chapter 142 of title 10, United States Code.”
unless the head of the agency determines that submission of cost and pricing data should be required based on past performance of the specific small business or nontraditional defense contractor, or based on analysis of other information specific to the award.
unless the head of the agency determines that auditing of records should be required based on past performance of the specific small business or nontraditional defense contractor, or based on analysis of other information specific to the award.
Ҥ 9310. Individual sureties
“If another applicable Federal law or regulation permits the acceptance of a bond from a surety that is not subject to sections 9305 and 9306 and is based on a pledge of assets by the surety, the assets pledged by such surety shall—
“(1) consist of eligible obligations described under section 9303(a); and
“(2) be submitted to the official of the Government required to approve or accept the bond, who shall deposit the obligations as described under section 9303(b).”
; and
“9310. Individual sureties.”.
“(3) determine the extent to which the requirements associated with defense acquisition programs can be satisfied by the present and projected performance capacities of industries supporting the sectors or capabilities in the assessment, evaluate the reasons for any variance from applicable preceding determinations, and identify the extent to which those industries are comprised of only one potential source in the national technology and industrial base or have multiple potential sources;
“(4) determine the extent to which the requirements associated with defense acquisition programs can be satisfied by the present and projected performance capacities of industries that do not actively support Department of Defense acquisition programs and identify the barriers to the participation of those industries;”
Ҥ 2222. Defense business systems: business process reengineering; enterprise architecture; management
“(a) Defense Business Processes Generally.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that defense business processes are reviewed, and as appropriate revised, through business process reengineering to match best commercial practices, to the maximum extent practicable, so as to minimize customization of commercial business systems.
“(b) Defense Business Systems Generally.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that each covered defense business system developed, deployed, and operated by the Department of Defense—
“(1) supports efficient business processes that have been reviewed, and as appropriate revised, through business process reengineering;
“(2) is integrated into a comprehensive defense business enterprise architecture;
“(3) is managed in a manner that provides visibility into, and traceability of, expenditures for the system; and
“(4) uses an acquisition and sustainment strategy that prioritizes the use of commercial software and business practices.
“(c) Issuance of Guidance.—
“(1) Secretary of defense guidance.—The Secretary shall issue guidance to provide for the coordination of, and decision making for, the planning, programming, and control of investments in covered defense business systems.
“(2) Supporting guidance.—The Secretary shall direct the Deputy Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, the Chief Information Officer, and the Chief Management Officer of each of the military departments to issue and maintain supporting guidance, as appropriate and within their respective areas of responsibility, for the guidance of the Secretary issued under paragraph (1).
“(d) Guidance Elements.—The guidance issued under subsection (c)(1) shall include the following elements:
“(1) Policy to ensure that the business processes of the Department of Defense are continuously reviewed and revised—
“(A) to implement the most streamlined and efficient business processes practicable; and
“(B) eliminate or reduce the need to tailor commercial off-the-shelf systems to meet or incorporate requirements or interfaces that are unique to the Department of Defense.
“(2) A process to establish requirements for covered defense business systems.
“(3) Mechanisms for the planning and control of investments in covered defense business systems, including a process for the collection and review of programming and budgeting information for covered defense business systems.
“(4) Policy requiring the periodic review of covered defense business systems that have been fully deployed, by portfolio, to ensure that investments in such portfolios are appropriate.
“(5) Policy to ensure full consideration of sustainability and technological refreshment requirements, and the appropriate use of open architectures.
“(6) Policy to ensure that best acquisition and systems engineering practices are used in the procurement and deployment of commercial systems, modified commercial systems, and defense-unique systems to meet Department of Defense missions.
“(e) Defense Business Enterprise Architecture.—
“(1) Blueprint.—The Secretary, working through the Deputy Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense, shall develop and maintain a blueprint to guide the development of integrated business processes within the Department of Defense. Such blueprint shall be known as the ‘defense business enterprise architecture’.
“(2) Purpose.—The defense business enterprise architecture shall be sufficiently defined to effectively guide implementation of interoperable defense business system solutions and shall be consistent with the policies and procedures established by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
“(3) Elements.—The defense business enterprise architecture shall—
“(A) include policies, procedures, business data standards, business performance measures, and business information requirements that apply uniformly throughout the Department of Defense; and
“(B) enable the Department of Defense to—
“(i) comply with all applicable law, including Federal accounting, financial management, and reporting requirements;
“(ii) routinely produce verifiable, timely, accurate, and reliable business and financial information for management purposes;
“(iii) integrate budget, accounting, and program information and systems; and
“(iv) identify whether each existing business system is a part of the business systems environment outlined by the defense business enterprise architecture, will become a part of that environment with appropriate modifications, or is not a part of that environment.
“(4) Integration into information technology architecture.—
(A) The defense business enterprise architecture shall be integrated into the information technology enterprise architecture required under subparagraph (B).
“(B) The Chief Information Officer of the Department of Defense shall develop an information technology enterprise architecture. The architecture shall describe a plan for improving the information technology and computing infrastructure of the Department of Defense, including for each of the major business processes conducted by the Department of Defense.
“(f) Defense Business Council.—
“(1) Requirement for council.—The Secretary shall establish a Defense Business Council to provide advice to the Secretary on developing the defense business enterprise architecture, reengineering the Department’s business processes, developing and deploying defense business systems, and developing requirements for defense business systems. The Council shall be chaired by the Deputy Chief Management Officer and the Chief Information Officer of the Department of Defense.
“(2) Membership.—The membership of the Council shall include the following:
“(A) The Chief Management Officers of the military departments, or their designees.
“(B) The following officials of the Department of Defense, or their designees:
“(i) The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics with respect to acquisition, logistics, and installations management processes.
“(ii) The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) with respect to financial management and planning and budgeting processes.
“(iii) The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness with respect to human resources management processes.
“(g) Approvals Required for Development.—
“(1) Initial approval required.—The Secretary shall ensure that a covered defense business system program cannot proceed into development (or, if no development is required, into production or fielding) unless the appropriate approval official (as specified in paragraph (2)) determines that—
“(A) the system has been, or is being, reengineered to be as streamlined and efficient as practicable, and the implementation of the system will maximize the elimination of unique software requirements and unique interfaces;
“(B) the system and business system portfolio are or will be in compliance with the defense business enterprise architecture developed pursuant to subsection (e) or will be in compliance as a result of modifications planned;
“(C) the system has valid, achievable requirements and a viable plan for implementing those requirements (including, as appropriate, market research, business process reengineering, and prototyping activities);
“(D) the system has an acquisition strategy designed to eliminate or reduce the need to tailor commercial off-the-shelf systems to meet unique requirements, incorporate unique requirements, or incorporate unique interfaces to the maximum extent practicable; and
“(E) is in compliance with the Department’s auditability requirements.
“(2) Appropriate official.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the appropriate approval official with respect to a covered defense business system is the following:
“(A) Except as may be provided in subparagraph (C), in the case of a priority defense business system, the Deputy Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense.
“(B) Except as may be provided in subparagraph (C), for any defense business system other than a priority defense business system—
“(i) in the case of a system of a military department, the Chief Management Officer of that military department; and
“(ii) in the case of a system of a Defense Agency or Department of Defense Field Activity, or a system that will support the business process of more than one military department or Defense Agency or Department of Defense Field Activity, the Deputy Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense.
“(C) In the case of any defense business system, such official other than the applicable official under subparagraph (A) or (B) as the Secretary designates for such purpose.
“(3) Annual certification.—For any fiscal year in which funds are expended for development or sustainment pursuant to a covered defense business system program, the appropriate approval official shall review the system and certify, certify with conditions, or decline to certify, as the case may be, that it continues to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1). If the approval official determines that certification cannot be granted, the approval official shall notify the milestone decision authority for the program and provide a recommendation for corrective action.
“(4) Obligation of funds in violation of requirements.—The obligation of Department of Defense funds for a covered defense business system program that has not been certified in accordance with paragraph (3) is a violation of section 1341(a)(1)(A) of title 31.
“(h) Responsibility of Milestone Decision Authority.—The milestone decision authority for a covered defense business system program shall be responsible for the acquisition of such system and shall ensure that acquisition process approvals are not considered for such system until the relevant certifications and approvals have been made under this section.
“(i) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1)
(A) Defense business system.—The term ‘defense business system’ means an information system that is operated by, for, or on behalf of the Department of Defense, including any of the following:
“(i) A financial system.
“(ii) A financial data feeder system.
“(iii) A contracting system.
“(iv) A logistics system.
“(v) A planning and budgeting system.
“(vi) An installations management system.
“(vii) A human resources management system.
“(viii) A training and readiness system.
“(B) The term does not include—
“(i) a national security system; or
“(ii) an information system used exclusively by and within the defense commissary system or the exchange system or other instrumentality of the Department of Defense conducted for the morale, welfare, and recreation of members of the armed forces using nonappropriated funds.
“(2) Covered defense business system.—The term ‘covered defense business system’ means a defense business system that is expected to have a total amount of budget authority, over the period of the current future-years defense program submitted to Congress under section 221 of this title, in excess of $50,000,000.
“(3) Business system portfolio.—The term ‘business system portfolio’ means all business systems performing functions closely related to the functions performed or to be performed by a covered defense business system.
“(4) Covered defense business system program.—The term ‘covered defense business system program’ means a defense acquisition program to develop and field a covered defense business system or an increment of a covered defense business system.
“(5) Priority defense business system program.—The term ‘priority defense business system’ means a defense business system that is—
“(A) expected to have a total amount of budget authority over the period of the current future-years defense program submitted to Congress under section 221 of this title in excess of $250,000,000; or
“(B) designated by the Deputy Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense as a priority defense business system, based on specific program analyses of factors including complexity, scope, and technical risk, and after notification to Congress of such designation.
“(6) Enterprise architecture.—The term ‘enterprise architecture’ has the meaning given that term in section 3601(4) of title 44.
“(7) Information system.—The term ‘information system’ has the meaning given that term in section 11101 of title 40, United States Code.
“(8) National security system.—The term ‘national security system’ has the meaning given that term in section 3552(b)(6)(A) of title 44.
“(9) Business process mapping.—The term ‘business process mapping’ means a procedure in which the steps in a business process are clarified and documented in both written form and in a flow chart.”
“2222. Defense business systems: business process reengineering; enterprise architecture; management.”.
“(d) Exclusion of Items on the AbilityOne Procurement Catalog.—The authority under subsection (a) shall not be available for the procurement of any good that is contained in the procurement catalog described in section 8503(a) of title 41, United States Code, in Afghanistan if such good can be produced and delivered by a qualified nonprofit agency for the blind or a nonprofit agency for other severely disabled in a timely fashion to support mission requirements.”
“(h) Exclusion of Items on the AbilityOne Procurement Catalog.—The authority under subsection (a) shall not be available for the procurement of any good that is contained in the procurement catalog described in section 8503(a) of title 41, United States Code, if such good can be produced and delivered by a qualified nonprofit agency for the blind or a nonprofit agency for other severely disabled in a timely fashion to support mission requirements.”
“(g) Exclusion of Items on the AbilityOne Procurement Catalog.—The authority under subsection (b) shall not be available for the procurement of any good that is contained in the procurement catalog described in section 8503(a) of title 41, United States Code, if such good can be produced and delivered by a qualified nonprofit agency for the blind or a nonprofit agency for other severely disabled in a timely fashion to support mission requirements.”
“(d) Time-certain Development.—If an adjustment or revision under subsection (c) for a major automated information system that is not a national security system provides for a period in excess of five years from the time of program initiation to the time of a full deployment decision, the documents submitted under subsection (a) shall include a written determination by the senior Department of Defense official responsible for the program justifying the need for the longer period.”
“(D) the total costs of sustained or recovered costs both as a total number and as a percentage of questioned costs; and”
“(4) a description of outreach actions toward industry to promote more effective use of audit resources; and”
“(F) Advising the Secretary on development of joint command, control, communications, and cyber capability, including integration and interoperability of such capability, through requirements, integrated architectures, data standards, and assessments.”
but these additional duties may not detract from nor interfere with the operations for which the Marine Corps is primarily organized;
“(40) Government of Kenya.
“(41) Government of Tanzania.”
“(f) Authority to Enter Into Economic Order Quantity Contracts.—
(1) The Secretary of the Navy may use funds deposited in the Fund to enter into contracts known as ‘economic order quantity contracts’ with private shipyards and other commercial or government entities to achieve economic efficiencies based on production economies for major components or subsystems. The authority under this subsection extends to the procurement of parts, components, and systems (including weapon systems) common with and required for other nuclear powered vessels under joint economic order quantity contracts.
“(2) A contract entered into under paragraph (1) shall provide that any obligation of the United States to make a payment under the contract is subject to the availability of appropriations for that purpose, and that total liability to the Government for termination of any contract entered into shall be limited to the total amount of funding obligated at time of termination.
“(g) Authority to Begin Manufacturing and Fabrication Efforts Prior to Ship Authorization.—
(1) The Secretary of the Navy may use funds deposited into the Fund to enter into contracts for advance construction of national sea-based deterrence vessels to support achieving cost savings through workload management, manufacturing efficiencies, or workforce stability, or to phase fabrication activities within shipyard and manage sub-tier manufacturer capacity.
“(2) A contract entered into under paragraph (1) shall provide that any obligation of the United States to make a payment under the contract is subject to the availability of appropriations for that purpose, and that total liability to the Government for termination of any contract entered into shall be limited to the total amount of funding obligated at time of termination.
“(h) Authority to Use Incremental Funding to Enter Into Contracts for Certain Items.—
(1) The Secretary of the Navy may use funds deposited into the Fund to enter into incrementally funded contracts for advance procurement of high value, long lead time items for nuclear powered vessels to better support construction schedules and achieve cost savings through schedule reductions and properly phased installment payments.
“(2) A contract entered into under paragraph (1) shall provide that any obligation of the United States to make a payment under the contract is subject to the availability of appropriations for that purpose, and that total liability to the Government for termination of any contract entered into shall be limited to the total amount of funding obligated at time of termination.”
“(6) A summary of all known contact between any individual formerly detained at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay and any individual known or suspected to be associated with a foreign terrorist group, which contact included information or discussion about planning for or conduct of hostilities against the United States or its allies or the organizational, logistical, or resource needs or activities of any terrorist group or activity.”
“(7) For each individual described in paragraph (4), the date on which such individual was released or transferred from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay and the date on which it is confirmed that such individual is suspected or confirmed of reengaging in terrorist activities.
“(8) The average period of time described in paragraph (7) for all the individuals described in paragraph (4).”
“(h) Report on Designation of Countries for Which Rewards May Be Paid.—Not later than 15 days after the date on which the Secretary designates a country as a country in which an operation or activity of the armed forces is occurring in connection with which rewards may be paid under this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the designation. Each report shall include the following:
“(1) The country so designated.
“(2) The reason for the designation of the country.
“(3) A justification for the designation of the country for purposes of this section.”
“§ 127b. Department of Defense rewards program”
“127b. Department of Defense rewards program.”.
“(2) The exception in paragraph (1) shall cease to be in effect at the close of December 31, 2017.”
“(e) Publicly Accessible Website.—
(1) The Secretary shall create and maintain a publicly available Internet website that provides information on the controlled property transferred under this section and the recipients of such property.
“(2) The contents of the Internet website required under paragraph (1) shall include all publicly accessible unclassified information pertaining to the request, transfer, denial, and repossession of controlled property under this section, including—
“(A) a current inventory of all controlled property transferred to Federal and State agencies under this section, listed by the name of the recipient and the year of the transfer;
“(B) all pending requests for transfers of controlled property under this section, including the information submitted by the Federal and State agencies requesting such transfers; and
“(C) all reports required to be submitted to the Secretary under this section by Federal and State agencies that receive controlled property under this section.”
“(5) the recipient, on an annual basis, and with the authorization of the relevant local governing body or authority, certifies that it has adopted publicly available protocols for the appropriate use of controlled property, the supervision of such use, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of such use, including auditing and accountability policies; and
“(6) after the completion of the assessment required by section 1051(e) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, the recipient, on an annual basis, certifies that it provides annual training to relevant personnel on the maintenance, sustainment, and appropriate use of controlled property.”
“(f) Controlled Property.—In this section, the term ‘controlled property’ means any item assigned a demilitarization code of B, C, D, E, G, or Q under Department of Defense Manual 4160.21–M, ‘Defense Materiel Disposition Manual’, or any successor document.”
“(e) Phased-in Termination of Positions.—
(1) No individual may be newly hired or employed, or rehired or reemployed, as a non-dual status technician for the purposes of this section after December 31, 2016.
“(2) Commencing January 1, 2017, the maximum number of non-dual status technicians employable by the Army Reserve and by the Air Force Reserve shall be reduced from the number otherwise provided by subsection (c)(1) by one for each individual who retires, is separated from, or otherwise ceases service as a non- dual status technician of the Army Reserve or the Air Force Reserve, as the case may be, after such date until the maximum number of non-dual status technicians employable by the Army Reserve or the Air Force Reserve, as the case may be, is zero.
“(3) Commencing January 1, 2017, the maximum number of non-dual status technicians employable by the National Guard shall be reduced from the number otherwise provided by subsection (c)(2) by one for each individual who retires, is separated from, or otherwise ceases service as a non-dual status technician of the National Guard after such date until the maximum number of non-dual status technicians employable by the National Guard is zero.
“(4) Any individual newly hired or employed, or rehired or employed, to a position required to be filled by reason of the amendment made by paragraph (1) shall be an individual employed in such position under section 3101 of title 5, and may not be a military technician.
“(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to terminate the status as a non-dual status technician under this section after December 31, 2016, of any individual who is a non-dual status technician for the purposes of this section on that date.”
“(b) Training of Personnel of Foreign Ministries With Security Missions.—
“(1) In general.—The Secretary of Defense may, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, carry out a program to provide training and associated training support services to personnel of foreign ministries of defense (or ministries with security force oversight) or regional organizations with security missions—
“(A) for the purpose of—
“(i) enhancing civilian oversight of foreign security forces;
“(ii) establishing responsible defense governance and internal controls in order to help build effective, transparent, and accountable defense institutions;
“(iii) assessing organizational weaknesses and establishing a roadmap for addressing shortfalls; and
“(iv) enhancing ministerial, general or joint staff, or service level core management competencies; and
“(B) for such other purposes as the Secretary considers appropriate, consistent with the authority in subsection (a).
“(2) Notice to congress.—Each fiscal year quarter, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on activities under the program under paragraph (1) during the preceding fiscal year quarter. Each report shall include, for the fiscal year quarter covered by such report, the following:
“(A) A list of activities under the program.
“(B) A list of any organization described in paragraph (1) to which the Secretary assigned employees under the program, including the number of such employees so assigned, the duration of each assignment, a brief description of each assigned employee’s activities, and a statement of the cost of each assignment.
“(C) A comprehensive justification of any activities conducted pursuant to paragraph (1)(B).”
“(g) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.—In this section, the term ‘appropriate committees of Congress’ means—
“(1) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
“(2) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.”
“SEC. 1081. DEFENSE INSTITUTION CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM.”
.
“Sec. 1081. Defense Institution Capacity Building Program.”.
“(3) At the time of the budget submission by the President for a fiscal year, the Secretary of Defense shall include in the budget materials submitted to Congress for that year summaries of the guidance developed under paragraphs (1) and (2), as well as summaries of any plans developed in accordance with the guidance developed under paragraph (2). Such summaries shall be sufficient to allow the congressional defense committees to evaluate fully the requirements for military forces, acquisition programs, and operation and maintenance funding in the President’s annual budget request for the Department of Defense.”
Ҥ 50111. Submission of annual MARAD authorization request
“(a) Submission of Legislative Proposal.—Not later than 30 days after the date on which the President submits to Congress a budget for a fiscal year pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, the Secretary of Transportation shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate the Maritime Administration authorization request for that fiscal year.
“(b) Maritime Administration Request Defined.—In this section, the term ‘Maritime Administration authorization request’ means a proposal for legislation that, for a fiscal year—
“(1) recommends authorizations of appropriations for the Maritime Administration for that fiscal year, including with respect to matters described in subsection 109(j) of title 49 or authorized in subtitle V of this title; and
“(2) addresses any other matter with respect to the Maritime Administration that the Secretary determines is appropriate.”
“50111. Submission of annual MARAD authorization request.”.
“(2) any employee whose assignment is allowed to continue by virtue of paragraph (1) shall be taken into account for purposes of the numerical limitation under subsection (h).”
“19. Cyber Matters 391”.
“§ 130e. Treatment under Freedom of Information Act of certain critical infrastructure security information”
“391. Reporting on cyber incidents with respect to networks and information systems of operationally critical contractors and certain other contractors.”.
“430. Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities Executive Agent.”.
Ҥ 383. Situations involving bombings of places of public use, Government facilities, public transportation systems, and infrastructure facilities
“(a) In General.—Upon the request of the Attorney General, the Secretary of Defense may provide assistance in support of Department of Justice activities related to the enforcement of section 2332f of title 18 during situations involving bombings of places of public use, Government facilities, public transportation systems, and infrastructure facilities.
“(b) Rendering-safe Support.—Military explosive ordnance disposal units providing rendering-safe support to Department of Justice activities relating to the enforcement of section 175, 229, or 2332a of title 18 in emergency situations involving weapons of mass destruction shall provide such support in a manner consistent with the provisions of section 382 of this title.
“(c) Regulations.—
(1) The Secretary of Defense and the Attorney General shall jointly prescribe regulations concerning the types of assistance that may be provided under this section. Such regulations shall also describe the actions that Department of Defense personnel may take in circumstances incident to the provision of assistance under this section.
“(2)
(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the regulations prescribed under paragraph (1) may not authorize any of the following actions:
“(i) Arrest.
“(ii) Any direct participation in conducting a search for or seizure of evidence related to a violation of section 175, 229, or 2332a of title 18.
“(iii) Any direct participation in the collection of intelligence for law enforcement purposes.
“(B) Such regulations may authorize an action described in subparagraph (A) to be taken under the following conditions:
“(i) The action is considered necessary for the immediate protection of human life, and civilian law enforcement officials are not capable of taking the action.
“(ii) The action is otherwise authorized under subsection (a) or under otherwise applicable law.
“(d) Explosive Ordnance Defined.—The term ‘explosive ordnance’—
“(1) means—
“(A) bombs and warheads;
“(B) guided and ballistic missiles;
“(C) artillery, mortar, rocket, and small arms ammunition;
“(D) all mines, torpedoes, and depth charges;
“(E) grenades demolition charges;
“(F) pyrotechnics;
“(G) clusters and dispensers;
“(H) cartridge- and propellant– actuated devices;
“(I) electroexplosives devices;
“(J) clandestine and improvised explosive devices; and
“(K) all similar or related items or components explosive in nature; and
“(2) includes all munitions containing explosives, propellants, nuclear fission or fusion materials, and biological and chemical agents.”
“383. Situations involving bombings of places of public use, Government facilities, public transportation systems, and infrastructure facilities.”.
Ҥ 430a. Executive agent for management and oversight of alternative compensatory control measures
“(a) Executive Agent.—The Secretary of Defense shall designate a senior official from among the personnel of the Department of Defense to act as the Department of Defense executive agent for the management and oversight of alternative compensatory control measures.
“(b) Roles, Responsibilities, and Authorities.—The Secretary shall prescribe the roles, responsibilities, and authorities of the executive agent designated under subsection (a). Such roles, responsibilities, and authorities shall include the development of an annual management and oversight plan for Department-wide accountability and reporting to the congressional defense committees.”
“430a. Executive agent for management and oversight of alternative compensatory control measures.”.
Ҥ 9517. Level of readiness of Civil Reserve Air Fleet carriers
“The Civil Reserve Air Fleet program is an important component of the military airlift system in support of United States defense and foreign policies, and it is the policy of the United States to maintain the readiness and interoperability of Civil Reserve Air Fleet carriers by providing appropriate levels of peacetime airlift augmentation to maintain networks and infrastructure, exercise the system, and interface effectively within the military airlift system.”
“9517. Level of Readiness of Civil Reserve Air Fleet carriers.”.
“(12) The term ‘Civil Reserve Air Fleet program’ means the program developed by the Department of Defense through which the Department of Defense augments its airlift capability by use of civil aircraft.”
“(7) The terms ‘Security Executive Agent’ and ‘Suitability Executive Agent’ mean the Security Executive Agent and the Suitability Executive Agent, respectively, established under Executive Order 13467 (73 Fed. Reg. 38103), or any successor thereto.”
“(G) The Department of Homeland Security.
“(H) The Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
“(I) An Executive agency that—
“(i) is authorized to conduct background investigations under a Federal statute; or
“(ii) is delegated authority to conduct background investigations in accordance with procedures established by the Security Executive Agent or the Suitability Executive Agent under subsection (b) or (c)(iv) of section 2.3 of Executive Order 13467 (73 Fed. Reg. 38103), or any successor thereto.
“(J) A contractor that conducts a background investigation on behalf of an agency described in subparagraphs (A) through (I).”
“(A) determining eligibility for—”
“(B) conducting a basic suitability or fitness assessment for Federal or contractor employees, using Federal Investigative Standards jointly promulgated by the Security Executive Agent and the Suitability Executive Agent in accordance with—
“(i) Executive Order 13467 (73 Fed. Reg. 38103), or any successor thereto; and
“(ii) the Office of Management and Budget Memorandum ‘Assignment of Functions Relating to Coverage of Contractor Employee Fitness in the Federal Investigative Standards’, dated December 6, 2012;
“(C) credentialing under the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (dated August 27, 2004); and
“(D) Federal Aviation Administration checks required under—
“(i) the Federal Aviation Administration Drug Enforcement Assistance Act of 1988 (subtitle E of title VII of Public Law 100–690; 102 Stat. 4424) and the amendments made by that Act; or
“(ii) section 44710 of title 49.”
“(2)
(A) A State central criminal history record depository shall allow a covered agency to conduct both biometric and biographic searches of criminal history record information.
“(B) Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be construed to prohibit the Federal Bureau of Investigation from requiring a request for criminal history record information to be accompanied by the fingerprints of the individual who is the subject of the request.”
“(6) If a criminal justice agency is able to provide the same information through more than 1 system described in paragraph (1), a covered agency may request information under subsection (b) from the criminal justice agency, and require the criminal justice agency to provide the information, using the system that is most cost-effective for the Federal Government.”
“(g) Upon request by a covered agency and in accordance with the applicable provisions of this section, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Overseas Citizens Services shall make available criminal history record information collected by the Deputy Assistant Secretary with respect to an individual who is under investigation by the covered agency regarding any interaction of the individual with a law enforcement agency or intelligence agency of a foreign country.”
“(h) If a contractor described in subsection (a)(6)(J) uses an automated information delivery system to request criminal history record information, the contractor shall comply with any necessary security requirements for access to that system.”
“(F) a suitability action taken by the Office under regulations prescribed by the Office, subject to the rules prescribed by the President under this title for the administration of the competitive service.”
“(i) The Suitability and Security Clearance Performance Accountability Council established under Executive Order 13467 (73 Fed. Reg. 38103), or any successor thereto, shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, and the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, an annual report that—
“(1) describes efforts of the Council to integrate Federal, State, and local systems for sharing criminal history record information;
“(2) analyzes the extent and effectiveness of Federal education programs regarding criminal history record information;
“(3) provides an update on the implementation of best practices for sharing criminal history record information, including ongoing limitations experienced by investigators working for or on behalf of a covered agency with respect to access to State and local criminal history record information; and
“(4) provides a description of limitations on the sharing of information relevant to a background investigation, other than criminal history record information, between—
“(A) investigators working for or on behalf of a covered agency; and
“(B) State and local law enforcement agencies.”
“(h) Authorized Transfers.—
(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary may transfer to the corporation, in accordance with the procedure prescribed in this subchapter, surplus caliber .45 M1911/M1911A1 pistols and spare parts and related accessories for those pistols that, on the date of the enactment of this subsection, are under the control of the Secretary and are surplus to the requirements of the Department of the Army, and such material as may be recovered by the Secretary pursuant to section 40728A(a) of this title. The Secretary shall determine a reasonable schedule for the transfer of such surplus pistols.
“(2) The Secretary may not transfer more than 10,000 surplus caliber .45 M1911/M1911A1 pistols to the corporation during any year and may only transfer such pistols as long as pistols described in paragraph (1) remain available for transfer.”
“(b) Exception.—With respect to firearms other than caliber .22 rimfire and caliber .30 rifles, the corporation shall obtain a license as a dealer in firearms and abide by all requirements imposed on persons licensed under chapter 44 of title 18, including maintaining acquisition and disposition records, and conducting background checks.”
“(b) Submittal of Agreements to the Department of Defense and Congress.—The Secretary of the Air Force may not take any action to transfer an aircraft until the Secretary—
“(1) ensures that the Air Force has complied with Department of Defense regulations applicable to the transfer; and
“(2) for a transfer described in subsection (c)(1), submits to the congressional defense committees an agreement entered into pursuant to subsection (a) regarding the transfer of the aircraft.”
; and
“(c) Covered Aircraft Transfers.—
“(1) Covered transfers.—An aircraft transfer described in this subsection is the transfer (other than as specified in paragraph (2)) from a reserve component of the Air Force to the regular component of the Air Force of—
“(A) the permanent assignment of an aircraft that terminates a reserve component’s equitable interest in the aircraft; or
“(B) possession of an aircraft for a period in excess of 90 days.
“(2) Exceptions.—Paragraph (1) does not apply to the following:
“(A) A routine temporary transfer of possession of an aircraft from a reserve component that is made solely for the benefit of the reserve component for the purpose of maintenance, upgrade, conversion, modification, or testing and evaluation.
“(B) A routine permanent transfer of assignment of an aircraft that terminates a reserve component’s equitable interest in the aircraft if notice of the transfer has previously been provided to the congressional defense committees and the transfer has been approved by the Secretary of Defense pursuant to Department of Defense regulations.
“(C) A transfer described in paragraph (1)(A) when there is a reciprocal permanent assignment of an aircraft from the regular component of the Air Force to the reserve component that does not degrade the capability of, or reduce the total number of, aircraft assigned to the reserve component.
“(d) Return of Aircraft After Routine Temporary Transfer.—In the case of an aircraft transferred from a reserve component of the Air Force to the regular component of the Air Force for which an agreement under subsection (a) is not required by reason of subsection (c)(2)(A), possession of the aircraft shall be transferred back to the reserve component upon completion of the work described in subsection (c)(2)(A).”
“SEC. 1402. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.
“The Commission shall assess the following:
“(1) The vulnerability of electric-dependent military systems in the United States to a manmade or natural EMP event, giving special attention to the progress made by the Department of Defense, other Government departments and agencies of the United States, and entities of the private sector in taking steps to protect such systems from such an event.
“(2) The evolving current and future threat from state and non-state actors of a manmade EMP attack employing nuclear or non-nuclear weapons.
“(3) New technologies, operational procedures, and contingency planning that can protect electronics and military systems from the effects a manmade or natural EMP event.
“(4) Among the States, if State grids are protected against manmade or natural EMP, which States should receive highest priority for protecting critical defense assets.
“(5) The degree to which vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure systems create cascading vulnerabilities for military systems.”
“(f) Reductions Based Primarily on Performance.—The Secretary of Defense shall establish procedures to provide that, in implementing any reduction in force for civilian positions in the Department of Defense in the competitive service or the excepted service, the determination of which employees shall be separated from employment in the Department shall be made primarily on the basis of performance, as determined under any applicable performance management system.”
“(4) Noncompetitive conversion to permanent appointment.—With respect to any student appointed by the director of an STRL under paragraph (3) to a temporary or term appointment, upon graduation from the applicable institution of higher education (as defined in such paragraph), the director may noncompetitively convert such student to a permanent appointment within the STRL without regard to the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code (other than sections 3303 and 3328 of such title), provided the student meets all eligibility and Office of Personnel Management qualification requirements for the position.”
Ҥ 1599e. Probationary period for employees
“(a) In General.—Notwithstanding sections 3321 and 3393(d) of title 5, the appointment of a covered employee shall become final only after such employee has served a probationary period of two years. The Secretary concerned may extend a probationary period under this subsection at the discretion of such Secretary.
“(b) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) The term ‘covered employee’ means any individual—
“(A) appointed to a permanent position within the competitive service at the Department of Defense; or
“(B) appointed as a career appointee (as that term is defined in section 3132(a)(4) of title 5) within the Senior Executive Service at the Department.
“(2) The term ‘Secretary concerned’ includes the Secretary of Defense with respect to employees of the Department of Defense who are not employees of a military department.
“(c) Employment Becomes Final.—Upon the expiration of a covered employee’s probationary period under subsection (a), the supervisor of the employee shall determine whether the appointment becomes final based on regulations prescribed for such purpose by the Secretary of Defense.
“(d) Application of Chapter 75 of Title 5 for Employees in the Competitive Service.—With respect to any individual described in subsection (b)(1)(A) and to whom this section applies, section 7501(1) and section 7511(a)(1)(A)(ii) of title 5 shall be applied to such individual by substituting ‘completed 2 years’ for ‘completed 1 year’ in each instance it appears.”
“1599e. Probationary period for employees.”.
Ҥ 1599f. United States Cyber Command recruitment and retention
“(a) General Authority.—
(1) The Secretary of Defense may—
“(A) establish, as positions in the excepted service, such qualified positions in the Department of Defense as the Secretary determines necessary to carry out the responsibilities of the United States Cyber Command, including—
“(i) positions held by staff of the headquarters of the United States Cyber Command;
“(ii) positions held by elements of the United States Cyber Command enterprise relating to cyberspace operations, including elements assigned to the Joint Task Force-Department of Defense Information Networks; and
“(iii) positions held by elements of the military departments supporting the United States Cyber Command;
“(B) appoint an individual to a qualified position (after taking into consideration the availability of preference eligibles for appointment to the position); and
“(C) subject to the requirements of subsections (b) and (c), fix the compensation of an individual for service in a qualified position.
“(2) The authority of the Secretary under this subsection applies without regard to the provisions of any other law relating to the appointment, number, classification, or compensation of employees.
“(b) Basic Pay.—
(1) In accordance with this section, the Secretary shall fix the rates of basic pay for any qualified position established under subsection (a)—
“(A) in relation to the rates of pay provided for employees in comparable positions in the Department, in which the employee occupying the comparable position performs, manages, or supervises functions that execute the cyber mission of the Department; and
“(B) subject to the same limitations on maximum rates of pay established for such employees by law or regulation.
“(2) The Secretary may—
“(A) consistent with section 5341 of title 5, adopt such provisions of that title to provide for prevailing rate systems of basic pay; and
“(B) apply those provisions to qualified positions for employees in or under which the Department may employ individuals described by section 5342(a)(2)(A) of such title.
“(c) Additional Compensation, Incentives, and Allowances.—
(1) The Secretary may provide employees in qualified positions compensation (in addition to basic pay), including benefits, incentives, and allowances, consistent with, and not in excess of the level authorized for, comparable positions authorized by title 5.
“(2) An employee in a qualified position whose rate of basic pay is fixed under subsection (b)(1) shall be eligible for an allowance under section 5941 of title 5 on the same basis and to the same extent as if the employee was an employee covered by such section, including eligibility conditions, allowance rates, and all other terms and conditions in law or regulation.
“(d) Implementation Plan Required.—The authority granted in subsection (a) shall become effective 30 days after the date on which the Secretary of Defense provides to the congressional defense committees a plan for implementation of such authority. The plan shall include the following:
“(1) An assessment of the current scope of the positions covered by the authority.
“(2) A plan for the use of the authority.
“(3) An assessment of the anticipated workforce needs of the United States Cyber Command across the future-years defense plan.
“(4) Other matters as appropriate.
“(e) Collective Bargaining Agreements.—Nothing in subsection (a) may be construed to impair the continued effectiveness of a collective bargaining agreement with respect to an office, component, subcomponent, or equivalent of the Department that is a successor to an office, component, subcomponent, or equivalent of the Department covered by the agreement before the succession.
“(f) Required Regulations.—The Secretary, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall prescribe regulations for the administration of this section.
“(g) Annual Report.—
(1) Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this section and not less frequently than once each year thereafter until the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this section, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in coordination with the Secretary, shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a detailed report on the administration of this section during the most recent one-year period.
“(2) Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include, for the period covered by the report, the following:
“(A) A discussion of the process used in accepting applications, assessing candidates, ensuring adherence to veterans’ preference, and selecting applicants for vacancies to be filled by an individual for a qualified position.
“(B) A description of the following:
“(i) How the Secretary plans to fulfill the critical need of the Department to recruit and retain employees in qualified positions.
“(ii) The measures that will be used to measure progress.
“(iii) Any actions taken during the reporting period to fulfill such critical need.
“(C) A discussion of how the planning and actions taken under subparagraph (B) are integrated into the strategic workforce planning of the Department.
“(D) The metrics on actions occurring during the reporting period, including the following:
“(i) The number of employees in qualified positions hired, disaggregated by occupation, grade, and level or pay band.
“(ii) The placement of employees in qualified positions, disaggregated by military department, Defense Agency, or other component within the Department.
“(iii) The total number of veterans hired.
“(iv) The number of separations of employees in qualified positions, disaggregated by occupation and grade and level or pay band.
“(v) The number of retirements of employees in qualified positions, disaggregated by occupation, grade, and level or pay band.
“(vi) The number and amounts of recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives paid to employees in qualified positions, disaggregated by occupation, grade, and level or pay band.
“(E) A description of the training provided to supervisors of employees in qualified positions at the Department on the use of the new authorities.
“(h) Three-year Probationary Period.—The probationary period for all employees hired under the authority established in this section shall be three years.
“(i) Incumbents of Existing Competitive Service Positions.—
(1) An individual occupying a position on the date of the enactment of this section that is selected to be converted to a position in the excepted service under this section shall have the right to refuse such conversion.
“(2) After the date on which an individual who refuses a conversion under paragraph (1) stops serving in the position selected to be converted, the position may be converted to a position in the excepted service.
“(j) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) The term ‘appropriate committees of Congress’ means—
“(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
“(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
“(2) The term ‘collective bargaining agreement’ has the meaning given that term in section 7103(a)(8) of title 5.
“(3) The term ‘excepted service’ has the meaning given that term in section 2103 of title 5.
“(4) The term ‘preference eligible’ has the meaning given that term in section 2108(3) of title 5.
“(5) The term ‘qualified position’ means a position, designated by the Secretary for the purpose of this section, in which the individual occupying such position performs, manages, or supervises functions that execute the responsibilities of the United States Cyber Command relating to cyber operations.
“(6) The term ‘Senior Executive Service’ has the meaning given that term in section 2101a of title 5.”
“(iv) any position established as a qualified position in the excepted service by the Secretary of Defense under section 1599f of title 10;”
“1599f. United States Cyber Command recruitment and retention.”.
“SEC. 1205. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STATE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.”
.
“(A) The military forces of a foreign country.
“(B) The security forces of a foreign country.
“(C) Governmental organizations of a foreign country whose primary functions include disaster response or emergency response.”
; and
“(2) State partnership.—Each program established under this subsection shall be known as a ‘State Partnership’.”
“(c) Coordination of Activities.—The Chief of the National Guard Bureau shall designate a director for each State and territory to be responsible for the coordination of activities under a program established under subsection (a) for such State or territory and reporting on activities under the program.”
“(vi) An assessment of the extent to which the activities conducted during the previous year met the objectives described in clause (v).”
“(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
“(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.”
“(7) Assessment of risks associated with drawdown of united states forces.—An assessment of the risks to the mission in Afghanistan associated with any drawdown of United States forces that occurred during the period covered by such report.”
“(15) Reports informing the conclusion of the afghan special immigrant visa program.—Not later than June 1, 2016, and every six months thereafter, the Secretary of Defense, in conjunction with the Secretary of State, shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that contains—
“(A) a description of the United States force presence in Afghanistan during the previous 6 months;
“(B) a description of the projected United States force presence in Afghanistan;
“(C) the number of citizens or nationals of Afghanistan who were employed by or on behalf of the entities described in paragraph (2)(A)(ii) during the previous 6 months; and
“(D) the projected number of such citizens or nationals who will be employed by or on behalf of such entities.
“(16) Sense of congress.—It is the sense of Congress that the necessity of providing special immigrant status under this subsection should be assessed at regular intervals by the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives, taking into account the scope of the current and planned presence of United States troops in Afghanistan, the current and prospective numbers of citizens and nationals of Afghanistan employed by or on behalf of the entities described in paragraph (2)(A)(ii), and the security climate in Afghanistan.”
“(g) Reports.—
“(1) In general.—Not later than September 30, 2015, and every 180 days thereafter until the authority in this section expires, the Secretary of Defense shall, in consultation with the Secretary of State, submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the activities of the Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq.
“(2) Elements.—Each report under this subsection shall include the following:
“(A) A current description of capability gaps in the security forces of Iraq, including capability gaps relating to intelligence matters, protection of Iraq airspace, and logistics and maintenance, and a current description of the extent, if any, to which the Government of Iraq has requested assistance in addressing such capability gaps.
“(B) A current description of the activities of the Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq and the extent, if any, to which the programs conducted by the Office in conjunction with other United States programs (such as the Foreign Military Financing program, the Foreign Military Sales program, and the assistance provided pursuant to section 1236 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘Buck’ McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (Public Law 113–291)) will address the capability gaps described pursuant to subparagraph (A).
“(C) A current description of how the activities of the Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq are coordinated with, and complement and enhance, the assistance provided pursuant to section 1236 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘Buck’ McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015.
“(D) A current description of end use monitoring programs, and any other programs or procedures, used to improve accountability for equipment provided to the Government of Iraq.
“(E) A current description of the measures of effectiveness used to evaluate the activities of the Office of the Security Cooperation in Iraq, and an analysis of any determinations to expand, alter, or terminate specific activities of the Office based on such evaluations.
“(F) A current evaluation of the effectiveness of the training described in subsection (f)(2) in promoting respect for human rights, military professionalism, and respect for legitimate civilian authority in Iraq.
“(3) Appropriate committees of congress defined.—In this subsection, the term ‘appropriate committees of Congress’ means—
“(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
“(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.”
“(11) A list of the forces or elements of forces that are restricted from receiving assistance under subsection (a), other than the forces or elements of forces with respect to which the Secretary of Defense has exercised the waiver authority under subsection (j), as a result of vetting required by subsection (e) or section 2249e of title 10, United States Code, and a detailed description of the reasons for such restriction, including for each force or element, as applicable, the following:
“(A) Information relating to gross violation of human rights committed by such force or element, including the time-frame of the alleged violation.
“(B) The source of the information described in subparagraph (A) and an assessment of the veracity of the information.
“(C) The association of such force or element with terrorist groups or groups associated with the Government of Iran.
“(D) The amount and type of any assistance provided to such force or element by the Government of Iran.”
“(C) Additional waiver authority.—
“(i) In general.—For purposes of the provision of assistance described in subsection (l)(2), the Secretary of Defense may waive any provision of law described in clause (ii) if the Secretary satisfies the requirements described in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) with respect to such waiver.
“(ii) Provisions of law.—The provisions of law described in this clause are the following:
“(I) Any provision of law described in subparagraph (B).
“(II) Any eligibility requirement under section 3 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2753).
“(III) Any eligibility requirement under chapter 2 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2311 et seq.).”
; and
“(l) Assessment and Authority to Assist Directly Certain Covered Groups.—
“(1) Assessment.—
“(A) In general.—Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional committees an assessment of the extent to which the Government of Iraq is increasing political inclusiveness, addressing the grievances of ethnic and sectarian minorities, and enhancing minority integration in the political and military structures in Iraq.
“(B) Factors to be considered in making assessment.—In making the assessment described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State shall consider the following factors:
“(i) The extent to which the Government of Iraq is taking steps to reduce support among the Iraqi people for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and improve stability in Iraq.
“(ii) The progress of efforts to enact legislation establishing the Iraqi National Guard, particularly in predominantly Sunni regions.
“(iii) The extent to which the Government of Iraq is expanding the representation of minorities in adequate numbers in government security organizations and providing for the training and equipping of such forces.
“(iv) Whether the Government of Iraq is ending support for Shia militias under the command and control of, or associated with, the Government of Iran, and stopping abuses of elements of the Iraqi population by such militias.
“(v) Whether the Government of Iraq is ensuring that supplies, equipment, and weaponry supplied by the United States are appropriately distributed to security forces with a national security mission in Iraq, including the Kurdish Peshmerga, Sunni tribal security forces and local security forces with a national security mission, and, once established, the Iraqi Sunni National Guard.
“(vi) Whether the Government of Iraq is addressing grievances regarding the arrest and detention without trial of ethnic and sectarian minorities or is taking steps to prosecute such individuals that are detained in a fair, transparent, and prompt manner.
“(vii) Such other factors as the Secretaries consider appropriate.
“(C) Update.—The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an update of the assessment required under subparagraph (A) not later than 180 days after the date on which the assessment is submitted to the appropriate congressional committees under subparagraph (A).
“(D) Submission.—The assessment required under subparagraph (A) and the update of the assessment authorized under subparagraph (C) may be submitted as part of the quarterly report required under subsection (d).
“(2) Assistance directly to certain covered groups.—
“(A) In general.—If the President, taking into account the results of the assessment required under paragraph (1)(A) or the update required under paragraph (1)(C), determines and notifies the appropriate congressional committees that the Government of Iraq has failed to take substantial action to increase political inclusiveness, address the grievances of ethnic and sectarian minorities, and enhance minority integration in the political and military structures in Iraq, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of State, is authorized to provide, in coordination to the extent practicable with the Government of Iraq, assistance under the authority of subsection (a) directly to the groups described in subparagraph (D) for the purpose of supporting international coalition efforts against ISIL.
“(B) Administrative provisions.—In carrying out subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Defense may—
“(i) re-allocate the amount of assistance authorized under subsection (a) to increase the share of such assistance provided to the groups described in subparagraph (D); and
“(ii) exercise the waiver authority provided in subsection (j)(1)(C) with respect to providing assistance to the groups described in subparagraph (D).
“(C) Cost-sharing requirement inapplicable.—The cost-sharing requirement of subsection (k) shall not apply with respect to funds that are obligated or expended under this subsection for assistance provided directly to the groups described in subparagraph (D).
“(D) Covered groups.—The groups described in this subparagraph are—
“(i) the Kurdish Peshmerga; and
“(ii) Sunni tribal security forces, or other local security forces, with a national security mission.”
“(12) a description of support, if any, provided to appropriately vetted recipients pursuant to subsection (a) while those forces are located in Syria, including—
“(A) logistics support;
“(B) defense supporting fire;
“(C) intelligence; and
“(D) medical support; and
“(13) a description of the number of appropriately vetted recipients located in Syria, the approximate locations in which they are operating, and the number of known casualties among such recipients.”
“(1) In general.—The Secretary of Defense”
; and
“(2) Information accompanying reprogramming requests.—Each request under paragraph (1) shall include the following:
“(A) The amount, type, and purpose of assistance to be funded pursuant to such request.
“(B) The budget, implementation timeline with milestones, and anticipated delivery schedule for such assistance.”
“(D) Iranian strategy regarding offensive cyber capabilities and defensive cyber capabilities.”
“(F) offensive cyber capabilities and defensive cyber capabilities; and
“(G) Iranian ability to manipulate the information environment both domestically and against the interests of the United States and its allies.”
“(5) An assessment of transfers to Iran of military equipment, technology, and training from non-Iranian sources.”
“(4) An assessment of the force structure and capabilities of Russian military forces stationed in each of the Arctic, Kaliningrad, and Crimea, including a description of any changes to such force structure or capabilities during the one-year period ending on the date of such report and with a particular emphasis on the anti-access and area denial capabilities of such forces.
“(5) An assessment of Russian military strategy and objectives for the Arctic region.
“(6) A description of the status of testing, production, deployment, and sale or transfer to other states or non-state actors of the Club-K cruise missile system by the Russian Federation.”
“(1) In general.—Upon”
“(2) Annual limit.—The total amount made available for support of non-conventional assisted recovery activities under this subsection in any fiscal year may not exceed $25,000,000.”
“(b) Procedures and Oversight.—
“(1) Procedures.—The Secretary”
; and
“(2) Programmatic and policy oversight.—The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict shall have primary programmatic and policy oversight of non-conventional assisted recovery activities authorized by this section.”
“(e) Annual Report.—
“(1) In general.—Not later than June 15 of each year described in paragraph (2), the Director of National Intelligence shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that contains a detailed assessment, consistent with the provision of classified information and intelligence sources and methods, of the adherence of other nations to obligations undertaken in all arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements or commitments to which the United States is a party, including information of cases in which any such nation has behaved inconsistently with respect to its obligations undertaken in such agreements or commitments.
“(2) Covered year.—A year described in this paragraph is a year in which the President fails to submit the report required by subsection (a) by not later than April 15 of such year.
“(3) Form.—The report required by this subsection shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex if necessary.”
“(s) Limitation on Cessation or Suspension of Distribution of Funds for Certain Workload.—
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of a military department is not authorized—
“(A) to suspend the employment of indirectly funded Government employees of the Department of Defense who are paid for out of working-capital funds by ceasing or suspending the distribution of such funds; or
“(B) to cease or suspend the distribution of funds from a working-capital fund for a current project undertaken to carry out the functions or activities of the Department.
“(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to a working-capital fund if—
“(A) the working-capital fund is insolvent; or
“(B) there are insufficient funds in the working-capital fund to pay labor costs for the current project concerned.
“(3) The Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of a military department may waive the limitation in paragraph (1) if such Secretary determines that the waiver is in the national security interests of the United States.
“(4) This subsection shall not be construed to provide for the exclusion of any particular category of employees of the Department of Defense from furlough due to absence of or inadequate funding.”
“(t) Market Fluctuation Account.—
(1) From amounts available for Working Capital Fund, Defense, the Secretary shall reserve up to $1,000,000,000, to remain available without fiscal year limitation, for petroleum market price fluctuations. Such amounts may only be disbursed if the Secretary determines such a disbursement is necessary to absorb volatile market changes in fuel prices without affecting the standard price charged for fuel.
“(2) A budget request for the anticipated costs of fuel may not take into account the availability of funds reserved under paragraph (1).”
Ҥ 239. National security space programs: major force program and budget assessment
“(a) Establishment of Major Force Program.—The Secretary of Defense shall establish a unified major force program for national security space programs pursuant to section 222(b) of this title to prioritize national security space activities in accordance with the requirements of the Department of Defense and national security.
“(b) Budget Assessment.—
(1) The Secretary shall include with the defense budget materials for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2020 a report on the budget for national security space programs of the Department of Defense.
“(2) Each report on the budget for national security space programs of the Department of Defense under paragraph (1) shall include the following:
“(A) An overview of the budget, including—
“(i) a comparison between that budget, the previous budget, the most recent and prior future-years defense program submitted to Congress under section 221 of this title, and the amounts appropriated for such programs during the previous fiscal year; and
“(ii) the specific identification, as a budgetary line item, for the funding under such programs.
“(B) An assessment of the budget, including significant changes, priorities, challenges, and risks.
“(C) Any additional matters the Secretary determines appropriate.
“(3) Each report under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
“(c) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) The term ‘budget’, with respect to a fiscal year, means the budget for that fiscal year that is submitted to Congress by the President under section 1105(a) of title 31.
“(2) The term ‘defense budget materials’, with respect to a fiscal year, means the materials submitted to Congress by the Secretary of Defense in support of the budget for that fiscal year.”
“239. National security space programs: major force program and budget assessment.”.
Ҥ 2279a. Principal Advisor on Space Control
“(a) In General.—The Secretary of Defense shall designate a senior official of the Department of Defense or a military department to serve as the Principal Space Control Advisor, who, in addition to the other duties of such senior official, shall act as the principal advisor to the Secretary on space control activities.
“(b) Responsibilities.—The Principal Space Control Advisor shall be responsible for the following:
“(1) Supervision of space control activities related to the development, procurement, and employment of, and strategy relating to, space control capabilities.
“(2) Oversight of policy, resources, personnel, and acquisition and technology relating to space control activities.
“(c) Cross-functional Team.—The Principal Space Control Advisor shall integrate the space control expertise and perspectives of appropriate organizational entities of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the military departments, the Defense Agencies, and the combatant commands, by establishing and maintaining a cross-functional team of subject-matter experts who are otherwise assigned or detailed to those entities.”
“2279a. Principal Advisor on Space Control.”.
Ҥ 2279b. Council on Oversight of the Department of Defense Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Enterprise
“(a) Establishment.—There is within the Department of Defense a council to be known as the ‘Council on Oversight of the Department of Defense Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Enterprise’ (in this section referred to as the ‘Council’).
“(b) Membership.—The members of the Council shall be as follows:
“(1) The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
“(2) The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.
“(3) The Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“(4) The Commander of the United States Strategic Command.
“(5) The Commander of the United States Northern Command.
“(6) The Commander of United States Cyber Command.
“(7) The Director of the National Security Agency.
“(8) The Chief Information Officer of the Department of Defense.
“(9) The Secretaries of the military departments, who shall be ex officio members.
“(10) Such other officers of the Department of Defense as the Secretary may designate.
“(c) Co-chair.—The Council shall be co-chaired by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“(d) Responsibilities.—
(1) The Council shall be responsible for oversight of the Department of Defense positioning, navigation, and timing enterprise, including positioning, navigation, and timing services provided to civil, commercial, scientific, and international users.
“(2) In carrying out the responsibility for oversight of the Department of Defense positioning, navigation, and timing enterprise as specified in paragraph (1), the Council shall be responsible for the following:
“(A) Oversight of performance assessments (including interoperability).
“(B) Vulnerability identification and mitigation.
“(C) Architecture development.
“(D) Resource prioritization.
“(E) Such other responsibilities as the Secretary of Defense shall specify for purposes of this section.
“(e) Annual Reports.—At the same time each year that the budget of the President is submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, the Council shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the activities of the Council. Each report shall include the following:
“(1) A description and assessment of the activities of the Council during the previous fiscal year.
“(2) A description of the activities proposed to be undertaken by the Council during the period covered by the current future-years defense program under section 221 of this title.
“(3) Any changes to the requirements of the Department of Defense positioning, navigation, and timing enterprise made during the previous year, along with an explanation for why the changes were made and a description of the effects of the changes to the capability of such enterprise.
“(4) A breakdown of each program element in such budget that relates to the Department of Defense positioning, navigation, and timing enterprise, including how such program element relates to the operation and sustainment, research and development, procurement, or other activity of such enterprise.
“(f) Budget and Funding Matters.—
(1) Not later than 30 days after the President submits to Congress the budget for a fiscal year under section 1105(a) of title 31, the Commander of the United States Strategic Command shall submit to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff an assessment of—
“(A) whether such budget allows the Federal Government to meet the required capabilities of the Department of Defense positioning, navigation, and timing enterprise during the fiscal year covered by the budget and the four subsequent fiscal years; and
“(B) if the Commander determines that such budget does not allow the Federal Government to meet such required capabilities, a description of the steps being taken to meet such required capabilities.
“(2) Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff receives the assessment of the Commander of the United States Strategic Command under paragraph (1), the Chairman shall submit to the congressional defense committees—
“(A) such assessment as it was submitted to the Chairman; and
“(B) any comments of the Chairman.
“(3) If a House of Congress adopts a bill authorizing or appropriating funds for the activities of the Department of Defense positioning, navigation, and timing enterprise that, as determined by the Council, provides insufficient funds for such activities for the period covered by such bill, the Council shall notify the congressional defense committees of the determination.
“(g) Notification of Anomalies.—
(1) The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees written notification of an anomaly in the Department of Defense positioning, navigation, and timing enterprise that is reported to the Secretary or the Council by not later than 14 days after the date on which the Secretary or the Council learns of such anomaly, as the case may be.
“(2) In this subsection, the term ‘anomaly’ means any unplanned, irregular, or abnormal event, whether unexplained or caused intentionally or unintentionally by a person or a system.
“(h) Termination.—The Council shall terminate on the date that is 10 years after the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016.”
“2279b. Council on Oversight of the Department of Defense Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Enterprise.”.
Ҥ 2272. Space science and technology strategy: coordination
“The Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence shall jointly develop and implement a space science and technology strategy and shall review and, as appropriate, revise the strategy biennially. Functions of the Secretary under this section shall be carried out jointly by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and the official of the Department of Defense designated as the Department of Defense Executive Agent for Space.”
“(d) Limitation on Delegation of Waiver Authority.—The Secretary of Defense may not delegate the authority to make a waiver under subsection (c) to an official below the level of the Secretaries of the military departments or the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.”
“(c) Streamlined Acquisition.—In developing the rocket propulsion system required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—
“(1) use a streamlined acquisition approach, including tailored documentation and review processes, that enables the effective, efficient, and expedient transition from the use of non-allied space launch engines to a domestic alternative for national security space launches; and
“(2) prior to establishing such acquisition approach, establish well-defined requirements with a clear acquisition strategy.”
“(1) In general.—The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply to any of the following:
“(A) The placement of orders or the exercise of options under the contract numbered FA8811–13–C–0003 and awarded on December 18, 2013.
“(B) Subject to paragraph (2), contracts awarded for the procurement of property or services for space launch activities that include the use of not more than a total of five rocket engines designed or manufactured in the Russian Federation that prior to February 1, 2014, were either fully paid for by the contractor or covered by a legally binding commitment of the contractor to fully pay for such rocket engines.
“(C) Contracts not covered under subparagraph (A) or (B) that are awarded for the procurement of property or services for space launch activities that include the use of not more than a total of four additional rocket engines designed or manufactured in the Russian Federation.”
“(4) Methods.—In carrying out the pilot program under paragraph (1), the Secretary may use a variety of methods authorized by law to effectively and efficiently acquire commercial satellite communications services, including by carrying out multiple pathfinder activities under the pilot program.”
“(5) demonstrates the potential to achieve order-of-magnitude improvements in satellite communications capability.”
“(B) a description of the appropriate metrics established by the Secretary to meet the goals of the pilot program.”
“(2) Briefing.—At the same time as the President submits to Congress the budget pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2020, the Secretary shall provide to the congressional defense committees a briefing on the pilot program.”
; and
Ҥ 430b. Executive agent for open-source intelligence tools
“(a) Designation.—Not later than April 1, 2016, the Secretary of Defense shall designate a senior official of the Department of Defense to serve as the executive agent for the Department for open-source intelligence tools.
“(b) Roles, Responsibilities, and Authorities.—
(1) Not later than July 1, 2016, in accordance with Directive 5101.1, the Secretary shall prescribe the roles, responsibilities, and authorities of the executive agent designated under subsection (a).
“(2) The roles and responsibilities of the executive agent designated under subsection (a) shall include the following:
“(A) Developing and maintaining a comprehensive list of open-source intelligence tools and technical standards.
“(B) Establishing priorities for the development, acquisition, and integration of open-source intelligence tools into the intelligence enterprise, and other command and control systems as needed.
“(C) Certifying all open-source intelligence tools with respect to compliance with the standards required by the framework and guidance for the Intelligence Community Information Technology Enterprise, the Defense Intelligence Information Enterprise, and the Joint Information Environment.
“(D) Assessing and making recommendations regarding the protection of privacy in the acquisition, analysis, and dissemination of open-source information available around the world.
“(E) Performing such other assessments or analyses as the Secretary considers appropriate.
“(c) Support Within Department of Defense.—In accordance with Directive 5101.1, the Secretary shall ensure that the military departments, the Defense Agencies, and other elements of the Department of Defense provide the executive agent designated under subsection (a) with the appropriate support and resources needed to perform the roles, responsibilities, and authorities of the executive agent.
“(d) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) The term ‘Directive 5101.1’ means Department of Defense Directive 5101.1, or any successor directive relating to the responsibilities of an executive agent of the Department of Defense.
“(2) The term ‘executive agent’ has the meaning given the term ‘DoD Executive Agent’ in Directive 5101.1.
“(3) The term ‘open-source intelligence tools’ means tools for the systematic collection, processing, and analysis of publicly available information for known or anticipated intelligence requirements.”
“430b. Executive agent for open-source intelligence tools.”.
“(2) Not later than 48 hours after using the waiver authority under paragraph (1) for any facility for intelligence collection conducted under the authorities of the Department of Defense or special operations activity, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees written notification of the use of the authority, including the justification for the waiver and the estimated cost of the project for which the waiver applies.
“(3) In this subsection, the term ‘appropriate congressional committees’ means the following:
“(A) With respect to a waiver regarding special operations activities, the congressional defense committees.
“(B) With respect to a waiver regarding intelligence collection conducted under the authorities of the Department of Defense—
“(i) the congressional defense committees; and
“(ii) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives.”
“(4) The waiver authority provided by paragraph (1) expires December 31, 2020.”
“§ 393. Reporting on penetrations of networks and information systems of certain contractors”
“(3) Dissemination of information.—The procedures established pursuant to subsection (a) shall limit the dissemination of information obtained or derived through such procedures to entities—
“(A) with missions that may be affected by such information;
“(B) that may be called upon to assist in the diagnosis, detection, or mitigation of cyber incidents;
“(C) that conduct counterintelligence or law enforcement investigations; or
“(D) for national security purposes, including cyber situational awareness and defense purposes.”
; and
“(d) Protection From Liability of Cleared Defense Contractors.—
(1) No cause of action shall lie or be maintained in any court against any cleared defense contractor, and such action shall be promptly dismissed, for compliance with this section that is conducted in accordance with the procedures established pursuant to subsection (a).
“(2)
(A) Nothing in this section shall be construed—
“(i) to require dismissal of a cause of action against a cleared defense contractor that has engaged in willful misconduct in the course of complying with the procedures established pursuant to subsection (a); or
“(ii) to undermine or limit the availability of otherwise applicable common law or statutory defenses.
“(B) In any action claiming that paragraph (1) does not apply due to willful misconduct described in subparagraph (A), the plaintiff shall have the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence the willful misconduct by each cleared defense contractor subject to such claim and that such willful misconduct proximately caused injury to the plaintiff.
“(C) In this subsection, the term ‘willful misconduct’ means an act or omission that is taken—
“(i) intentionally to achieve a wrongful purpose;
“(ii) knowingly without legal or factual justification; and
“(iii) in disregard of a known or obvious risk that is so great as to make it highly probable that the harm will outweigh the benefit.”
“(d) Protection From Liability of Operationally Critical Contractors.—
(1) No cause of action shall lie or be maintained in any court against any operationally critical contractor, and such action shall be promptly dismissed, for compliance with this section that is conducted in accordance with procedures established pursuant to subsection (b).
“(2)
(A) Nothing in this section shall be construed—
“(i) to require dismissal of a cause of action against an operationally critical contractor that has engaged in willful misconduct in the course of complying with the procedures established pursuant to subsection (b); or
“(ii) to undermine or limit the availability of otherwise applicable common law or statutory defenses.
“(B) In any action claiming that paragraph (1) does not apply due to willful misconduct described in subparagraph (A), the plaintiff shall have the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence the willful misconduct by each operationally critical contractor subject to such claim and that such willful misconduct proximately caused injury to the plaintiff.
“(C) In this subsection, the term ‘willful misconduct’ means an act or omission that is taken—
“(i) intentionally to achieve a wrongful purpose;
“(ii) knowingly without legal or factual justification; and
“(iii) in disregard of a known or obvious risk that is so great as to make it highly probable that the harm will outweigh the benefit.”
“391. Reporting on cyber incidents with respect to networks and information systems of operationally critical contractors and certain other contractors.”; and
“393. Reporting on penetrations of networks and information systems of certain contractors.”.
Ҥ 130g. Authorities concerning military cyber operations
“The Secretary of Defense shall develop, prepare, and coordinate; make ready all armed forces for purposes of; and, when appropriately authorized to do so, conduct, a military cyber operation in response to malicious cyber activity carried out against the United States or a United States person by a foreign power (as such terms are defined in section 101 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801)).”
“130g. Authorities concerning military cyber operations.”.
“(f) Collection of Assessments on Certain Threats.—The Council shall collect and assess (consistent with the provision of classified information and intelligence sources and methods) all reports and assessments otherwise conducted by the intelligence community (as defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)) regarding foreign threats, including cyber threats, to the command, control, and communications system for the national leadership of the United States and the vulnerabilities of such system to such threats.”
; and
“(5) An assessment of the threats and vulnerabilities described in the reports and assessments collected under subsection (f) during the previous year, including any plans to address such threats and vulnerabilities.”
Ҥ 8040. Oversight of nuclear deterrence mission
“(a) Oversight of Nuclear Deterrence Mission.—Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force shall be responsible for overseeing the safety, security, reliability, effectiveness, and credibility of the nuclear deterrence mission of the Air Force.
“(b) Deputy Chief of Staff.—Not later than March 1, 2016, the Chief of Staff shall designate a Deputy Chief of Staff to carry out the following duties:
“(1) Provide direction, guidance, integration, and advocacy regarding the nuclear deterrence mission of the Air Force.
“(2) Conduct monitoring and oversight activities regarding the safety, security, reliability, effectiveness, and credibility of the nuclear deterrence mission of the Air Force.
“(3) Conduct periodic comprehensive assessments of all aspects of the nuclear deterrence mission of the Air Force and provide such assessments to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force.”
“8040. Oversight of nuclear deterrence mission.”.
Ҥ 130h. Prohibitions on providing certain missile defense information to Russian Federation
“(a) Certain ‘Hit-to-kill’ Technology and Telemetry Data.—None of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available for any fiscal year for the Department of Defense may be used to provide the Russian Federation with ‘hit-to-kill’ technology and telemetry data for missile defense interceptors or target vehicles.
“(b) Other Sensitive Missile Defense Information.—None of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available for any fiscal year for the Department of Defense may be used to provide the Russian Federation with—
“(1) information relating to velocity at burnout of missile defense interceptors or targets of the United States; or
“(2) classified or otherwise controlled missile defense information.
“(c) Exception.—The prohibitions in subsection (a) and (b) shall not apply to the United States providing to the Russian Federation information regarding ballistic missile early warning.
“(d) Sunset.—The prohibitions in subsection (a) and (b) shall expire on January 1, 2017.”
“130h. Prohibitions on providing certain missile defense information to Russian Federation.”.