Text of US HB 3838 (2025)

I 119TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3838 To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 9, 2025 Mr. ROGERS of Alabama (for himself and Mr. SMITH of Washington) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Depart- ment of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and 5 Delivery Act of 2025’’ or the ‘‘SPEED Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3838 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—ALIGNING ACQUISITION TO WARFIGHTER PRIORITIES AND OPERATIONAL OUTCOMES Sec. 101. Alignment of the defense acquisition system with the needs of mem- bers of the Armed Forces. Sec. 102. Program executive officer responsibilities. Sec. 103. Major capability activity areas and pathfinder programs. Sec. 104. Product support manager responsibilities and requirements. Sec. 105. Amendments to life-cycle management and product support. Sec. 106. Navy Senior Technical Authority. TITLE II—ACCELERATING THE REQUIREMENTS PROCESS Sec. 201. Joint Requirements Council. Sec. 202. Establishment of the Requirements, Acquisition, and Programming Integration Directorate. Sec. 203. Establishment of the Mission Engineering and Integration Activity. TITLE III—STRIKING THE BALANCE BETWEEN REGULATION AND EFFICIENCY Sec. 301. Matters related to Department of Defense use of cost accounting standards. Sec. 302. Review of commercial buying practices. Sec. 303. Adjustments to certain acquisition thresholds. Sec. 304. Alternative capability-based pricing. Sec. 305. Clarification of conditions for payments for commercial products and commercial services. TITLE IV—STRENGTHENING THE DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE AND LEVERAGING COMMERCIAL INNOVATION Sec. 401. Defense Industrial Resilience Consortium. Sec. 402. Amendment to other transaction authority. Sec. 403. Data-as-a-service solutions for weapon system contracts. Sec. 404. Requirements for modular open system approach and modifications to rights in technical data. Sec. 405. Qualification, acceptance, and supply chain management of products manufactured using advanced manufacturing. Sec. 406. Amendments to the procurement technical assistance program. Sec. 407. Report on surge capacity in the defense industrial base. Sec. 408. Bridging Operational Objectives and Support for Transition program. TITLE V—DEVELOPING A MISSION-ORIENTED DEFENSE ACQUISITION WORKFORCE Sec. 501. Report on strengthening the Defense Acquisition University. Sec. 502. Comptroller General review of the management, training, and devel- opment of the acquisition workforce. Sec. 503. Comptroller General review of matters relating to individuals assigned to a critical acquisition position. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3838 IH TITLE I—ALIGNING ACQUISI- 1 TION TO WARFIGHTER PRIOR- 2 ITIES AND OPERATIONAL 3 OUTCOMES 4 SEC. 101. ALIGNMENT OF THE DEFENSE ACQUISITION SYS- 5 TEM WITH THE NEEDS OF MEMBERS OF THE 6 ARMED FORCES. 7 (a) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 30 days after 8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 9 Defense shall revise Department of Defense Directive 10 5000.01 and any other relevant instructions, policies, or 11 guidance to carry out the requirements of this section and 12 the amendments made by this section. 13 (b) OBJECTIVES OF DEFENSE ACQUISITION SYS- 14 TEM.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3102 of title 10, 16 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 17 ‘‘§ 3102. Objectives of the defense acquisition system 18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall 19 ensure that the defense acquisition system exists to expe- 20 ditiously provide the Armed Forces with the capabilities 21 necessary to operate effectively, to address evolving 22 threats, and to maintain the military advantage of the 23 United States in the most cost-effective manner prac- 24 ticable. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(b) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary of Defense shall 1 issue guidance to carry out subsection (a) that requires 2 the following: 3 ‘‘(1) All activities of the defense acquisition sys- 4 tem contribute to the expeditious delivery of capa- 5 bilities to enhance the operational readiness of the 6 Armed Forces and enable the missions of the De- 7 partment of Defense. 8 ‘‘(2) The defense acquisition system maximizes 9 the effective use of resources by delivering capabili- 10 ties that offer the best value for the investment 11 made in each capability. 12 ‘‘(3) The defense acquisition system encourages 13 and supports the integration of innovative solutions 14 to enhance military effectiveness and responsiveness 15 to emerging threats. 16 ‘‘(4) The defense acquisition system encourages 17 an iterative approach to designing and testing tech- 18 nical solutions to enable early identification of solu- 19 tions that do not deliver desired results. 20 ‘‘(5) The defense acquisition system supports a 21 leadership and organizational structure that encour- 22 ages risk-taking, collaboration, and learning through 23 failure. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(6) The training and development of members 1 of the acquisition workforce ensures that such mem- 2 bers have the skills to effectively manage acquisition 3 activities in accordance with this section.’’. 4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 5 (A) UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR 6 ACQUISITION AND SUSTAINMENT.—Section 7 133b(b) of title 10, United States Code, is 8 amended— 9 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘de- 10 livering and sustaining timely, cost-effec- 11 tive capabilities for the Armed Forces (and 12 the Department)’’ and inserting ‘‘expedi- 13 tiously providing the Armed Forces with 14 the capabilities necessary to operate effec- 15 tively, to address evolving threats, and to 16 maintain the military advantage of the 17 United States in the most cost-effective 18 manner practicable’’; and 19 (ii) in paragraph (9)(A), by striking 20 ‘‘defense acquisition programs’’ and insert- 21 ing ‘‘the defense acquisition system, in ac- 22 cordance with the objectives established 23 pursuant to section 3102’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Jun 13, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3838 IH (B) DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONAL TEST 1 AND EVALUATION.—Section 139(b) of title 10, 2 United States Code, is amended— 3 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 4 through (6) as paragraphs (2) through (7), 5 respectively; and 6 (ii) by inserting before paragraph (2), 7 as so redesignated, the following new para- 8 graph: 9 ‘‘(1) ensure that all operational test and evalua- 10 tion activities are aligned with, and are conducted in 11 a manner that supports, the objectives of the defense 12 acquisition system established pursuant to section 13 3102 of this title;’’. 14 (C) DIRECTOR OF COST ASSESSMENT AND 15 PROGRAM EVALUATION.—Section 139a(d) of 16 title 10, United States Code, is amended by in- 17 serting ‘‘shall carry out the requirements of this 18 section in accordance with the objectives estab- 19 lished pursuant to section 3102 of this title 20 and’’ before ‘‘shall serve’’. 21 (c) CIVILIAN MANAGEMENT OF THE DEFENSE AC- 22 QUISITION SYSTEM.—Section 3103 of title 10, United 23 States Code, is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3838 IH (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘to ensure the 1 successful and efficient operation of the defense ac- 2 quisition system’’ and inserting ‘‘in accordance with 3 the objectives of the defense acquisition system es- 4 tablished pursuant to section 3102 of this title’’; and 5 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘to ensure the 6 successful and efficient operation of such elements of 7 the defense acquisition system.’’ and inserting the 8 following: ‘‘in accordance with the objectives of the 9 defense acquisition system established pursuant to 10 section 3102 of this title. In carrying out this sub- 11 section, each service acquisition executive shall per- 12 form the following: 13 ‘‘(1) Implement strategies to effectively and ef- 14 ficiently respond to changes in capability require- 15 ments. 16 ‘‘(2) Use data-driven decisionmaking to manage 17 trade-offs among life-cycle costs, delivery schedules, 18 performance objectives, technical feasibility, and pro- 19 curement quantity objectives to ensure acquisition 20 and sustainment programs deliver the best value for 21 the investment made in the program. 22 ‘‘(3) Use iterative development cycles and dis- 23 continue or terminate the development of capabili- 24 ties— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(A) that no longer align with approved 1 capability requirements or priorities; or 2 ‘‘(B) are experiencing significant cost 3 growth, performance deficiencies, or delays in 4 schedule. 5 ‘‘(4) Ensure the period of assignment of an in- 6 dividual serving in a critical acquisition position (as 7 defined in section 1731 of this title) is of sufficient 8 duration to ensure the development and use of ac- 9 quired expertise, institutional capacity, account- 10 ability in decisionmaking, and stability in the over- 11 sight and management of acquisition activities. 12 ‘‘(5) Ensure that contracting officers are appro- 13 priately trained and assigned to support effective 14 contract management.’’. 15 (d) ACQUISITION-RELATED FUNCTIONS OF CHIEFS 16 OF THE ARMED FORCES.— 17 (1) PERFORMANCE OF CERTAIN ACQUISITION- 18 RELATED FUNCTIONS.—Section 3104(a) of title 10, 19 United States Code, is amended— 20 (A) by inserting ‘‘, in accordance with the 21 objectives established pursuant to section 3102 22 of this title,’’ after ‘‘Secretary of the military 23 department concerned’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3838 IH (B) by amending paragraphs (1) through 1 (7) to read as follows: 2 ‘‘(1) The development of capability requirement 3 statements for equipping the armed force concerned 4 that— 5 ‘‘(A) describe the operational problem to 6 provide necessary context for the capability re- 7 quirement; and 8 ‘‘(B) describe the solution sought in a non- 9 prescriptive manner to allow agile and innova- 10 tive capability development to address the oper- 11 ational problem; 12 ‘‘(2) The implementation of strategies to effec- 13 tively and efficiently inform recommendations re- 14 garding changes in capability requirements described 15 in paragraph (1). 16 ‘‘(3) The recommendation of trade-offs among 17 life-cycle costs, delivery schedules, performance ob- 18 jectives, technical feasibility, and procurement quan- 19 tity objectives to ensure acquisition programs deliver 20 the best value for the investment made. 21 ‘‘(4) In consultation with the Joint Require- 22 ments Council, the establishment and prioritization 23 of requirements to expeditiously provide the Armed 24 Forces with the capabilities needed to operate effec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Jun 13, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3838 IH tively, to address evolving threats, and to maintain 1 the military advantage of the United States. 2 ‘‘(5) The use of data-driven decision making to 3 prioritize resource allocation to meet operational 4 readiness requirements (as defined in section 4322 5 of this title) and the materiel readiness objectives es- 6 tablished by the Secretary of the military depart- 7 ment concerned under section 118(c) of this title. 8 ‘‘(6) Support for an environment that enables 9 the adoption and integration of innovative solutions 10 and technologies to enhance military effectiveness 11 and responsiveness. 12 ‘‘(7) Any recommendation for the termination 13 of the development of capabilities— 14 ‘‘(A) that no longer align with approved 15 capability requirements or priorities; 16 ‘‘(B) for which costs have significantly in- 17 creased; or 18 ‘‘(C) for which schedule delays have been 19 significant. 20 ‘‘(8) Support for the development of career 21 paths in acquisition for military personnel (as re- 22 quired by section 1722a of this title) to ensure such 23 personnel have the necessary skills, knowledge, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Jun 13, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3838 IH experience to fulfill the objectives established pursu- 1 ant to section 3102 of this title.’’. 2 (2) ADHERENCE TO REQUIREMENTS IN MAJOR 3 DEFENSE ACQUISITION PROGRAMS.—Section 4 3104(b) of title 10, United States Code, is amend- 5 ed— 6 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘program 7 capability document supporting a Milestone B 8 or subsequent decision’’ and inserting ‘‘require- 9 ments documents’’; and 10 (B) in paragraph (2)— 11 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 12 ‘‘prior to entry into the Materiel Solution 13 Analysis Phase under Department of De- 14 fense Instruction 5000.02’’; and 15 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 16 ‘‘cost, schedule, technical feasibility, and 17 performance trade-offs’’ and inserting 18 ‘‘life-cycle cost, delivery schedule, perform- 19 ance objective, technical feasibility, and 20 procurement quantity trade-offs’’. 21 (3) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3104(d) of title 10, 22 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 23 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT DEFINED.—In this 24 section, the term ‘requirements document’ means a docu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3838 IH ment that establishes the need for a materiel approach to 1 resolve a capability requirement or a joint capability re- 2 quirement (as such terms are defined in section 181 of 3 this title).’’. 4 (e) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.— 5 (1) Section 3101 of title 10, United States 6 Code, is amended to read as follows: 7 ‘‘§ 3101. Definitions 8 ‘‘In this chapter: 9 ‘‘(1) The term ‘best value’ means, with respect 10 to an acquisition, the optimal combination of cost, 11 quality, technical capability or solution quality, and 12 delivery schedule. 13 ‘‘(2) The term ‘capability requirement’ has the 14 meaning provided in section 181 of this title. 15 ‘‘(3) The term ‘cost-effective’ means, with re- 16 spect to an acquisition, the capacity to deliver better 17 results for the same or lower cost compared to alter- 18 natives.’’. 19 (2) Section 3001(c) of title 10, United States 20 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘this section’’ and in- 21 serting ‘‘this part’’. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HR 3838 IH SEC. 102. PROGRAM EXECUTIVE OFFICER RESPONSIBIL- 1 ITIES. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 87 of 3 title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 4 section 1731 the following new section: 5 ‘‘§ 1732. Program executive officer 6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A program executive officer is 7 the senior official responsible for the oversight of the 8 plans, budgets, and execution of the programs assigned 9 to the portfolio of such senior official, including life-cycle 10 management. 11 ‘‘(b) OBJECTIVES.—In carrying out the activities de- 12 scribed in subsection (a), the program executive officer 13 shall seek to achieve the following objectives: 14 ‘‘(1) Expeditiously provide the Armed Forces 15 with the capabilities needed to operate effectively, 16 address evolving threats, and maintain the military 17 advantage of the United States in the most cost-ef- 18 fective manner practicable. 19 ‘‘(2) Maximize the effective use of resources by 20 delivering capabilities that offer the best value for 21 the investment made in each capability. 22 ‘‘(3) Enable the integration of innovative solu- 23 tions and technologies to enhance military effective- 24 ness and responsiveness to emerging threats. 25 ‘‘(c) SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES.— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Jun 13, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 14 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the programs assigned 1 to the portfolio of a program executive officer, such 2 program executive officer shall be responsible for the 3 following: 4 ‘‘(A) Provide expeditious delivery of the ca- 5 pabilities necessary to effectively respond to na- 6 tional security challenges by overseeing the pro- 7 curement, development, and sustainment of de- 8 fense acquisition programs assigned to the pro- 9 gram executive officer. 10 ‘‘(B) Ensure the cost-effective allocation of 11 resources by delivering operational capabilities. 12 ‘‘(C) Adjust requirements, other than re- 13 quirements that are established as key perform- 14 ance parameters, to maximize the agility and 15 speed in program execution in accordance with 16 the objectives described in subsection (b). 17 ‘‘(D) Use iterative development cycles and 18 discontinue or terminate the development of ca- 19 pabilities— 20 ‘‘(i) that no longer align with ap- 21 proved capability requirements (as defined 22 in section 181 of this title) or priorities; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 15 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(ii) that are experiencing significant 1 cost growth, performance deficiencies, or 2 delays in schedule. 3 ‘‘(E) Evaluate and implement trade-offs 4 among life-cycle costs, delivery schedules, per- 5 formance objectives, technical feasibility, and 6 procurement quantity objectives to ensure ac- 7 quisition and sustainment programs deliver the 8 best value in meeting capability requirements 9 (as defined in section 181 of this title). 10 ‘‘(F) Use data-driven decisionmaking to 11 prioritize resource allocation to meet oper- 12 ational readiness requirements and materiel 13 readiness objectives established by the Secretary 14 concerned under section 118(c) of this title. 15 ‘‘(G) Collaborate with the Mission Engi- 16 neering and Integration Activity established 17 under section 203 of the SPEED Act to con- 18 duct cross-service technical and operational ac- 19 tivities to integrate emerging technologies, pro- 20 totypes, and operational concepts, as appro- 21 priate. 22 ‘‘(H) Provide support to the Requirements, 23 Acquisition, and Programming Integration Di- 24 rectorate with respect to the performance of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Jun 13, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 16 •HR 3838 IH responsibilities of the Directorate under section 1 186 of this title and serve as a member of the 2 Directorate in accordance with such section. 3 ‘‘(2) MILESTONE DECISION AUTHORITY DU- 4 TIES.—A program executive officer shall be the mile- 5 stone decision authority for a program when directed 6 by the service acquisition executive of the military 7 department that is managing the program or if des- 8 ignated by the Secretary of Defense. 9 ‘‘(d) FUNCTIONAL SUPPORT.—The Secretary con- 10 cerned with respect to a program executive officer shall 11 ensure that there is assigned to such program executive 12 officer the personnel and other resources required for such 13 program executive officer to successfully perform the as- 14 signed duties and responsibilities of such program execu- 15 tive officer, including— 16 ‘‘(1) contracting and contract management; 17 ‘‘(2) estimating costs; 18 ‘‘(3) financial management; 19 ‘‘(4) life-cycle management and product sup- 20 port; 21 ‘‘(5) program management; 22 ‘‘(6) engineering and technical management; 23 and 24 ‘‘(7) developmental testing and evaluation.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 17 •HR 3838 IH (b) AMENDMENT TO DEFINITIONS.—Section 1 1737(a)(4) of title 10, United Stated Code, is amended 2 to read as follows: 3 ‘‘(4) The term ‘program executive officer’ 4 means an individual described in section 1732(a).’’. 5 SEC. 103. MAJOR CAPABILITY ACTIVITY AREAS AND PATH- 6 FINDER PROGRAMS. 7 (a) TRANSITION PLAN REQUIRED.— 8 (1) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Not later than one 9 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 10 Secretary of Defense, in coordination with each Sec- 11 retary of a military department, shall submit to the 12 congressional defense committees a comprehensive 13 plan for organizing the programs assigned to the 14 portfolio of a program executive officer of the De- 15 partment of Defense in a manner primarily orga- 16 nized around major capability activity areas 17 (‘‘MCAAs’’). 18 (2) ELEMENTS OF THE PLAN.—The plan re- 19 quired under paragraph (1) shall be developed to 20 more effectively facilitate the development, fielding, 21 operation, sustainment, and modernization of capa- 22 bilities of the Department of Defense in accordance 23 with the objectives established pursuant to section 24 3102 of title 10, United States Code (as added by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 18 •HR 3838 IH section 101 of this Act). Such plan shall include the 1 following: 2 (A) A description of each proposed MCAA, 3 including how the specific capability of the De- 4 partment of Defense that is the subject of each 5 MCAA aligns with and supports joint military 6 capabilities. 7 (B) A proposed schedule, including bench- 8 marks, for phased implementation of the plan 9 to organize the programs of each military de- 10 partment and Defense Agency in a manner pri- 11 marily organized around MCAAs. 12 (C) Recommendations for statutory or reg- 13 ulatory changes needed to facilitate the reorga- 14 nization of program executive offices to be pri- 15 marily organized around MCAAs. 16 (D) A strategy to preserve accountability 17 for the delivery of a capability of the Depart- 18 ment of Defense that is the subject of the pro- 19 posed MCAA and to enable effective oversight 20 of the proposed MCAA by the congressional de- 21 fense committees. 22 (E) A description of the process for desig- 23 nating a Pathfinder under subsection (b). 24 (3) ORGANIZATION BY MCAAS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 19 •HR 3838 IH (A) IN GENERAL.—In organizing programs 1 in a manner primarily organized around 2 MCAAs under this subsection, the Secretary 3 shall— 4 (i) organize each proposed MCAA in a 5 capability-oriented structure that reflects 6 the unique and specific aspects of the sub- 7 ject capability of the MCAA; 8 (ii) assign relevant development, pro- 9 curement, operations, and sustainment ac- 10 tivities of the Department to the proposed 11 MCAA as appropriate; and 12 (iii) ensure each proposed MCAA is 13 organized in a manner that— 14 (I) will improve the ability to 15 measure and manage the overall per- 16 formance in the delivery of the subject 17 capability of the proposed MCAA; and 18 (II) connects amounts authorized 19 for activities assigned to the proposed 20 MCAA to the delivery of subject capa- 21 bility. 22 (B) FLEXIBILITY.—The Secretary of De- 23 fense shall ensure each military department and 24 Defense Agency has flexibility, according to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 20 •HR 3838 IH their specific mission requirements, in the orga- 1 nization of proposed MCAAs. 2 (b) DESIGNATION OF PATHFINDER MCAAS.— 3 (1) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 90 days 4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 5 retary of Defense shall— 6 (A) designate at least two program execu- 7 tive offices of the Department of Defense to be 8 known as ‘‘Pathfinders’’; 9 (B) identify the program executive officer 10 with the responsibility of administering each 11 such Pathfinder; 12 (C) ensure each such program executive of- 13 ficer organizes the programs assigned to such 14 offices into a MCAA in accordance with the re- 15 quirements of subsection (a)(3); and 16 (D) submit to the congressional defense 17 committees a notification of each designation 18 made under subparagraph (A), including the 19 total amount authorized to carry out each Path- 20 finder for fiscal year 2026 and a description of 21 the MCAA associated with each Pathfinder. 22 (2) MODIFIED TRANSFER AUTHORITY FOR 23 PATHFINDERS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 21 •HR 3838 IH (A) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of De- 1 fense, acting through a Secretary of a military 2 department or the head of a Defense Agency, 3 may transfer amounts authorized for programs, 4 projects, or activities that are included in a 5 Pathfinder under the jurisdiction of such Sec- 6 retary or head among such programs, projects, 7 or activities. 8 (B) LIMITATIONS.—A transfer made under 9 this paragraph— 10 (i) shall directly support delivery of 11 the capability of the Department of De- 12 fense that is the subject of the Pathfinder; 13 (ii) may not be used to initiate a new 14 start program (as described in section 15 3601 of title 10, United States Code); 16 (iii) may not be used to terminate a 17 program or activity of the Department that 18 was in operation on or before the date of 19 the designation of the Pathfinder; and 20 (iv) may not exceed 40 percent of the 21 total amount authorized to carry out a 22 Pathfinder specified under paragraph 23 (1)(D). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 22 •HR 3838 IH (3) ADDITIONAL PATHFINDERS.—The Sec- 1 retary of Defense may designate additional MCAAs 2 as Pathfinders under the authority of this subsection 3 if the Secretary notifies the congressional defense 4 committees not later than 15 days prior to each 5 such designation. 6 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 540 days 8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an- 9 nually thereafter until December 31, 2029, the Sec- 10 retary of Defense shall submit to the congressional 11 defense committees a report assessing the effective- 12 ness of the use of a capability-oriented structure in 13 subsection (a)(3) and Pathfinders in subsection (b) 14 to— 15 (A) improve the ability to measure and 16 manage the overall performance in the delivery 17 of the subject capability of the proposed MCAA 18 or Pathfinder; 19 (B) inform and improve program manage- 20 ment and planning for future activities assigned 21 to the proposed MCAA or Pathfinder for the 22 delivery of subject capability; and 23 (C) achieve the objectives of the defense 24 acquisition system established pursuant to sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 23 •HR 3838 IH tion 3102 of title 10, United States Code (as 1 added by section 101 of this Act). 2 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required under 3 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 4 (A) The extent to which the use of MCAAs 5 and use of the transfer authority under sub- 6 section (b)(2) for Pathfinders affect the speed 7 of addressing emerging threats and adopting 8 new technologies. 9 (B) An analysis of any costs or benefits of 10 using MCAAs. 11 (C) Recommendations, including statutory 12 or regulatory modifications, for— 13 (i) expanding the use of Pathfinders; 14 and 15 (ii) continuing the transition to using 16 MCAAs. 17 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 18 (1) The term ‘‘major capability activity area’’ 19 or ‘‘MCAA’’ means a compilation of activities that 20 relate to the delivery of a capability of the Depart- 21 ment of Defense, as determined by the Secretary of 22 Defense. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 24 •HR 3838 IH (2) The term ‘‘joint military capabilities’’ has 1 the meaning given in section 181 of title 10, United 2 States Code, as amended by section 201 of this Act. 3 (3) The term ‘‘program executive officer’’ has 4 the meaning given in section 1732 of title 10, 5 United States Code, as added by section 102 of this 6 Act. 7 SEC. 104. PRODUCT SUPPORT MANAGER RESPONSIBILITIES 8 AND REQUIREMENTS. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 87 of 10 title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 11 section 1732 (as added by section 102 of this Act) the 12 following new section: 13 ‘‘§ 1733. Product support manager 14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A product support manager is 15 the individual responsible for managing support functions 16 required to field and maintain the readiness and oper- 17 ational capability of a covered system in support of the 18 life-cycle management responsibilities of the program 19 manager for such covered system. 20 ‘‘(b) OBJECTIVES.—In carrying out the activities de- 21 scribed in subsection (a), the product support manager 22 shall seek to achieve the objectives of the defense acquisi- 23 tion system established pursuant to section 3102 of this 24 title. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Jun 13, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 25 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(c) SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES.—A product sup- 1 port manager shall be responsible for the following: 2 ‘‘(1) Provide product support and subject mat- 3 ter expertise with respect to a covered system to the 4 program manager for the covered system to assist 5 with the development, resourcing, implementation, 6 and execution of the product support strategy devel- 7 oped by the product support manager under section 8 4322 of this title for the covered system. 9 ‘‘(2) Collaborate with the chief engineer and 10 systems engineers for the covered system— 11 ‘‘(A) to develop the life-cycle sustainment 12 plan and any product support plans for the cov- 13 ered system; and 14 ‘‘(B) to analyze the operating and support 15 costs of the covered system to ensure the cost- 16 effective operation, management, and avail- 17 ability of the covered system. 18 ‘‘(3) Conduct early risk identification, mitiga- 19 tion, and product support analyses that inform best 20 value solutions in life-cycle planning and manage- 21 ment. 22 ‘‘(4) Provide input on systems engineering re- 23 quirements, design, budgeting, maintenance plan- 24 ning, and acquisition strategies for covered systems. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 26 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(5) Support the program manager in evalu- 1 ating trade-offs among life-cycle costs, delivery 2 schedules, performance objectives, technical feasi- 3 bility, and procurement quantity objectives to ensure 4 each covered system delivers the greatest value for 5 the investment made in the covered system. 6 ‘‘(6) Use data-driven decision making, pre- 7 dictive analysis, and appropriate modeling tools re- 8 lated to reliability and maintainability of the covered 9 system to prioritize resource allocation to meet oper- 10 ational readiness requirements and materiel readi- 11 ness objectives (established under section 118(c) of 12 this title). 13 ‘‘(7) Support each Secretary of a military de- 14 partment in performance of a core logistics analysis 15 pursuant to section 2464 of this title. 16 ‘‘(d) COVERED SYSTEM DEFINED.—In this section, 17 the term ‘covered system’ has the meaning given in section 18 4322 of this title.’’. 19 (b) EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND EXPERIENCE RE- 20 QUIREMENTS FOR PRODUCT SUPPORT MANAGERS.—Sec- 21 tion 1735 title 10, United States Code, is amended— 22 (1) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and 23 (e) as subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 27 •HR 3838 IH (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol- 1 lowing new subsection: 2 ‘‘(c) PRODUCT SUPPORT MANAGER.—Before being 3 assigned to a position as product support manager, a per- 4 son— 5 ‘‘(1) shall have completed all life-cycle logistics 6 certification and training requirements prescribed by 7 the Secretary of Defense; 8 ‘‘(2) shall have executed a written agreement as 9 required in section 1734(b)(2) of this title; and 10 ‘‘(3) in the case of— 11 ‘‘(A) a product support manager of a 12 major defense acquisition program, shall have 13 at least eight years of experience in life-cycle lo- 14 gistics, at least two years of which were per- 15 formed in a systems program office or similar 16 organization; and 17 ‘‘(B) a product support manager of a sig- 18 nificant nonmajor defense acquisition program, 19 shall have at least six years of experience in 20 life-cycle logistics.’’. 21 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 22 1731(a)(1)(B) title 10, United States Code, is amended 23 by adding at the end the following new clause: 24 ‘‘(iv) Product support manager.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 28 •HR 3838 IH SEC. 105. AMENDMENTS TO LIFE-CYCLE MANAGEMENT AND 1 PRODUCT SUPPORT. 2 (a) REORGANIZATION OF LIFE-CYCLE AND 3 SUSTAINMENT CHAPTER.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 323 of title 10, 5 United States Code, is amended— 6 (A) by repealing sections 4321, 4323, and 7 4324; 8 (B) by redesignating section 4328 as sec- 9 tion 4321 and transferring such section so as to 10 appear after the table of sections at the begin- 11 ning of such chapter; 12 (C) by redesignating section 4325 as sec- 13 tion 4323 and transferring such section so as to 14 appear after section 4321; 15 (D) in section 4323, as so redesignated, by 16 striking ‘‘section 4324 of this title’’ and insert- 17 ing ‘‘section 4322 of this title’’; and 18 (E) by amending the table of sections at 19 the beginning of such chapter to read as fol- 20 lows: 21 ‘‘4321. Weapon system design: sustainment factors. ‘‘4322. Life-cycle management and product support. ‘‘4323. Major weapon systems: assessment, management, and control of oper- ating and support costs.’’. (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 29 •HR 3838 IH (A) Section 3041(a) of title 10, United 1 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘sections 2 4292(e) and 4321’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3 4292(e)’’. 4 (B) Section 3221(b)(2) of title 10, United 5 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘4321, 6 4323, and 4328 of this title’’ and inserting 7 ‘‘and 4321 of this title,’’. 8 (C) Section 4211(c)(2)(D) of title 10, 9 United States Code, is amended by striking 10 ‘‘section 4324 of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘sec- 11 tion 4322 of this title’’. 12 (D) Section 4252(b)(14) of title 10, United 13 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 14 4324(b) of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘section 15 4322 of this title’’. 16 (b) LIFE-CYCLE MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCT SUP- 17 PORT.—Chapter 323 of title 10, United States Code, as 18 amended by subsection (a), is further amended by insert- 19 ing after section 4321 the following new section: 20 ‘‘§ 4322. Life-cycle management and product support 21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall 22 ensure that each covered system is supported by a life- 23 cycle sustainment plan— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 30 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(1) that is approved by the senior acquisition 1 executive responsible for such covered system; and 2 ‘‘(2) that meets applicable operational readiness 3 requirements and materiel readiness objectives (es- 4 tablished under section 118(c) of this title) in the 5 most cost-effective manner practicable. 6 ‘‘(b) PRODUCT SUPPORT MANAGER.—The Secretary 7 of Defense shall designate a product support manager (as 8 defined in section 1733 of this title) to serve under the 9 supervision of a program manager for each covered sys- 10 tem. 11 ‘‘(c) LIFE-CYCLE SUSTAINMENT PLAN.—(1) A prod- 12 uct support manager shall develop, update, and implement 13 a life-cycle sustainment plan for each covered system for 14 which the product support manager is responsible. Such 15 plan shall include the following: 16 ‘‘(A) A comprehensive product support strategy 17 to best achieve operational readiness requirements 18 and materiel readiness objectives throughout the 19 planned life cycle of such system. 20 ‘‘(B) A baseline life-cycle cost estimate for the 21 covered system based on the planned product sup- 22 port strategy described in subparagraph (A). 23 ‘‘(C) Recommended engineering and design con- 24 siderations that support cost-effective sustainment of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 31 •HR 3838 IH the covered system and best value solutions in life- 1 cycle planning and management. 2 ‘‘(D) An intellectual property management plan 3 for product support developed in accordance with 4 section 3774 of this title. 5 ‘‘(E) A strategy to maximize use of public and 6 private sector capabilities to establish Government- 7 private partnerships— 8 ‘‘(i) with appropriate incentives for each 9 partner to contribute to the achievement of 10 operational readiness requirements and materiel 11 readiness objectives in the most cost-effective 12 manner practicable; and 13 ‘‘(ii) that considers the roles of each part- 14 ner as the covered system transitions from ac- 15 quisition, development, production, fielding, 16 sustainment, and disposal. 17 ‘‘(F) A plan to transition the covered system 18 from production to initial fielding that addresses 19 specific products or services required for successful 20 initial fielding of the covered system, including— 21 ‘‘(i) a description of the necessary tooling 22 or other unique support equipment, require- 23 ments for initial spare parts and components, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 32 •HR 3838 IH technical handbooks and maintenance manuals, 1 maintenance training, and facilities; 2 ‘‘(ii) an identification of the funding re- 3 quired to provide such products and services for 4 any initial fielding location of the covered sys- 5 tem; 6 ‘‘(iii) an identification of any procurement 7 line, program element, or subactivity group in 8 the budget of the Secretary concerned associ- 9 ated with such products or services; 10 ‘‘(iv) the timeline for delivery of such prod- 11 ucts and services; and 12 ‘‘(v) an assessment of any reduction in 13 operational readiness requirements and materiel 14 readiness objectives if such products and serv- 15 ices are not provided in accordance with clause 16 (iv). 17 ‘‘(2) In developing each life-cycle sustainment plan 18 required by this section, the product support manager 19 shall consider the following: 20 ‘‘(A) Affordability constraints and key cost fac- 21 tors that could affect operating and support costs 22 during the life cycle of the covered system. 23 ‘‘(B) Sustainment risks or challenges to sus- 24 taining the covered system in operational environ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 33 •HR 3838 IH ments, included contested logistics environments (as 1 defined in section 2926 of this title). 2 ‘‘(C) Compliance with— 3 ‘‘(i) requirements to maintain a core logis- 4 tics capability under section 2464 of this title; 5 and 6 ‘‘(ii) limitations on the performance of 7 depot-level maintenance of materiel under sec- 8 tion 2466 of this title. 9 ‘‘(D) A defense industrial base strategy to 10 maintain a robust, resilient, and innovative defense 11 industrial base to support requirements throughout 12 the life cycle of the covered system. 13 ‘‘(d) CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT AND ACTIVE MAN- 14 AGEMENT.—In carrying out the duties of this section and 15 section 1733 of this title, the product support manager 16 shall— 17 ‘‘(1) continuously assess and actively manage 18 performance of each covered system for which the 19 product support manager is responsible against the 20 life-cycle sustainment plan for such covered system; 21 and 22 ‘‘(2) as appropriate, integrate commercial best 23 practices, use commercial standards, and use ad- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 34 •HR 3838 IH vanced technologies to enhance the product support 1 of each covered system. 2 ‘‘(e) RECOMMENDATIONS.—(1) The product support 3 manager shall recommend changes to the product support 4 strategy required under subsection (c)(1)(A) of a covered 5 system to the program manager responsible for such cov- 6 ered system to meet the requirements of subsection (a). 7 ‘‘(2) The program manager shall provide to the senior 8 acquisition executive responsible for a covered system any 9 recommendations for such covered system made under 10 paragraph (1) that the program manager did not imple- 11 ment along with the rationale for not implementing such 12 recommendations. 13 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 14 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered system’ means— 15 ‘‘(A) a major defense acquisition program 16 as defined in section 4201 of this title; 17 ‘‘(B) a major subprogram as described in 18 section 4203 of this title; or 19 ‘‘(C) an acquisition program or project 20 that is carried out using the rapid fielding or 21 rapid prototyping acquisition pathway under 22 section 3602 of this title that is estimated by 23 the Secretary of Defense to require an eventual 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 35 •HR 3838 IH total expenditure described in section 1 4201(a)(2) of this title. 2 ‘‘(2) The term ‘operational readiness’ means 3 the capability of a unit of the Armed Forces, vessel, 4 weapon system, or equipment to perform the mis- 5 sions or functions for which it is organized or de- 6 signed. 7 ‘‘(3) The term ‘product support’ means the set 8 of support functions, as determined by the product 9 support manager, required to field and maintain the 10 readiness and operational capability of a covered sys- 11 tem, or a subsystem or component of a covered sys- 12 tem.’’. 13 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO MATERIEL 14 READINESS METRICS AND OBJECTIVES FOR MAJOR 15 WEAPON SYSTEMS.—Section 118 of title 10, United 16 States Code, is amended— 17 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘mate- 18 riel readiness’’ before ‘‘objectives’’; 19 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘shall ad- 20 dress’’ and inserting ‘‘shall establish procedures and 21 a computation methodology to determine’’; 22 (3) in subsection (c)— 23 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the 24 metrics required’’ and all that follows through 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 36 •HR 3838 IH the period at the end and inserting ‘‘materiel 1 readiness objectives for each major weapon sys- 2 tem.’’; and 3 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the 4 metrics required by subsection (b)’’ and insert- 5 ing ‘‘such readiness objectives’’; 6 (4) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ‘‘readiness 7 goals or objectives’’ and inserting ‘‘materiel readi- 8 ness objectives’’; 9 (5) in subsection (e), in the matter preceding 10 paragraph (1), by inserting a comma after ‘‘des- 11 ignated mission’’; and 12 (6) in subsection (f)— 13 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), 14 and (5) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respec- 15 tively; and 16 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 17 following new paragraph: 18 ‘‘(3) The term ‘materiel readiness objective’ 19 means the minimum required availability of each 20 major weapon system that is necessary to fulfill the 21 requirements of the strategic framework and guid- 22 ance referred to in subsection (a).’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 37 •HR 3838 IH SEC. 106. NAVY SENIOR TECHNICAL AUTHORITY. 1 Section 8669b of title 10, United States Code, is 2 amended— 3 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by amending subpara- 4 graph (B) to read as follows: 5 ‘‘(B) reports directly to the program execu- 6 tive officer.’’; and 7 (2) in subsection (b)— 8 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Each Sen- 9 ior’’; and 10 (B) by adding at the end the following new 11 paragraph: 12 ‘‘(2) Each Senior Technical Authority shall also be 13 responsible for the determination that all design require- 14 ments for a vessel class are directly related to a key per- 15 formance parameter or key system attribute established 16 in the capability development document for the vessel 17 class. Any requirements that the Senior Technical Author- 18 ity determines are unnecessary to meet a key performance 19 parameter or key system attribute shall not be approved.’’. 20 TITLE II—ACCELERATING THE 21 REQUIREMENTS PROCESS 22 SEC. 201. JOINT REQUIREMENTS COUNCIL. 23 (a) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 30 days after 24 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chairman of 25 the Joint Chiefs shall revise policies for the Joint Strategic 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 38 •HR 3838 IH Planning System (established under the Chairman of the 1 Joint Chiefs of Staff Instruction 3100.01F), the Manual 2 for the Operation of the Joint Capabilities Integration and 3 Development System (issued October 30, 2021) and any 4 other relevant instructions, policies, or guidance to carry 5 out the requirements of this section and the amendments 6 made by this section. 7 (b) AMENDMENT TO NAME AND MISSION OF JOINT 8 REQUIREMENTS OVERSIGHT COUNCIL.—Section 181 of 9 title 10, United States Code, is amended— 10 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘Over- 11 sight’’; 12 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Joint Re- 13 quirements Oversight Council in the Department of 14 Defense.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘Joint Re- 15 quirements Council (in this section referred to as the 16 ‘Council’) in the Department of Defense. The Coun- 17 cil shall— 18 ‘‘(1) assist the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 19 Staff in carrying out the functions described in sec- 20 tion 153 of this title; and 21 ‘‘(2) provide recommendations for addressing 22 joint operational problems to the Requirements, Ac- 23 quisition, and Programming Integration Directorate 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 39 •HR 3838 IH established under section 186 of this title (in this 1 section referred to as ‘RAPID’).’’; and 2 (3) by striking ‘‘Joint Requirements Oversight 3 Council’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Joint 4 Requirements Council’’. 5 (c) DUTIES.—Subsection (b) of such section 181 is 6 amended to read as follows: 7 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Council shall support the objec- 8 tives established pursuant to section 3102 of this title by 9 performing the following duties: 10 ‘‘(1) Continuously evaluating global trends, ad- 11 versary capabilities, and emerging threats to inform 12 awareness and understanding of joint operational 13 problems. 14 ‘‘(2) In coordination with commanders of com- 15 batant commands, compiling, refining, and 16 prioritizing joint operational problems. 17 ‘‘(3) Identifying and prioritizing gaps in joint 18 military capabilities to address joint operational 19 problems. 20 ‘‘(4) Identifying advances in technology and in- 21 novative concepts of operation that could improve 22 the ability of the joint force to address evolving 23 threats and maintain the military advantage of the 24 United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 40 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(5) Developing a joint capability requirement 1 statement that— 2 ‘‘(A) describes the joint operational prob- 3 lem to provide necessary context for the joint 4 capability requirement; and 5 ‘‘(B) describes the solution sought in a 6 nonprescriptive manner to allow agile and inno- 7 vative development of joint capability require- 8 ments to address the joint operational problem. 9 ‘‘(6) Making the following recommendations to 10 RAPID: 11 ‘‘(A) With respect to a quick action re- 12 quirement, actions to fulfill such quick action 13 requirement, not later than 30 days after re- 14 ceipt or identification of such quick action re- 15 quirement. 16 ‘‘(B) Actions to fulfill each joint capability 17 requirement necessary to address joint oper- 18 ational problems, not later than 60 days after 19 receipt or identification of such a joint oper- 20 ational problem. 21 ‘‘(C) Modifications to joint force design 22 suitable for addressing joint operational prob- 23 lems or effectively integrating advancements in 24 technology and new concepts of operation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 41 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(D) Ways to improve operational effec- 1 tiveness, increase operational flexibility, or im- 2 prove interoperability and coordination between 3 and among joint military capabilities and the 4 military capabilities of allies or partners. 5 ‘‘(7) Providing notification to Deputy Secretary 6 of Defense— 7 ‘‘(A) upon receipt or identification of a 8 quick action requirement; and 9 ‘‘(B) upon submission of any recommenda- 10 tion to RAPID.’’. 11 (d) COMPOSITION.—Subsection (c) of such section 12 181 is amended— 13 (1) in paragraph (1)(A)— 14 (A) by inserting ‘‘and RAPID’’ before ‘‘for 15 making recommendations’’; and 16 (B) by striking ‘‘joint performance require- 17 ments’’ and inserting ‘‘joint capability require- 18 ments’’; and 19 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and 20 RAPID’’ after ‘‘Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 21 Staff’’. 22 (e) ADVISORS.—Subsection (d) of such section 181 23 is amended— 24 (1) in paragraph (2)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 42 •HR 3838 IH (A) by inserting ‘‘strongly’’ before ‘‘con- 1 sider’’; and 2 (B) by striking ‘‘its mission under para- 3 graphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b)’’ and in- 4 serting ‘‘the duties described in subsection (b)’’; 5 and 6 (2) in paragraph (3)— 7 (A) by striking ‘‘seek, and strongly con- 8 sider,’’ and inserting ‘‘seek and consider’’; 9 (B) by striking ‘‘, in their roles as cus- 10 tomers of the acquisition system,’’; and 11 (C) by striking ‘‘under subsection (b)(2) 12 and joint performance requirements pursuant to 13 subsection (b)(3)’’. 14 (f) RESPONSIBILITY FOR CAPABILITY REQUIRE- 15 MENTS.—Subsection (e) of such section 181 is amended 16 to read as follows: 17 ‘‘(e) RESPONSIBILITY FOR CAPABILITY REQUIRE- 18 MENTS.—The Chief of Staff of an armed force is respon- 19 sible for the capability requirements for that armed 20 force.’’. 21 (g) ANALYTIC AND ENGINEERING SUPPORT.—Sub- 22 section (f) of such section 181 is amended— 23 (1) in the subsection heading, by inserting 24 ‘‘AND ENGINEERING’’ after ‘‘ANALYTIC’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 43 •HR 3838 IH (2) by inserting ‘‘and the Mission Engineering 1 and Integration Activity established under section 2 203 of the SPEED Act’’ after ‘‘the Office of Cost 3 Assessment and Program Evaluation’’; and 4 (3) by striking ‘‘in operations research, systems 5 analysis, and cost estimation to the Joint Require- 6 ments Oversight Council’’. 7 (h) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION TO CONGRES- 8 SIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEES.—Subsection (g) of such 9 section 181 is amended— 10 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking 11 ‘‘OVERSIGHT’’; and 12 (2) by striking ‘‘oversight information’’ and in- 13 serting ‘‘information’’. 14 (i) DEFINITIONS.—Subsection (h) of such section 15 181 is amended to read as follows: 16 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 17 ‘‘(1) The term ‘capability requirement’ means a 18 requirement for a capability that is critical or essen- 19 tial to address an operational problem. 20 ‘‘(2) The term ‘joint capability requirement’ 21 means a capability requirement, including a capa- 22 bility requirement related to a requirement for joint 23 force interoperability, that is critical or essential to 24 address a specific joint operational problem. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 44 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(3) The term ‘joint military capabilities’ 1 means the collective capabilities across the joint 2 force, including both joint and force-specific capabili- 3 ties, that are available to conduct military oper- 4 ations. 5 ‘‘(4) The term ‘joint operational problem’ 6 means a joint challenge faced by a combatant com- 7 mand in achieving an assigned military objective and 8 may include limitations in capabilities, resources, or 9 the ability to effectively and efficiently coordinate 10 across the joint force, with another combatant com- 11 mand, among joint military capabilities, or with the 12 military capabilities of allies or partners. 13 ‘‘(5) The term ‘operational problem’ means a 14 challenge or barrier in an operational environment 15 that needs to be overcome to achieve a specific mili- 16 tary objective. 17 ‘‘(6) The term ‘quick action requirement’ has 18 the meaning given in Department of Defense Direc- 19 tive 5000.71 titled ‘Rapid Fulfillment of Combatant 20 Commander Urgent Operational Needs’ (August 24, 21 2012).’’. 22 (j) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 23 (1) TITLE 10, UNITED STATES CODE.—Title 10, 24 United States Code, is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 45 •HR 3838 IH (A) in section 139a, by striking ‘‘Joint Re- 1 quirements Oversight Council’’ each place it ap- 2 pears and inserting ‘‘Joint Requirements Coun- 3 cil’’; 4 (B) in section 153(a)(5)(F), by striking 5 ‘‘section 181 of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘sec- 6 tions 181 and 186 of this title’’; 7 (C) in section 179(c)(9)— 8 (i) by striking ‘‘Joint Requirements 9 Oversight Council’’ and inserting ‘‘Joint 10 Requirements Council’’; and 11 (ii) by striking ‘‘section 181(h)’’ and 12 inserting ‘‘section 181’’; 13 (D) in section 2926(f)(5)(C), by striking 14 ‘‘describing’’ and all that follows through ‘‘de- 15 tails regarding’’ and inserting ‘‘describing de- 16 tails regarding’’; 17 (E) in section 3067(b)(1), by striking 18 ‘‘Joint Requirements Oversight Council’’ and 19 inserting ‘‘Joint Requirements Council’’; 20 (F) in section 3136(e)(1)(A)(ii), by strik- 21 ing ‘‘approved by the Joint Requirements Over- 22 sight Council and’’ and inserting ‘‘recommended 23 for approval by the Requirements, Acquisition, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 46 •HR 3838 IH and Programming Integration Directorate (es- 1 tablished under section 186 of this title)’’; 2 (G) in section 4202(a)(2)(A), by striking 3 ‘‘joint military requirement’’ and all that fol- 4 lows through the period at the end and insert- 5 ing the following: ‘‘joint capability requirement, 6 as determined by the Requirements, Acquisi- 7 tion, and Programming Integration Directorate 8 (established under section 186 of this title)’’; 9 (H) by amending section 4251(e)(1) to 10 read as follows: 11 ‘‘(1) The term ‘requirements document’ has the 12 meaning given in section 3104(d) of this title.’’; 13 (I) in section 4252(b)(9), by striking 14 ‘‘Joint Requirements Oversight Council’’ and 15 inserting ‘‘Joint Requirements Council’’; 16 (J) in section 4376— 17 (i) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘, 18 after consultation with the Joint Require- 19 ments Oversight Council regarding pro- 20 gram requirements,’’; 21 (ii) in subsection (b)(2)(B), by strik- 22 ing ‘‘joint military requirement (as defined 23 in section 181(g)(1) of this title) at less 24 cost’’ and inserting ‘‘joint capability re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 47 •HR 3838 IH quirement (as defined in section 181 of 1 this title) at less cost’’; and 2 (iii) in subsection (c)(3), by striking 3 ‘‘joint military requirements’’ and inserting 4 ‘‘joint capability requirements’’; and 5 (K) in section 5514(b)(2)(C)(ii), by strik- 6 ing ‘‘Joint Requirements Oversight Council’’ 7 and inserting ‘‘Joint Requirements Council’’. 8 (2) OTHER LAWS.— 9 (A) Section 902(d) of the National Defense 10 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (10 11 U.S.C. 139a note) is amended— 12 (i) by striking ‘‘, performance require- 13 ments, and joint performance require- 14 ments’’ and inserting ‘‘or performance re- 15 quirements’’; and 16 (ii) by striking ‘‘Joint Requirements 17 Oversight Council to validate such require- 18 ments’’ and inserting ‘‘Joint Requirements 19 Council’’. 20 (B) Section 1684(d)(4)(A)(i) of the Na- 21 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 22 Year 2024 (10 U.S.C. 2271 note) is amended 23 by striking ‘‘either approved by, or in develop- 24 ment for, the Joint Requirements Oversight 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 48 •HR 3838 IH Council’’ and inserting ‘‘in development for con- 1 sideration or under consideration by the Joint 2 Requirements Council’’. 3 (C) Section 1686(b)(1) of the National De- 4 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 5 (10 U.S.C. 2224 note) is amended by striking 6 ‘‘through the Joint Requirements Oversight 7 Council’’ and inserting ‘‘in consultation with 8 the Requirements, Acquisition, and Program- 9 ming Integration Directorate (established under 10 section 186 of title 10, United States Code)’’. 11 (D) Section 1510(b)(2) of the National 12 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 13 (10 U.S.C. 113 note) is amended by striking 14 ‘‘Joint Requirements Oversight Council’’ and 15 inserting ‘‘Joint Requirements Council’’. 16 (E) Section 915(a)(1) of the National De- 17 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 18 (10 U.S.C. 132 note) is amended by striking 19 ‘‘Joint Requirements Oversight Council’’ and 20 inserting ‘‘Joint Requirements Council’’. 21 (F) Section 938(a)(1) of the National De- 22 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 23 (10 U.S.C. 4571 note prec.) is amended by 24 striking ‘‘Joint Requirements Oversight Coun- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 49 •HR 3838 IH cil’’ and inserting ‘‘Joint Requirements Coun- 1 cil’’. 2 (3) REPEALS.—The following provisions of law 3 are repealed: 4 (A) Section 942 of the National Defense 5 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (10 6 U.S.C. 181 note). 7 (B) Section 916 of the Floyd D. Spence 8 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 9 Year 2001 (10 U.S.C. 181 note). 10 (C) Section 105(b) of the Weapon Systems 11 Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 (10 U.S.C. 181 12 note). 13 (D) Section 201 of the Weapon Systems 14 Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 (10 U.S.C. 15 3102 note). 16 SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS, ACQUI- 17 SITION, AND PROGRAMMING INTEGRATION 18 DIRECTORATE. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 10, United 20 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 185 the 21 following new section: 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 50 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘§ 186. Requirements, Acquisition, and Programming 1 Integration Directorate 2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is within the Depart- 3 ment of Defense a Requirements, Acquisition, and Pro- 4 gramming Integration Directorate (in this section referred 5 to as ‘RAPID’). 6 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—RAPID shall— 7 ‘‘(1) serve as the principal forum within the De- 8 partment of Defense to inform, coordinate, and 9 evaluate solutions to joint operational problems; 10 ‘‘(2) provide senior oversight, coordination, and 11 budget and capability harmonization with respect to 12 such matters; and 13 ‘‘(3) act as an advisory body to the Secretary 14 of Defense and the Deputy Secretary of Defense 15 with respect to such matters. 16 ‘‘(c) ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERSHIP.—RAPID 17 shall consist of the following members: 18 ‘‘(1) The Chairman of the Joint Requirements 19 Council and the Director of Cost Assessment and 20 Program Evaluation, who shall serve as co-directors 21 of RAPID. 22 ‘‘(2) One member designated by each com- 23 mander of a combatant command. 24 ‘‘(3) One member designated by the Chairman 25 of the Joint Requirements Council. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 51 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(4) One member designated by the Director of 1 Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation. 2 ‘‘(5) One member designated by each service 3 acquisition executive of a military department. 4 ‘‘(6) One member designated by the principal 5 staff assistant for the Mission Engineering and Inte- 6 gration Activity (established under section 203 of 7 the SPEED Act). 8 ‘‘(7) One member designated by the executive 9 director of the Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell (as de- 10 scribed in the Department of Defense Directive 11 5000.71 titled ‘Rapid Fulfillment of Combatant 12 Commander Urgent Operational Needs’ (August 24, 13 2012)). 14 ‘‘(8) One member designated by each portfolio 15 executive officer or a similar member of the acquisi- 16 tion workforce responsible for the execution of a rec- 17 ommendation under consideration by RAPID. 18 ‘‘(d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—(1) RAPID shall— 19 ‘‘(A) promptly convene relevant members to as- 20 sess a proposed joint capability requirement to ad- 21 dress a joint operational problem by considering, 22 with respect to such proposed joint capability re- 23 quirement— 24 ‘‘(i) associated resource requirements; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 52 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(ii) mission engineering and interoper- 1 ability considerations for integration into joint 2 architectures; and 3 ‘‘(iii) factors related to acquisition and 4 sustainment; and 5 ‘‘(B) provide prioritized recommendations for 6 solutions to such joint operational problem to the 7 Secretary of Defense and Deputy Secretary of De- 8 fense. 9 ‘‘(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), RAPID shall— 10 ‘‘(A) use data-driven decisionmaking to 11 prioritize resource allocation; 12 ‘‘(B) maximize the effective use of resources by 13 enabling timely delivery of solutions to address a 14 joint operational problem in a manner that provides 15 the greatest value for the investment made; 16 ‘‘(C) enable the adoption and integration of so- 17 lutions to enhance military effectiveness and respon- 18 siveness to emerging threats; and 19 ‘‘(D) in addition to any other considerations re- 20 quired under this subsection, consider— 21 ‘‘(i) joint capability requirement state- 22 ments or other relevant justification materials 23 provided by the Joint Requirements Council; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 53 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(ii) any analysis and recommendations 1 provided by the Mission Engineering and Inte- 2 gration Activity or the Director of Cost Assess- 3 ment and Program Evaluation relating to re- 4 source requirements described in paragraph 5 (1)(A)(i); 6 ‘‘(iii) recommendations from relevant serv- 7 ice acquisition executives or program executive 8 officers related to planning and execution of the 9 proposed joint capability requirement, including 10 budget planning and management, acquisition 11 approach, program management, and life-cycle 12 management for a proposed joint capability re- 13 quirement; and 14 ‘‘(iv) the need to incorporate measure for 15 technology protection in certain covered systems 16 to enable the use or sale of proposed technology 17 solutions to joint operational problems with al- 18 lies and partner countries in a manner that pro- 19 tects national security interest while promoting 20 international collaboration. 21 ‘‘(e) RECOMMENDATION.—(1) Not later than 30 days 22 after the date of receipt of a recommendation with respect 23 to a joint capability requirement for a joint operational 24 problem, from the Joint Requirements Council in accord- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 54 •HR 3838 IH ance with section 181 of this title, RAPID shall submit 1 to the Deputy Secretary of Defense a recommendation for 2 a solution to the joint operational problem that includes 3 the following: 4 ‘‘(A) A description of the resources needed to 5 implement the solution and, as appropriate, re- 6 sources needed to support the acquisition and 7 sustainment of such solution of over the anticipated 8 life cycle of the solution. 9 ‘‘(B) Any recommended actions necessary to en- 10 able integration of the solution into the joint force 11 or to revise joint concepts of operation to best re- 12 solve the joint operational problem. 13 ‘‘(C) With respect to a solution for which access 14 may be shared with an ally or partner country, rec- 15 ommended considerations— 16 ‘‘(i) to be incorporated during the design 17 and development phase of the solution; and 18 ‘‘(ii) to facilitate future production and lo- 19 gistics support for the solution to the ally or 20 partner country. 21 ‘‘(D) Any necessary changes to policy or guid- 22 ance to enable effective acquisition, fielding, and em- 23 ployment of a solution that is a joint military capa- 24 bility. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 55 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(E) Any other recommended actions to expedi- 1 tiously provide the Armed Forces with the capabili- 2 ties necessary to operate effectively, to address evolv- 3 ing threats, and to maintain the military advantage 4 of the United States in the most cost-effective man- 5 ner practicable. 6 ‘‘(2) The co-chairs of RAPID may request an addi- 7 tional amount of time, not to exceed 30 days, to provide 8 a recommendation related to a joint capability require- 9 ment that is not a quick action requirement to the Deputy 10 Secretary of Defense under this subsection. 11 ‘‘(f) DETERMINATION.—(1) Not later than 30 days 12 after receipt of a recommendation under subsection (e), 13 the Deputy Secretary of Defense shall issue a memo- 14 randum that approves, approves with modification, or re- 15 jects such a recommendation. 16 ‘‘(2) The Deputy Secretary of Defense shall include 17 along with a memorandum that approves or approves with 18 modification a recommendation described in paragraph (1) 19 specific direction and guidance to the applicable element 20 of the Department of Defense to which such recommenda- 21 tion applies. 22 ‘‘(3) The Deputy Secretary of Defense shall include 23 along with a memorandum that rejects a recommendation 24 described in paragraph (1) a specific direction— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 56 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(A) for alternative action to be taken by the 1 applicable element of the Department of Defense to 2 which such recommendation applies to address the 3 relevant joint operational problem; or 4 ‘‘(B) to RAPID for further action to address 5 the relevant joint operational problem. 6 ‘‘(g) NOTIFICATION.—If the Deputy Secretary of De- 7 fense fails to issue a memorandum as required by sub- 8 section (f) within 90 days after the date on which the 9 Joint Requirements Council provides a recommendation to 10 address a joint operational problem to the RAPID, the 11 Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional de- 12 fense committees a notification of such failure. 13 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 14 ‘‘(1) The terms ‘joint capability requirement’, 15 ‘joint military capability’, ‘joint operational problem’, 16 and ‘quick action requirement’ have the meanings 17 given, respectively, in section 181 of this title. 18 ‘‘(2) The term ‘relevant member’ means a mem- 19 ber of RAPID (or a designee) that has a primary in- 20 terest in, or responsibility for, a proposed joint capa- 21 bility requirement or quick action requirement under 22 assessment by RAPID.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 57 •HR 3838 IH (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO DIRECTOR OF 1 COST ASSESSMENT AND PROGRAM EVALUATION.—Sec- 2 tion 139a(d) of title 10, United States Code, is amended— 3 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 4 (9) as paragraphs (5) through (10), respectively; 5 and 6 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol- 7 lowing new paragraph: 8 ‘‘(4) Analysis and advice for resource discus- 9 sions relating to joint capability requirements under 10 consideration by the Requirements, Acquisition, and 11 Programming Integration Directorate pursuant to 12 section 186 of this title.’’. 13 SEC. 203. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MISSION ENGINEERING 14 AND INTEGRATION ACTIVITY. 15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 120 days after 16 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 17 Defense shall establish within the Department of Defense 18 a Mission Engineering and Integration Activity (in this 19 section referred to as ‘‘MEIA’’). 20 (b) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary of Defense shall 21 designate a principal staff assistant from within the Office 22 of the Secretary of Defense whose office shall serve as the 23 office of primary responsibility for MEIA. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 58 •HR 3838 IH (c) DUTIES.—The principal staff assistant des- 1 ignated under subsection (b) shall have the following du- 2 ties: 3 (1) Lead cross-service activities to develop, 4 identify, analyze, and validate integrated technology 5 solutions to address joint operational problems. 6 (2) Coordinate with the appropriate program 7 executive officers to align and implement such activi- 8 ties. 9 (3) Proactively seek and consider feedback of 10 the primary users and operators of proposed tech- 11 nology solutions to address joint operational prob- 12 lems throughout the implementation of such activi- 13 ties. 14 (4) Upon request, perform analysis for, experi- 15 ment with, and prototype technology to integrate 16 such technology into joint architectures, to use such 17 technology, to inform operational concepts, and to 18 provide analysis or recommendations regarding the 19 use of such technology to the Requirements, Acquisi- 20 tion, and Programming Integration Directorate, es- 21 tablished by section 186 of title 10, United Stated 22 Code (in this section referred to as ‘‘RAPID’’). 23 (5) Coordinate with commanders of the combat- 24 ant commands to understand the priorities of com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 59 •HR 3838 IH manders and support the fielding of integrated tech- 1 nology solutions to address joint operational prob- 2 lems. 3 (6) Upon request, assist a program executive 4 officer in carrying out the responsibilities established 5 under section 1732 of title 10, United States Code 6 (as added by section 102 of this Act), by providing 7 analysis, recommendations, and engineering assist- 8 ance in the integration of technology solutions re- 9 lated to the capabilities for which the program exec- 10 utive officer is responsible. 11 (7) Use existing authorities (including authori- 12 ties provided in section 4022 of title 10, United 13 States Code) to carry out this section. 14 (d) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 15 (1) PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after the 16 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 17 Defense shall submit to the congressional defense 18 committees an implementation plan for MEIA. 19 (2) ELEMENTS.—The plan required by para- 20 graph (1) shall include a description of the following: 21 (A) The organizational structure and re- 22 source requirements associated with the estab- 23 lishment and operation of MEIA. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 60 •HR 3838 IH (B) How MEIA will support and inform 1 the RAPID in carrying out the requirements of 2 section 186 of title 10, United States Code. 3 (C) Each budget line item or program ele- 4 ment that will be associated with the activities 5 of MEIA. 6 (D) Coordination between MEIA and rel- 7 evant elements of the Department of Defense 8 that are established to identify and support the 9 development of, experimentation with, and inte- 10 gration of technology solutions to address joint 11 operational problems for the Department, in- 12 cluding— 13 (i) the Defense Innovation Unit estab- 14 lished under section 4217 of the title 10, 15 United States Code; 16 (ii) the Defense Research and Devel- 17 opment Rapid Innovation Program estab- 18 lished under section 4061 of such title; 19 (iii) a entity of the Department of De- 20 fense that is a member of the Defense In- 21 novation Community of Entities estab- 22 lished by the Director of the Defense Inno- 23 vation Unit; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 61 •HR 3838 IH (iv) the Strategic Capabilities Office; 1 and 2 (v) recipients of awards under the 3 Small Business Innovation Research Pro- 4 gram or the Small Business Technology 5 Transfer Program (as defined in section 9 6 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 7 638)). 8 (E) How MEIA will coordinate with and 9 assist— 10 (i) the commanders of combatant 11 commands in fielding integrated technology 12 solutions to address joint operational prob- 13 lems under subsection (c)(5); and 14 (ii) the program executive officers and 15 each Secretary of a military department in 16 the integration of technology to enhance 17 military effectiveness and responsiveness. 18 (F) Any recommendations for changes to 19 statute or policy for successful implementation 20 of this section. 21 (e) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than five years after the 22 date of the establishment of MEIA, the Secretary of De- 23 fense shall submit to the congressional defense committees 24 an assessment of whether MEIA should be modified, made 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 62 •HR 3838 IH permanent, or terminated based on its effectiveness in car- 1 rying out the requirements of this section. 2 (f) JOINT OPERATIONAL PROBLEM DEFINED.—In 3 this section, the term ‘‘joint operational problem’’ has the 4 meaning given in section 181 of title 10, United States 5 Code. 6 TITLE III—STRIKING THE BAL- 7 ANCE BETWEEN REGULATION 8 AND EFFICIENCY 9 SEC. 301. MATTERS RELATED TO DEPARTMENT OF DE- 10 FENSE USE OF COST ACCOUNTING STAND- 11 ARDS. 12 (a) REDUCTION OR ELIMINATION OF CAS.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 14 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 15 of Defense shall— 16 (A) identify actions necessary to streamline 17 requirements for compliance with the cost ac- 18 counting standards established under section 19 1502 of title 41, United States Code (in this 20 section referred to as ‘‘CAS’’), in the perform- 21 ance of a contract with the Department of De- 22 fense; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 63 •HR 3838 IH (B) reduce or eliminate such requirements 1 under the circumstances described in paragraph 2 (2). 3 (2) CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED.—The cir- 4 cumstances described in this paragraph are as fol- 5 lows: 6 (A) With respect to an action to eliminate 7 compliance with CAS, if reliance on a similar 8 requirement under generally accepted account- 9 ing principles (in this section referred to as 10 ‘‘GAAP’’) would materially achieve uniformity 11 and consistency in cost accounting with respect 12 to such elimination without bias or prejudice to 13 parties to a contract. 14 (B) If other existing requirements in guid- 15 ance or regulation will sufficiently protect the 16 interests of the Secretary of Defense in the 17 oversight of cost contracts. 18 (C) If such requirement is no longer nec- 19 essary or appropriate. 20 (b) ASSESSMENT OF GAAP TO MEET DEPARTMENT 21 OF DEFENSE NEEDS.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense 23 shall conduct an assessment of the steps necessary 24 to enable the use of GAAP instead of CAS as the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 64 •HR 3838 IH baseline for standards of financial accounting and 1 reporting for the contracts of the Department of De- 2 fense. Such assessment shall include— 3 (A) an identification of needed changes to 4 law, regulation, or policy to enable the Sec- 5 retary to eliminate the use of CAS and imple- 6 ment the use of GAAP as such baseline; and 7 (B) an identification any Department-spe- 8 cific standards that would be required in addi- 9 tion to GAAP to support the unique require- 10 ments of defense contracts. 11 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 13 shall submit to the congressional defense committees 14 a report on the findings of the assessment required 15 by paragraph (1), along with any recommended ac- 16 tions for Congress to reduce or eliminate require- 17 ments for compliance with CAS. 18 SEC. 302. REVIEW OF COMMERCIAL BUYING PRACTICES. 19 (a) REVIEW REQUIRED.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 21 after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of De- 22 fense shall carry out a comprehensive review of the 23 approach of the Department of Defense to acquiring 24 commercial products and commercial services and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 65 •HR 3838 IH the implementation of the requirements of the Fed- 1 eral Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (Public 2 Law 103–355) by the Department. 3 (2) REVIEW REQUIREMENTS.—The review re- 4 quired by paragraph (1) shall include an assessment 5 of each of the following as they relate to the ap- 6 proach of the Department of Defense to acquiring 7 commercial products and commercial services: 8 (A) The policies, procedures, guidance, and 9 instructions of the Department of Defense. 10 (B) The extent to which contracts entered 11 into by the Department of Defense for the ac- 12 quisition of commercial products or commercial 13 services include requirements or other provi- 14 sions that should not apply to the acquisition of 15 a commercial product or commercial service and 16 the extent to which such requirements or other 17 provisions are included in subcontracts under 18 such contracts. 19 (C) Training curricula, educational mate- 20 rials, and associated activities of the Depart- 21 ment of Defense related to acquiring commer- 22 cial products and commercial services, including 23 such curricula, materials, and activities that 24 pertain to the determination of a product or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 66 •HR 3838 IH service as a commercial product or commercial 1 service and the congressional intent that the 2 definitions of the terms ‘‘commercial product’’ 3 and ‘‘commercial service’’ should be applied 4 broadly. 5 (D) Audit and oversight policies and prac- 6 tices of the Department of Defense. 7 (E) Incentives that discourage the acquisi- 8 tion workforce from acquiring commercial prod- 9 ucts or commercial services. 10 (F) The process by which the Department 11 of Defense develops and issues regulations re- 12 lated to the acquisition of commercial products 13 or commercial services, including delays in rule- 14 making and the resulting delays in the imple- 15 mentation of policies intended to improve or 16 streamline the acquisition of commercial prod- 17 ucts or commercial services. 18 (G) Requirements in solicitations or con- 19 tracts of the Department of Defense requiring 20 the use of military specifications or standards 21 when applicable commercial specifications or 22 standards were available that could have meet 23 the needs of the Department served by such 24 military specifications or standards. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 67 •HR 3838 IH (H) The process by which the Department 1 of Defense evaluates past performance, includ- 2 ing performance under Federal, State, and local 3 government and private contracts (as described 4 in section 15.305(a)(2)(ii) of the Federal Acqui- 5 sition Regulation), in the acquisition of com- 6 mercial products or commercial services. 7 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the en- 8 actment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit 9 to the congressional defense committees a report that— 10 (1) describes the findings of the review required 11 by subsection (a)(1); 12 (2) describes the corrective actions taken by the 13 Secretary to address the issues identified pursuant 14 to such review, including any findings of noncompli- 15 ance by the Department of Defense with the require- 16 ments of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act 17 of 1994 (Public Law 103–355) or any other statu- 18 tory or regulatory requirements related to advancing 19 and enabling the procurement of commercial prod- 20 ucts and commercial services; and 21 (3) includes any recommendations of the Sec- 22 retary on actions that Congress may take to better 23 enable the Department of Defense to take advantage 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 68 •HR 3838 IH of the benefits of acquiring commercial products and 1 commercial services. 2 SEC. 303. ADJUSTMENTS TO CERTAIN ACQUISITION 3 THRESHOLDS. 4 (a) MAJOR PROGRAM.—Section 3041 of title 10, 5 United States Code, is amended— 6 (1) in subsection (c)(1)— 7 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 8 ‘‘$115,000,000 (based on fiscal year 1990 con- 9 stant dollars)’’ and inserting ‘‘$275,000,000 10 (based on fiscal year 2024 constant dollars)’’; 11 and 12 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 13 ‘‘$540,000,000 (based on fiscal year 1990 con- 14 stant dollars)’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,300,000,000 15 (based on fiscal year 2024 constant dollars)’’; 16 and 17 (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘$750,000 18 (based on fiscal year 1980 constant dollars)’’ and in- 19 serting ‘‘$5,000,000 (based on fiscal year 2024 con- 20 stant dollars)’’. 21 (b) USE OF PROCEDURES OTHER THAN COMPETI- 22 TIVE PROCEDURES.—Section 3204(e)(1) of title 10, 23 United States Code, is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Jun 13, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 69 •HR 3838 IH (1) by striking ‘‘$10,000,000’’ each place it ap- 1 pears and inserting ‘‘$100,000,000’’; 2 (2) by striking ‘‘$75,000,000’’ each place it ap- 3 pears and inserting ‘‘$500,000,000’’; and 4 (3) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking 5 ‘‘$500,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000,000’’. 6 (c) SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR SMALL PUR- 7 CHASES.—Section 3205(a) of title 10, United States Code, 8 is amended— 9 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘simplified ac- 10 quisition threshold’’ and inserting ‘‘threshold speci- 11 fied in section 3571(a) of this title’’; and 12 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$5,000,000’’ 13 and inserting ‘‘$50,000,000’’. 14 (d) MULTIYEAR CONTRACTS.—Section 3501 of title 15 10, United States Code, is amended— 16 (1) by striking ‘‘$500,000,000’’ each place it 17 appears and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000,000’’; 18 (2) by striking ‘‘$100,000,000’’ each place it 19 appears and inserting ‘‘$150,000,000’’; and 20 (3) by striking ‘‘$20,000,000’’ each place it ap- 21 pears and inserting ‘‘$50,000,000’’. 22 (e) SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD.—Section 23 3571(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 70 •HR 3838 IH (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘For purposes of 1 acquisitions’’; 2 (2) by striking ‘‘as specified in section 134 of 3 title 41’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000,000’’; and 4 (3) by adding at the end the following new 5 paragraph: 6 ‘‘(2) In the case of any contract to be awarded and 7 performed, or purchase to be made, in support of a contin- 8 gency operation or a humanitarian or peacekeeping oper- 9 ation, the simplified acquisition threshold means an 10 amount equal to two times the amount specified in para- 11 graph (1).’’. 12 (f) MICRO-PURCHASE THRESHOLD.—Section 3573 of 13 title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking 14 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000’’. 15 (g) MODIFICATIONS TO SUBMISSIONS OF COST OR 16 PRICING DATA.—Section 3702(a) of title 10, United 17 States Code, is amended— 18 (1) in paragraph (1)— 19 (A) by striking ‘‘June 30, 2018’’ each 20 place it appears and inserting ‘‘June 30, 2026’’; 21 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking 22 ‘‘$2,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000,000’’; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 71 •HR 3838 IH (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking 1 ‘‘$750,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000,000’’; 2 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$2,000,000’’ 3 and inserting ‘‘$10,000,000’’; and 4 (3) in subparagraph (3)(A), by striking 5 ‘‘$2,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000,000’’. 6 (h) MAJOR DEFENSE ACQUISITION PROGRAMS; 7 DEFINITIONS; EXCEPTIONS.—Section 4201(a)(2) of title 8 10, United States Code, is amended— 9 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking 10 ‘‘$300,000,000 (based on fiscal year 1990 constant 11 dollars)’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000,000 (based on 12 fiscal year 2024 constant dollars)’’; and 13 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking 14 ‘‘$1,800,000,000 (based on fiscal year 1990 con- 15 stant dollars)’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,500,000,000 16 (based on fiscal year 2024 constant dollars)’’. 17 SEC. 304. ALTERNATIVE CAPABILITY-BASED PRICING. 18 Chapter 287 of title 10, United States Code, is 19 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 20 ‘‘§ 3906. Alternative capability-based pricing 21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by subsection 22 (b), the head of an agency may use alternative capability- 23 based analysis for the acquisition of a commercial solution 24 to determine whether the price for a commercial solution 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 72 •HR 3838 IH is fair and reasonable based on the value to the Govern- 1 ment as determined under such analysis. 2 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) does not apply 3 with respect to the acquisition of a commercial solution 4 under a subcontract. 5 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 ‘‘(1) The term ‘alternative capability-based 7 analysis’ means an analysis of the value to the Gov- 8 ernment of a commercial solution that determines 9 such value based on one or more of the following cri- 10 teria: 11 ‘‘(A) The suitability of the commercial so- 12 lution for the particular purpose for which the 13 Government would acquire such commercial so- 14 lution. 15 ‘‘(B) The benefits obtained by the Govern- 16 ment as a result of improvements in capability, 17 effectiveness, efficiency, process, or speed to de- 18 livery provided by such commercial solution. 19 ‘‘(C) The estimated total cost avoidance re- 20 sulting from the acquisition and use of such 21 commercial solution, including the cost avoid- 22 ance resulting from reductions to operations, 23 sustainment, or risks to mission by replacing 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 73 •HR 3838 IH fielded capabilities with such commercial solu- 1 tion. 2 ‘‘(D) Input from the intended end users of 3 such commercial solution on the potential value 4 of the improvements to capabilities or processes 5 provided by such commercial solution. 6 ‘‘(2) The term ‘commercial solution’ means a 7 product or service, including an integrated combina- 8 tion of products, services, or products and services— 9 ‘‘(A) that is sold, leased, or licensed in the 10 commercial marketplace, or offered for sale, 11 lease, or license in the commercial marketplace; 12 and 13 ‘‘(B) the provider of which contempora- 14 neously offers such solution or a solution that 15 is similar to such solution to the general public 16 or public entities, including State and local gov- 17 ernments and foreign governments, under terms 18 and conditions that are similar to the terms and 19 conditions under which such solution is offered 20 to the Federal Government.’’. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 74 •HR 3838 IH SEC. 305. CLARIFICATION OF CONDITIONS FOR PAYMENTS 1 FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMER- 2 CIAL SERVICES. 3 Section 3805 of title 10, United States Code, is 4 amended— 5 (1) in subsection (d)— 6 (A) by striking ‘‘The conditions’’ and in- 7 serting ‘‘(1) The conditions’’; and 8 (B) by adding at the end the following new 9 paragraph: 10 ‘‘(2) For the purposes of section 3803 of this title, 11 a payment for covered services acquired through a com- 12 mercially utilized acquisition strategy shall not be consid- 13 ered an advance payment made under section 3801 of this 14 title.’’; and 15 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub- 16 section: 17 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 18 ‘‘(1) The term ‘commercially utilized acquisition 19 strategy’ means an acquisition of a service by the 20 Government under terms and conditions that— 21 ‘‘(A) are similar to the terms and condi- 22 tions under which such service is available to 23 the public; and 24 ‘‘(B) provide such service as a consump- 25 tion-based solution or under a technology sub- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 75 •HR 3838 IH scription model or other model based on pre- 1 determined pricing for access to such service. 2 ‘‘(2) The term ‘covered service’ means a com- 3 mercial service that includes access to or use of any 4 combination of hardware, equipment, software, 5 labor, or services, including access to commercial 6 satellite data and associated services, that is inte- 7 grated to provide a capability.’’. 8 TITLE IV—STRENGTHENING THE 9 DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE 10 AND LEVERAGING COMMER- 11 CIAL INNOVATION 12 SEC. 401. DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL RESILIENCE CONSORTIUM. 13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 14 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 15 Defense shall establish a consortium (to be known as the 16 ‘‘Defense Industrial Resilience Consortium’’) to address 17 challenges to and limitations of the industrial base to en- 18 sure that the Armed Forces are equipped with the capa- 19 bilities necessary to effectively respond to national security 20 challenges. 21 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—Membership in the consortium 22 established under subsection (a) shall be open to relevant 23 entities and individuals from the Government, industry, 24 and academia with an interest in advanced manufacturing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 76 •HR 3838 IH or production technologies, fostering domestic industrial 1 innovation, or enabling rapid, scalable solutions to sustain 2 and enhance the availability of essential defense compo- 3 nents. 4 (c) PURPOSE.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The consortium established 6 under subsection (a) shall provide a forum for the 7 Government, industry, and academia to collaborate 8 on identifying and addressing challenges to and limi- 9 tations of the industrial base in meeting the needs 10 of the Department of Defense. 11 (2) AREAS OF FOCUS.—In identifying and ad- 12 dressing challenges to and limitations of the indus- 13 trial base, the consortium established under sub- 14 section (a) shall focus on— 15 (A) eliminating impediments to a resilient 16 and robust industrial base, including— 17 (i) policies and procedures that are 18 impeding businesses of all types and sizes 19 from working with the Department of De- 20 fense; 21 (ii) areas where the Department could 22 improve implementation of the Federal Ac- 23 quisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (Public 24 Law 103–355), including limiting the ap- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 77 •HR 3838 IH plication of requirements specific to the 1 Government in the procurement of com- 2 mercial products and commercial services, 3 and maximizing the use of commercial 4 standards rather than military specifica- 5 tions and standards; and 6 (iii) impediments to transitioning re- 7 search, development, testing, and evalua- 8 tion programs funded by military depart- 9 ments and the Department to relevant ac- 10 quisition programs of record; 11 (B) identifying and addressing supply 12 chain fragility, including— 13 (i) preventing or mitigating parts ob- 14 solescence, and addressing the 15 vulnerabilities from reliance on single 16 sources for any material, product, or serv- 17 ice while reducing the dependencies on 18 nonallied nations; 19 (ii) developing long-term industrial 20 base strategies and solutions to ensure the 21 availability of mission-critical parts for sys- 22 tems of the Department throughout the 23 life cycle of such systems; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 78 •HR 3838 IH (iii) bolstering supply chain diversity 1 and developing shared awareness of supply 2 chain challenges, risks, and opportunities 3 between Government and industry; 4 (C) expanding domestic manufacturing and 5 industrial capacity, including— 6 (i) enabling rapid engagement be- 7 tween government, academia, and industry 8 to develop, test, and scale solutions that 9 can revitalize domestic manufacturing ca- 10 pabilities, reduce reliance on single sources 11 of supply, and strengthen the defense in- 12 dustrial base; 13 (ii) identifying financial incentives and 14 business models to enable and support a 15 civil reserve manufacturing network that 16 could be activated to meet the needs of the 17 Department of Defense; 18 (iii) supporting and informing efforts 19 to enhance government-owned, govern- 20 ment-operated arsenals and depots with 21 advanced manufacturing and other produc- 22 tion capabilities to enable rapid response 23 across the spectrum of operational environ- 24 ments; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Jun 13, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 79 •HR 3838 IH (iv) enabling and enhancing public- 1 private partnerships between the organic 2 industrial base, commercial manufacturing, 3 and other industrial entities; and 4 (v) anticipate and close gaps in manu- 5 facturing capabilities for defense systems 6 by fostering the adoption of additive manu- 7 facturing, automation, AI-driven produc- 8 tion, and other emerging capabilities to 9 modernize the industrial base and associ- 10 ated supply chains; 11 (D) accessing and implementing commer- 12 cial approaches to enabling modern manufac- 13 turing capabilities, including— 14 (i) adoption of commercial approaches 15 to information technology, software, the 16 cloud, data management, and artificial in- 17 telligence to support and enable modern 18 manufacturing capabilities; and 19 (ii) identifying financial incentives and 20 business models to encourage private-sec- 21 tor investment and expand access to ad- 22 vanced, high-quality advanced manufac- 23 turing, that uses software to digitize man- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 80 •HR 3838 IH ufacturing to the greatest extent possible; 1 and 2 (E) development and training of the work- 3 force, including— 4 (i) leveraging industry best practices 5 training and development of critical skills 6 in advanced manufacturing, including skills 7 required to manufacture unique compo- 8 nents and products for systems of the De- 9 partment of Defense and to enable capa- 10 bilities of the Department; 11 (ii) identifying or developing opportu- 12 nities for public-private talent exchanges 13 and skills development in areas such as ad- 14 vanced manufacturing, supply chain man- 15 agement, and supply chain risk manage- 16 ment; and 17 (iii) identify or develop curriculum 18 and experiential learning to support and 19 enable advanced manufacturing, produc- 20 tion technologies, or industrial innovation. 21 (d) CONSORTIUM WORK PRODUCTS AND REC- 22 OMMENDATIONS.—Relevant work products and rec- 23 ommendations developed through consortium activities 24 shall be considered by the Secretary of Defense in devel- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00080 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 81 •HR 3838 IH oping policy and allocating resources to ensure that the 1 Armed Forces are equipped with the capabilities necessary 2 to effectively respond to national security challenges. 3 (e) USE OF OTHER TRANSACTION AUTHORITIES.— 4 The consortium established under subsection (a) shall sup- 5 port the use of other transaction authorities under sec- 6 tions 4021 and 4022 of title 10, United States Code, and 7 other appropriate acquisition authorities, to rapidly proto- 8 type and field advanced manufacturing solutions and to 9 address the other challenges to and limitations of the in- 10 dustrial base. 11 SEC. 402. AMENDMENT TO OTHER TRANSACTION AUTHOR- 12 ITY. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4022 of title 10, United 14 States Code, is amended— 15 (1) in subsection (a)(2)— 16 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 17 ‘‘agency that’’ and all that follows through ‘‘the 18 use’’ and inserting ‘‘agency that the use’’; 19 (B) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking 20 ‘‘writing that’’ and all that follows through ‘‘the 21 use’’ and inserting ‘‘writing that the use’’; and 22 (C) in subparagraph (C)— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Jun 13, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00081 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 82 •HR 3838 IH (i) by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ each 1 place it appears and inserting ‘‘subsection 2 (e)’’; and 3 (ii) in clause (i)(I), by striking ‘‘the 4 requirements of subsection (d)’’ and all 5 that follows through ‘‘and the’’ and insert- 6 ing ‘‘the’’; 7 (2) by striking subsection (d); 8 (3) by redesignating subsections (e) through (i) 9 as subsections (d) through (h), respectively; and 10 (4) in subsection (f), as so redesignated, by 11 striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 12 (e)’’. 13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 14 (1) NATIONAL SECURITY ACT OF 1947.—Section 15 102A(n)(6)(C) of the National Security Act of 1947 16 (50 U.S.C. 3024(n)(6)(C)) is amended— 17 (A) by repealing clauses (v) and (vi); and 18 (B) in clause (vii)— 19 (i) in the matter preceding subclause 20 (I), by striking ‘‘4022(f)(2)’’ and inserting 21 ‘‘4022(e)(2)’’; and 22 (ii) in subclause (V)(cc), by striking 23 ‘‘4022(f)(5)’’ and inserting ‘‘4022(e)(5)’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00082 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 83 •HR 3838 IH (2) HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002.—Sec- 1 tion 831(d) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 2 (6 U.S.C. 391(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘4022(e)’’ 3 and inserting ‘‘4022(d)’’. 4 (3) JOHN S. MCCAIN NATIONAL DEFENSE AU- 5 THORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019.—Section 6 873(c)(1) of the John S. McCain National Defense 7 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 8 115–232; 10 U.S.C. 4021 note) is amended— 9 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘sub- 10 section (f)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (e)’’; and 11 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘or 12 (f)’’ and inserting ‘‘or (e)’’. 13 (4) JAMES M. INHOFE NATIONAL DEFENSE AU- 14 THORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023.—Section 15 322(h)(2) of the James M. Inhofe National Defense 16 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 17 117–263; 10 U.S.C. 2911 note) is amended by strik- 18 ing ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (e)’’. 19 SEC. 403. DATA-AS-A-SERVICE SOLUTIONS FOR WEAPON 20 SYSTEM CONTRACTS. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 323 of title 10, United 22 States Code, as amended by section 105 of this Act, is 23 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00083 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 84 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘§ 4324. Data-as-a-service solutions for weapon sys- 1 tem contracts 2 ‘‘(a) NEGOTIATIONS FOR DATA-AS-A-SERVICE.—Be- 3 fore entering into a contract for the procurement of a 4 weapon system (or component thereof), the Secretary of 5 Defense shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, 6 that the negotiations for such contract include negotia- 7 tions for data-as-a-service solutions to facilitate access to 8 the information described in subsection (b) as necessary 9 for— 10 ‘‘(1) the performance of depot-level mainte- 11 nance and repair workload by employees of the De- 12 partment of Defense in accordance with section 13 2466 of this title; or 14 ‘‘(2) the maintenance of a core logistics capa- 15 bility in accordance with section 2464 of this title. 16 ‘‘(b) COVERED INFORMATION.—The information de- 17 scribed in subsection (a) is technical data or computer 18 software that relates to the weapon system (or component 19 thereof) to be procured that is— 20 ‘‘(1) detailed manufacturing or process data re- 21 lating to how contractors or subcontractors design, 22 develop, produce, test, certify, diagnose, maintain, 23 repair, or otherwise support such weapon system (or 24 component thereof); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 85 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(2) digital networks or digital models that con- 1 tain data described in paragraph (1), or virtual rep- 2 licas of such data; 3 ‘‘(3) design details, algorithms, processes, flow 4 charts, formulas, and related information that de- 5 scribe the design, organization, or structure of com- 6 puter software; or 7 ‘‘(4) necessary for operation, maintenance, in- 8 stallation, or training with respect to such weapon 9 system (or component thereof). 10 ‘‘(c) METHODS AND SCHEDULE FOR ACCESS.—(1) 11 With respect to a data-as-a-service solution described in 12 subsection (a), access to the information described in sub- 13 section (b) may be made available through one or more 14 methods, including electronically, in-person, or machine- 15 to-machine encryption, as appropriate based on the type, 16 sensitivity, or authorized use of such information. 17 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the 18 terms of a contract for a data-as-a-service solution de- 19 scribed in subsection (a) clearly state the requirements, 20 conditions, and schedule for providing access to the infor- 21 mation described in subsection (b). 22 ‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY TO COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS.— 23 (1) With respect to a contract for a commercial product 24 that is a data-as-a-service solution described in subsection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00085 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 86 •HR 3838 IH (a), the offeror for such commercial product shall ensure 1 that the pricing and terms and conditions of access to in- 2 formation described in subsection (b) for such commercial 3 product is commensurate with commercial practices for 4 similar access. 5 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Defense may not require an 6 offeror for a commercial product that is a data-as-a-serv- 7 ice solution described in subsection (a) to provide access 8 to information described in subsection (b) in a manner 9 that is different from what such offeror customarily pro- 10 vides to a buyer of such commercial product, unless the 11 offeror has agreed to provide such access pursuant to a 12 specifically negotiated agreement with the Secretary. 13 ‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 14 tion shall be construed as modifying any rights, obliga- 15 tions, or limitations of the Government, contractor, or sub- 16 contractor with respect to rights in technical data under 17 subchapter I of chapter 275 of this title. 18 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 19 ‘‘(1) The term ‘access’, with respect to informa- 20 tion described in subsection (b), means the avail- 21 ability of such information as a service rather than 22 as specifically delivered in the performance of a con- 23 tract for the procurement of a weapon system (or 24 component thereof). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00086 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 87 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(2) The term ‘data-as-a-service’ means a 1 model under which the Secretary is provided access 2 to the most up-to-date information described in sub- 3 section (b) that relates to a weapon system (or com- 4 ponent thereof) to be procured by the Secretary, in- 5 cluding any associated license agreements for such 6 information. 7 ‘‘(3) The term ‘technical data’ has the meaning 8 given in section 3013 of this title.’’. 9 (b) GUIDANCE REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 11 of Defense shall issue guidance to carry out the require- 12 ments of section 4324 of title 10, United States Code, as 13 added by this section. 14 (c) APPLICABILITY.—Section 4324 of title 10, United 15 States Code, as added by this section, shall apply with re- 16 spect to a contract for the procurement of a weapon sys- 17 tem (or component thereof) entered into on or after the 18 date of the enactment of this Act. 19 SEC. 404. REQUIREMENTS FOR MODULAR OPEN SYSTEM 20 APPROACH AND MODIFICATIONS TO RIGHTS 21 IN TECHNICAL DATA. 22 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR MODULAR OPEN SYSTEM 23 APPROACH.—Section 4401 of title 10, United States 24 Code, is amended to read as follows: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00087 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 88 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘§ 4401. Requirement for modular open system ap- 1 proach 2 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Defense shall 3 ensure that a covered system to be procured is designed 4 and developed, to the maximum extent practicable, with 5 a modular open system approach. 6 ‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT TO INFORM STRATEGY.—Before 7 designing or developing a covered system, the Secretary 8 of Defense shall conduct an assessment to identify the 9 open systems objectives to be achieved by the design and 10 development of the covered system. Such assessment shall 11 identify and document how such approach would— 12 ‘‘(1) support the objectives of the defense acqui- 13 sition system established pursuant to section 3102 of 14 this title; 15 ‘‘(2) align with the preference for the acquisi- 16 tion of commercial products in section 3453 of this 17 title to retain, to the maximum extent practicable, 18 the commercial viability of subsystems and compo- 19 nents of the covered system; 20 ‘‘(3) reduce the complexity and increase the 21 speed by which new technology can be integrated 22 into a covered system to enhance miliary effective- 23 ness and responsiveness to emerging threats; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 89 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(4) enable the use of iterative development cy- 1 cles and discontinue or terminate the development of 2 capabilities— 3 ‘‘(A) that no longer align with approved 4 capability requirements (as defined in section 5 181 of this title) or priorities; or 6 ‘‘(B) that are experiencing significant cost 7 growth, performance deficiencies, or delays in 8 schedule; 9 ‘‘(5) promote a robust and responsive defense 10 industrial base, and foster competition amongst 11 offerors of subsystems and components of the cov- 12 ered system through the life cycle of the covered sys- 13 tem, especially at the module level; 14 ‘‘(6) reduce schedule delays and development 15 timelines; 16 ‘‘(7) increase and enable interoperability of a 17 covered system with the joint force as changes to 18 force design evolve; and 19 ‘‘(8) enable effective life-cycle management and 20 product support of a covered system— 21 ‘‘(A) in accordance with the requirements 22 of section 4322 of this title; and 23 ‘‘(B) to ensure that the covered system will 24 meet applicable operational readiness require- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00089 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 90 •HR 3838 IH ments (as defined in such section 4322) and 1 materiel readiness objectives (established under 2 section 118(c) of this title) in the most cost-ef- 3 fective manner practicable. 4 ‘‘(c) ARCHITECTURE REQUIREMENTS.—(1) In devel- 5 oping an architecture for the procurement of a covered 6 system using a modular open system approach, the Sec- 7 retary shall ensure that the architecture— 8 ‘‘(A) adequately designates and defines mod- 9 ules, module interfaces, key interfaces, and openness 10 characteristics of the covered system necessary to 11 achieve the open systems objectives described in sub- 12 section (b); 13 ‘‘(B) to the extent practicable, is based on— 14 ‘‘(i) widely accepted, consensus-based 15 standards that are available at no cost or under 16 fair and reasonable license terms; or 17 ‘‘(ii) if such standards are not available or 18 suitable, incremental standards that define rela- 19 tionships between module interfaces and key 20 interfaces; and 21 ‘‘(C) is designed and developed to accelerate the 22 procurement and integration of commercial products 23 as modules, module interfaces, and key interfaces. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00090 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 91 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall consider input from private 1 entities as early as possible to inform decisions regarding 2 the level in the architecture at which a modular open sys- 3 tem approach will be implemented for a covered system. 4 ‘‘(3) The architecture described in this subsection 5 shall be included in any draft and final solicitations for 6 procurement of a covered system. 7 ‘‘(d) OPENNESS CHARACTERISTICS.—Consistent with 8 the requirements of subchapter I of chapter 275 of this 9 title, the Secretary shall include in the solicitation for the 10 covered system a description of the desired openness char- 11 acteristics of the covered system necessary to achieve the 12 open systems objectives described in subsection (b), in- 13 cluding the following: 14 ‘‘(1) The open systems objectives identified as 15 result of the assessment required by subsection (b). 16 ‘‘(2) A description of the application of speci- 17 fications or standards for module interfaces to 18 achieve such objectives. 19 ‘‘(3) A description of the minimum technical 20 data package elements necessary to achieve such ob- 21 jectives. 22 ‘‘(4) The desired license rights in module inter- 23 faces or key interfaces based on such objectives, in- 24 cluding desired license rights to enable the replace- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00091 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 92 •HR 3838 IH ment of a module or module interface with an alter- 1 native or new module or module interface. 2 ‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY TO COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS.— 3 In applying the requirements of this section to a covered 4 system that includes a commercial product, the Secretary 5 of Defense shall— 6 ‘‘(1) implement modular open system ap- 7 proaches in accordance with such approaches used in 8 the ordinary course of business for such commercial 9 product on the commercial marketplace; 10 ‘‘(2) for a commercial product that is commer- 11 cial technical data or commercial software, procure 12 such commercial product under license terms similar 13 to such terms that are customarily provided to the 14 public, unless the Secretary has specifically nego- 15 tiated different license terms; 16 ‘‘(3) when applicable, obtain the delivery of 17 commercial software development kits with license 18 rights necessary to support the desired openness 19 characteristics for the covered system; and 20 ‘‘(4) to the maximum extent practical, conduct 21 negotiations for desired license rights in accordance 22 with the preference for specially negotiated licenses 23 in section 3774(c) of this title. 24 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 93 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered system’ means a system 1 acquired or developed under— 2 ‘‘(A) an acquisition program of the De- 3 partment of Defense; or 4 ‘‘(B) a research and development program 5 of the Department to address a capability re- 6 quirement or joint capability requirement (as 7 defined in section 181 of this title). 8 ‘‘(2) The term ‘incremental standard’ means a 9 specification for a module interface or key interface 10 that includes— 11 ‘‘(A) software-defined syntax and prop- 12 erties that specifically govern how values are 13 validly passed and received between subsystems 14 and components in machine-readable format; 15 ‘‘(B) a machine-readable definition of the 16 relationship between the module interface or 17 key interface and existing common standards or 18 interfaces available in Department databases; 19 and 20 ‘‘(C) documentation with functional de- 21 scriptions of software-defined interfaces, con- 22 veying semantic meaning of elements of the 23 module interface or key interface. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00093 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 94 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(3) The term ‘key interface’ means a shared 1 boundary between any system, subsystem of a cov- 2 ered system, or set of modules, defined by various 3 physical, logical, functional characteristics, such as 4 electrical, mechanical, fluidic, optical, radio fre- 5 quency, data, networking, or software. 6 ‘‘(4) The term ‘modular open system approach’ 7 means the application of a strategy that leverages an 8 architecture that enables modules to be incremen- 9 tally added, removed, or replaced throughout the life 10 cycle of the covered system to achieve a set of objec- 11 tives. 12 ‘‘(5) The term ‘module’ means a self-contained 13 functional hardware or software unit— 14 ‘‘(A) that can be developed, tested, and de- 15 ployed independently of a module interface or 16 key interface; and 17 ‘‘(B) that can simultaneously interact with 18 another self-contained functional hardware or 19 software unit described in subparagraph (A) 20 through a module interface or key interface. 21 ‘‘(6) The term ‘module interface’ means a 22 shared boundary between modules, defined by phys- 23 ical, logical, and functional characteristics, such as 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 95 •HR 3838 IH electrical, mechanical, fluidic, optical, radio fre- 1 quency, data, networking, or software. 2 ‘‘(7) The term ‘software development kit’ means 3 a collection of software tools and programs such as 4 libraries, application programming interfaces, inte- 5 grated development environments, testing tools, or 6 documentation used to create applications that are 7 appropriate for a specific software platform.’’. 8 (b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the 9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 10 shall issue guidance to carry out the requirements of sec- 11 tion 4401 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by 12 this section. 13 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements of section 14 4401 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by this 15 section, shall apply with respect to a contract entered into 16 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 17 (d) MODIFICATION TO RIGHTS IN TECHNICAL 18 DATA.— 19 (1) RIGHTS IN TECHNICAL DATA.—Section 20 3771 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— 21 (A) in subsection (a)— 22 (i) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘ 23 or copyrights’’ and inserting ‘‘, copyrights, 24 trade secrets,’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00095 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 96 •HR 3838 IH (ii) by adding at the end the following 1 new paragraph: 2 ‘‘(3) ENFORCEMENT OF CERTAIN RIGHTS.— 3 Regulations prescribed under paragraph (1) may not 4 affect or limit any right described in paragraph 5 (2)(A) or the ability of a contractor or subcontractor 6 to enforce such a right against a third party that 7 has not otherwise obtained a license for such a right 8 from the United States or from the contractor or 9 subcontractor.’’; and 10 (B) in subsection (b)— 11 (i) in paragraph (2), by striking 12 ‘‘paragraphs (3), (4), and (7),’’ and insert- 13 ing ‘‘paragraphs (3) and (4),’’; 14 (ii) by amending paragraph (3) to 15 read as follows: 16 ‘‘(3) INAPPLICABILITY OF PARAGRAPH (2).— 17 Unless otherwise negotiated, paragraph (2) does not 18 apply to technical data that— 19 ‘‘(A) constitutes a correction or change to 20 data furnished by the United States; or 21 ‘‘(B) is otherwise publicly available or has 22 been released or disclosed by the contractor or 23 subcontractor without restriction on further re- 24 lease or disclosure.’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00096 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 97 •HR 3838 IH (iii) by amending paragraph (4) to 1 read as follows: 2 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS TO PARAGRAPH (2).—(A) 3 Notwithstanding paragraph (2), unless otherwise ne- 4 gotiated, the United States shall have government 5 purpose rights, in perpetuity, in technical data 6 that— 7 ‘‘(i) relates to form, fit, or function of an 8 item or process; or 9 ‘‘(ii) is necessary for operation, mainte- 10 nance, installation, or training (other than de- 11 tailed manufacturing or process data) of an 12 item or process. 13 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), the 14 United States may release or disclose technical data 15 to persons outside the Government, or permit the 16 use of technical data by such persons, if such re- 17 lease, disclosure, or use— 18 ‘‘(i) is necessary for emergency repair and 19 overhaul; 20 ‘‘(ii) is a release or disclosure of technical 21 data (other than detailed manufacturing or 22 process data) to, or use of such data by, a for- 23 eign government, where such release or disclo- 24 sure is in the interest of the United States and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00097 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 98 •HR 3838 IH is required for evaluation or informational pur- 1 poses; 2 ‘‘(iii) is made subject to a prohibition that 3 the person to whom the data are released or 4 disclosed may not further release, disclose, or 5 use such data; and 6 ‘‘(iv) the contractor or subcontractor as- 7 serting the restriction is notified of such re- 8 lease, disclosure, or use.’’; 9 (iv) in paragraph (6)— 10 (I) in the paragraph heading, by 11 striking ‘‘INTERFACES’’ and inserting 12 ‘‘MODULE INTERFACES OF AN ITEM’’; 13 (II) by inserting ‘‘, in per- 14 petuity,’’ after ‘‘government purpose 15 rights’’; and 16 (III) by striking ‘‘an interface be- 17 tween an item or process and other 18 items or processes’’ and inserting ‘‘a 19 module interface of an item’’; and 20 (v) in paragraph (7)— 21 (I) in the paragraph heading, by 22 striking ‘‘MODULAR SYSTEM INTER- 23 FACES’’ and inserting ‘‘KEY INTER- 24 FACES OF AN ITEM’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 99 •HR 3838 IH (II) in subparagraph (A)— 1 (aa) by striking ‘‘paragraphs 2 (2) and (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘para- 3 graph (5) and except as other- 4 wise provided by subsection (e) of 5 section 4401 of this title,’’; 6 (bb) by inserting ‘‘, in per- 7 petuity,’’ after ‘‘government pur- 8 pose rights’’; and 9 (cc) by striking ‘‘modular 10 system interface’’ and inserting 11 ‘‘key interface of an item’’; 12 (III) in subparagraph (B), by 13 striking ‘‘modular system interface’’ 14 and inserting ‘‘a key interface’’; and 15 (IV) in subparagraph (C), by 16 striking ‘‘modular system interface’’ 17 and inserting ‘‘key interface of an 18 item’’. 19 (2) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3775(b) of title 10, 20 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 21 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.—In this subchapter, 22 the terms ‘key interface’, ‘modular open system approach’, 23 and ‘module interface’ have the meanings given, respec- 24 tively, in section 4401 of this title.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 100 •HR 3838 IH (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 1 (1) Section 3791(c)(1) of title 10, United 2 States Code, is amended— 3 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘sec- 4 tion 4401(b) of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘sec- 5 tion 4401 of this title’’; and 6 (B) in subparagraph (D)(iv), by striking 7 ‘‘modular system interfaces (as defined in sec- 8 tion 4401(b) of this title)’’ and inserting ‘‘mod- 9 ule interfaces (as defined in section 4401(f) of 10 this title)’’. 11 (2) Section 4402 of title 10, United States 12 Code, is repealed. 13 (3) Section 4403 of title 10, United States 14 Code, is repealed. 15 (4) Section 4425 of title 10, United States 16 Code, is amended to read as follows: 17 ‘‘§ 4425. Definitions 18 ‘‘In this subchapter: 19 ‘‘(1) The term ‘major system platform’ means 20 the highest level structure of a major weapon system 21 that is not physically mounted or installed onto a 22 higher level structure and on which a major system 23 component can be physically mounted or installed. 24 ‘‘(2) The term ‘weapon system component’— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 101 •HR 3838 IH ‘‘(A) means a high level subsystem or as- 1 sembly, including hardware, software, or an in- 2 tegrated assembly of both, that can be mounted 3 or installed on a major system platform through 4 a key system interface (as defined in section 5 4401(f) of this title); and 6 ‘‘(B) includes a subsystem or assembly 7 that is likely to have additional capability re- 8 quirements, is likely to change because of evolv- 9 ing technology or threat, is needed for inter- 10 operability, facilitates incremental deployment 11 of capabilities, or is expected to be replaced by 12 another subsystem or assembly described in 13 subparagraph (A).’’. 14 (5) Section 804 of the National Defense Au- 15 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 U.S.C. 16 4401 note) is repealed. 17 SEC. 405. QUALIFICATION, ACCEPTANCE, AND SUPPLY 18 CHAIN MANAGEMENT OF PRODUCTS MANU- 19 FACTURED USING ADVANCED MANUFAC- 20 TURING. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 23 shall establish in the Defense Industrial Resilience Con- 24 sortium established under section 401 of this Act a work- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00101 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 102 •HR 3838 IH ing group to develop recommendations for improving the 1 policies and procedures of the Department of Defense for 2 the qualification, acceptance, and management of the sup- 3 ply chains of products manufactured using advanced man- 4 ufacturing. 5 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the working 6 group shall include representatives from government, in- 7 dustry, and academia with expertise in advanced manufac- 8 turing, engineering, the procedures of the Department of 9 Defense for qualifying and accepting products, supply 10 chain management, or commercial best practices and busi- 11 ness models for advanced manufacturing. 12 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The working group shall— 13 (1) review the policies and procedures of the 14 Department of Defense to identity policies and pro- 15 cedures for the qualification, acceptance, and man- 16 agement of the supply chains of products that are 17 insufficient for or not applicable to products manu- 18 factured using advanced manufacturing; 19 (2) identify any changes to the policies and pro- 20 cedures of the Department required for the Depart- 21 ment to benefit fully from access to and use of prod- 22 ucts manufactured using advanced manufacturing; 23 and 24 (3) develop recommendations for— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00102 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 103 •HR 3838 IH (A) technical guidance with respect to the 1 qualification, acceptance, and management of 2 the supply chains of products manufactured 3 using advanced manufacturing; 4 (B) policies and procedures for the quali- 5 fication, acceptance, and management of the 6 supply chains of such products; 7 (C) changes to any other policies and pro- 8 cedures of the Department identified under 9 paragraph (2); and 10 (D) training to enhance the knowledge and 11 experience of the workforce of the Department 12 of Defense with advanced manufacturing, in- 13 cluding the benefits, limitations, and commer- 14 cial best practices and business models for de- 15 signing, developing, and using products manu- 16 factured using advanced manufacturing. 17 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 18 of enactment, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to 19 Congress— 20 (1) a report on the recommendations developed 21 by the working group under subsection (c)(3) and 22 the actions taken by the Secretary to better enable 23 to the Department of Defense to access and use 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00103 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 104 •HR 3838 IH products manufactured using advanced manufac- 1 turing; and 2 (2) a recommendation whether to continue or 3 terminate the working group. 4 (e) WORKING GROUP DEFINED.—In this section, the 5 term ‘‘working group’’ means the working group estab- 6 lished under subsection (a). 7 SEC. 406. AMENDMENTS TO THE PROCUREMENT TECH- 8 NICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 9 Chapter 388 of title 10, United States Code, is 10 amended— 11 (1) in section 4952— 12 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 13 (2) as paragraphs (2) and (3); 14 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 15 so redesignated, the following new paragraph: 16 ‘‘(1) to support the growth and resiliency of the 17 industrial base by accelerating innovation, fostering 18 ingenuity of business entities, and establishing resil- 19 ient supply chains;’’; 20 (C) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 21 by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 22 (D) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated, 23 by striking the period at the end and inserting 24 ‘‘; and’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00104 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 105 •HR 3838 IH (E) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 1 following new paragraph: 2 ‘‘(4) to mitigate costs of entry for business enti- 3 ties that improve the technology capabilities of the 4 Department of Defense.’’; and 5 (2) in section 4961— 6 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 7 the end; 8 (B) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking the 9 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 10 (C) by adding at the end the following new 11 paragraph: 12 ‘‘(3) an amount determined appropriate by the 13 Secretary to establish one or more centers of excel- 14 lence to provide to individuals or eligible entities 15 that provide procurement technical assistance pursu- 16 ant to this chapter training necessary to fulfill the 17 purpose of the program under section 4952 of this 18 title.’’. 19 SEC. 407. REPORT ON SURGE CAPACITY IN THE DEFENSE 20 INDUSTRIAL BASE. 21 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than March 1, 22 2026, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial 23 Base Policy and the Director of Defense Pricing, Con- 24 tracting, and Acquisition Policy shall jointly submit to the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00105 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 106 •HR 3838 IH congressional defense committees a report on efforts to 1 identify and address regulations or policies that discour- 2 age or prevent contractors of the Department of Defense 3 from maintaining or investing in surge capacity. 4 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required subsection (a) 5 shall include the following: 6 (1) A discussion of any efforts by United States 7 DOGE Service (commonly referred to as the ‘‘De- 8 partment of Government Efficiency’’ or ‘‘DOGE’’), 9 acting in coordination with the Office of the Sec- 10 retary of Defense, to review and address the barriers 11 described in subsection (a)(1). 12 (2) An identification of policies that incentivize 13 contractors to reduce or eliminate surge capacity, in- 14 cluding section 31.205–17 of the Federal Acquisition 15 Regulation (relating to idle facilities and idle capac- 16 ity costs). 17 (3) Any steps taken by the Secretary of De- 18 fense to address regulatory barriers disincentivizing 19 surge capacity within the defense industrial base as 20 part of the implementation of Executive Order 21 14265 titled ‘‘Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and 22 Spurring Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base’’ 23 (90 Fed. Reg. 15621; April 15, 2025). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00106 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 107 •HR 3838 IH (c) SURGE CAPACITY DEFINED.—In this section, the 1 term ‘‘surge capacity’’ means the ability of contractors in 2 the defense industrial base to rapidly increase production 3 capacity to meet increased demand for defense articles and 4 defense services (as such terms are defined, respectively, 5 in section 301 of title 10, United States Code). 6 SEC. 408. BRIDGING OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES AND SUP- 7 PORT FOR TRANSITION PROGRAM. 8 (a) BRIDGING OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES AND SUP- 9 PORT FOR TRANSITION PROGRAM.— 10 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In meeting the respon- 11 sibilities of the Defense Innovation Unit under sec- 12 tion 4127(d) of title 10, United States Code, the Di- 13 rector of the Defense Innovation Unit shall establish 14 a program (to be known as the ‘‘Bridging Oper- 15 ational Objectives and Support for Transition pro- 16 gram’’) to accelerate the adoption or integration of 17 commercial technologies into programs of record of 18 the Department of Defense. 19 (2) PROGRAM EXECUTION.—Not later than 90 20 days after the date of the enactment of this sub- 21 section, the Director shall issue guidance on the 22 BOOST program, including guidance to do the fol- 23 lowing: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Jun 13, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 108 •HR 3838 IH (A) Enable a customer seeking a tech- 1 nology solution for a challenge or requirement 2 in a program of record of the Department of 3 Defense to request assistance under the 4 BOOST program with identifying and adopting 5 or integrating such a solution into such pro- 6 gram. 7 (B) Establish requirements for the Defense 8 Innovation Unit to— 9 (i) conduct a review of commercial 10 technologies pursuant to a request de- 11 scribed in subparagraph (A) with respect 12 to a challenge or requirement of a program 13 of record of the Department to identify 14 commercial technology that may address 15 such challenge or requirement; 16 (ii) provide to the customer that made 17 such request the findings of such review, 18 including any commercial technologies so 19 identified; and 20 (iii) at the request of such customer 21 after providing such findings to such cus- 22 tomer, conduct development, experimen- 23 tation, or integration activities in coordina- 24 tion with such customer to support or en- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00108 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 109 •HR 3838 IH able the adoption or integration of any 1 commercial technology so identified into 2 such program of record. 3 (C) Establish criteria for terminating as- 4 sistance under the BOOST program for a cus- 5 tomer or with respect to a commercial tech- 6 nology. 7 (3) SUPPORT TO OTHER PROGRAMS.—The Di- 8 rector shall ensure the BOOST program works with 9 and in support of— 10 (A) the program established under section 11 4061(a) of title 10, United States Code; 12 (B) other organizations of the Department 13 of Defense responsible for accelerating the 14 adoption and integration of technology in sys- 15 tems or programs of the Department; 16 (C) the Small Business Innovation Re- 17 search Program; 18 (D) the Small Business Technology Trans- 19 fer Program; and 20 (E) the Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell (as 21 described in the Department of Defense Direc- 22 tive 5000.71 titled ‘‘Rapid Fulfillment of Com- 23 batant Commander Urgent Operational Needs’’ 24 (August 24, 2012)). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00109 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 110 •HR 3838 IH (4) FUNDING.—Subject to the availability of 1 appropriations, amounts authorized to be appro- 2 priated the Defense Innovation Unit for research, 3 development, test, and evaluation for a fiscal year 4 may be used for such fiscal year to carry out the 5 BOOST program. 6 (5) SUNSET.—The authorities and require- 7 ments under this subsection shall expire on Decem- 8 ber 31, 2030. 9 (b) REPORTING.—Not later than two years after the 10 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of De- 11 fense, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense 12 for Acquisition and Sustainment and the Director, shall 13 submit to the congressional defense committees a report 14 on the effectiveness of the BOOST program in accel- 15 erating the adoption or integration of commercial tech- 16 nologies into programs of record of the Department of De- 17 fense, including— 18 (1) a summary description of customers and 19 technologies adopted or integrated into such pro- 20 grams of record based on assistance provided under 21 the BOOST program; 22 (2) recommendations of the Secretary to im- 23 prove the BOOST program; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Jun 13, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00110 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 111 •HR 3838 IH (3) a recommendation whether to continue or 1 terminate the BOOST program. 2 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 (1) The term ‘‘BOOST program’’ means the 4 program established under subsection (a)(1). 5 (2) The term ‘‘customer’’ means a program 6 manager or program executive officer of the Depart- 7 ment of Defense that has primary responsibility for 8 fielding the system or systems acquired. 9 (3) The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 10 the Defense Innovation Unit. 11 (4) The term ‘‘program executive officer’’ has 12 the meaning given such term in section 1737(a) of 13 title 10, United States Code. 14 (5) The terms ‘‘Small Business Innovation Re- 15 search Program’’ and ‘‘Small Business Technology 16 Transfer Program’’ have the meanings given such 17 terms, respectively, in section 9(e) of the Small 18 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(e)). 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00111 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 112 •HR 3838 IH TITLE V—DEVELOPING A MIS- 1 SION-ORIENTED DEFENSE AC- 2 QUISITION WORKFORCE 3 SEC. 501. REPORT ON STRENGTHENING THE DEFENSE AC- 4 QUISITION UNIVERSITY. 5 (a) ASSESSMENT REQUIRED.—The Secretary of De- 6 fense, acting through the Director of the Acquisition Inno- 7 vation Research Center, shall conduct a comprehensive as- 8 sessment of the Defense Acquisition University (in this 9 section referred to as ‘‘DAU’’) to strengthen the ability 10 of the DAU to train and develop members of the acquisi- 11 tion workforce to meet future needs of the Department 12 of Defense. The assessment shall include the following: 13 (1) An evaluation of the mission of the DAU 14 and the alignment of such mission with the objec- 15 tives of the defense acquisition system established 16 pursuant to section 3102 of title 10, United States 17 Code (as added by section 101 of this Act). 18 (2) An evaluation of the effectiveness of train- 19 ing and development provided by DAU to members 20 of the acquisition workforce to enable such members 21 to effectively implement the objectives of the defense 22 acquisition system. 23 (b) ELEMENTS.—The assessment in paragraph (1) 24 shall evaluate the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00112 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 113 •HR 3838 IH (1) The organization and structure of DAU. 1 (2) The curriculum and educational offerings of 2 DAU. 3 (3) The composition of the staff and faculty of 4 DAU, including an assessment of the diversity of 5 skills, abilities, and professional backgrounds of such 6 staff and faculty. 7 (4) The sufficiency of resource and funding 8 mechanisms supporting DAU operations. 9 (5) The extent to which DAU uses external ex- 10 perts and academic institutions to inform and en- 11 hance its programs. 12 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Director of the Acqui- 13 sition Innovation Research Center shall use the assess- 14 ment required under this section and the objectives of the 15 defense acquisition system to provide to the Secretary of 16 Defense recommendations to strengthen the ability of the 17 DAU to train and develop members of the acquisition 18 workforce to meet future needs of the Department of De- 19 fense. 20 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one year 21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 22 of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense com- 23 mittees a report containing— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00113 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 114 •HR 3838 IH (1) the findings of the assessment conducted 1 under subsection (a) and the recommendations pro- 2 vided under subsection (c); and 3 (2) any actions necessary to ensure that DAU 4 fulfills its mission and provides training and develop- 5 ment to members of the acquisition workforce that 6 aligns with the objectives of the defense acquisition 7 system. 8 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 9 (1) The term ‘‘Acquisition Innovation Research 10 Center’’ means the acquisition research organization 11 within a civilian college or university that is de- 12 scribed under section 4142(a) of title 10, United 13 States Code. 14 (2) The term ‘‘acquisition workforce’’ has the 15 meaning given in section 101 of title 10, United 16 States Code. 17 SEC. 502. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW OF THE MAN- 18 AGEMENT, TRAINING, AND DEVELOPMENT OF 19 THE ACQUISITION WORKFORCE. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 21 United States shall conduct a review of the management, 22 training, and development of the acquisition workforce to 23 enable the acquisition workforce to expeditiously provide 24 the Armed Forces with the capabilities necessary to oper- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00114 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 115 •HR 3838 IH ate effectively, to address evolving threats, and to main- 1 tain the military advantage of the United States in the 2 most cost-effective manner practicable. 3 (b) REVIEW CONTENTS.—In conducting the review 4 required by subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall 5 evaluate the following: 6 (1) The current organization and staffing of the 7 acquisition workforce, including the total number of 8 positions in the acquisition workforce, a list of such 9 positions disaggregated by the skills and experience 10 required, and the number of such positions that are 11 vacant or are filled by an individual whose skills and 12 experience do not meet the required skills and expe- 13 rience for such position. 14 (2) The sufficiency of the processes and au- 15 thorities of the Department of Defense for recruiting 16 and retaining the acquisition workforce, and the use 17 of such authorities to maintain an acquisition work- 18 force that is optimized to meet mission require- 19 ments. 20 (3) Trends in acquisition workforce hiring and 21 retention over the preceding five years. 22 (4) The impediments to members of the acquisi- 23 tion workforce receiving training and education, in- 24 cluding any lack of funding, unavailability of re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00115 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 116 •HR 3838 IH quired or desired training, and excessive workload 1 demands that preclude such members from being 2 able to attend such training. 3 (c) REPORT.—Not later than April 1, 2026, the 4 Comptroller General shall submit to the congressional de- 5 fense committees a report on the findings of the review 6 required by subsection (a), including any recommenda- 7 tions to improve the management, training, and develop- 8 ment of the acquisition workforce. 9 (d) ACQUISITION WORKFORCE DEFINED.—In this 10 section, the term ‘‘acquisition workforce’’ has the meaning 11 given such term in section 101(a) of title 10, United 12 States Code. 13 SEC. 503. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW OF MATTERS 14 RELATING TO INDIVIDUALS ASSIGNED TO A 15 CRITICAL ACQUISITION POSITION. 16 (a) REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General 17 of the United States shall— 18 (1) conduct a review of the education, training, 19 and career development programs offered by the 20 Secretary of Defense for members of the acquisition 21 workforce; and 22 (2) conduct an assessment of the efficacy of the 23 career development policies established by section 24 1734 of title 10, United States Code. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00116 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 117 •HR 3838 IH (b) MATTERS FOR REVIEW.—In conducting the re- 1 view required by this section, the Comptroller General 2 shall— 3 (1) review the compliance of the Secretary with 4 the requirements of section 1734 of title 10, United 5 States Code; 6 (2) conduct an assessment of the efficacy of the 7 career development policies and minimum periods of 8 assignment established by such section 1734 in— 9 (A) improving the ability of the acquisition 10 workforce to expeditiously provide the Armed 11 Forces with the capabilities necessary to oper- 12 ate effectively, to address evolving threats, and 13 to maintain the military advantage of the 14 United States in the most cost-effective manner 15 practicable; 16 (B) enhancing the knowledge and experi- 17 ence of the acquisition workforce; 18 (C) enabling competitive career progression 19 of members of the acquisition workforce com- 20 pared to other members of the civilian and mili- 21 tary workforce of the Department of Defense 22 that are not subject to the minimum periods of 23 assignment established by such section 1734; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00117 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 118 •HR 3838 IH (D) the retention rates of members of the 1 acquisition workforce assigned to a critical ac- 2 quisition position, particularly key leadership 3 positions (as defined by the Under Secretary of 4 Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment), com- 5 pared with the retention rates for other mem- 6 bers of the civilian and military workforce of 7 the Department of Defense that are not subject 8 to the minimum periods of assignment estab- 9 lished by such section 1734; and 10 (3) conduct an assessment of any benefits, in- 11 cluding enhanced accountability in leadership and 12 decisionmaking by individuals in key leadership posi- 13 tions, of a minimum period of assignment of at least 14 four years to a critical acquisition position. 15 (c) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than July 1, 16 2026, the Comptroller General shall submit to the con- 17 gressional defense committees recommendations on— 18 (1) improvements to education, training, and 19 career development programs offered by the Sec- 20 retary of Defense for members of the acquisition 21 workforce; and 22 (2) minimum periods of assignment for an indi- 23 vidual assigned as a program executive officer. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jun 10, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00118 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3838.IH H3838 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB