Future of the Nunn-Lugar Program Act of 2017

Summary: Future of the Nunn-Lugar Program Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to: (1) seek to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and development center to assess requirements for cooperative threat reduction, and (2) provide such center with access to necessary information and resources.  The center shall provide DOD with an interim and a final report that shall include: (1) a discussion of the requirements and capabilities necessary for reducing the threats of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons; (2) identification of capability gaps for cooperative threat reduction efforts; (3) recommendations for actions to modernize the DOD's Cooperative Threat Reduction Program; and (4) recommendations to modernize the command and control enterprise and the role of the Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.  The Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, with respect to foreign countries, is intended to facilitate the elimination and the safe and secure transportation and storage of nuclear, chemical, biological, or other weapons and prevent their proliferation.  

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Future of the Nunn-Lugar Program Act 
of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Cooperative Threat Reduction program, initially 
        established in 1991 by Senators Richard Lugar and Sam Nunn, 
        provided funding and expertise to secure and dismantle nuclear, 
        chemical, and biological weapons and delivery systems in former 
        Soviet Union states.
            (2) After the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction 
        program was signed into law, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and 
        Kazakhstan all agreed to implement the program.
            (3) Russia developed programs to improve security at 
        nuclear weapons facilities and together with Ukraine opened 
        science and technology centers to help employ former Soviet 
        weapons scientists.
            (4) Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan agreed to remove all 
        nuclear warheads from their territories, and accomplished this 
        objective within three years.
            (5) In 1996, the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Domestic Preparedness 
        Initiative built on the initial goals of the Cooperative Threat 
        Reduction program to train civilians to assist following an 
        attack by a weapon of mass destruction.
            (6) In recent years, funding provided through the Nunn-
        Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program has focused on 
        export and border control programs and on the detection of 
        radiological weapons, sometimes referred to as ``dirty bombs''.
            (7) In 2013, the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction 
        program provided funding for Libya to dispose of the chemical 
        weapons and munitions discovered after the fall of the Gadhafi 
        regime.
            (8) In 2014, under the umbrella of the Nunn-Lugar 
        Cooperative Threat Reduction program, the United States played 
        a role in carrying out the removal of chemical weapons from 
        Syria.
            (9) The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program has 
        been a success, but as the world continues to change, new 
        partnerships and strategies will be required to deal with new 
        threats posed by weapons of mass destruction.

SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT ON THE FUTURE OF COOPERATIVE THREAT REDUCTION.

    (a) Assessment.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall seek 
        to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and 
        development center to assess the current, anticipated, and 
        potential future requirements for cooperative threat reduction.
            (2) Information and resources.--The Secretary shall provide 
        the federally funded research and development center conducting 
        the assessment under paragraph (1) with access to any 
        information and resources necessary for the federally funded 
        research and development center to conduct such assessment.
    (b) Report.--
            (1) Interim report.--Not later than one year after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, the federally funded research and 
        development center conducting the assessment under subsection 
        (a)(1) shall submit to the Secretary an interim report on the 
        assessment.
            (2) Final report.--Not later than 18 months after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, the federally funded research and 
        development center conducting the assessment under subsection 
        (a)(1) shall submit to the Secretary a final report on the 
        assessment.
            (3) Elements.--Each report under paragraphs (1) and (2) 
        shall include the following:
                    (A) A detailed discussion of the requirements and 
                capabilities necessary for reducing the threats of 
                nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.
                    (B) An identification of capability gaps for 
                current and future cooperative threat reduction efforts 
                and requirements.
                    (C) Recommendations with respect to actions that 
                could be taken, including legislative actions, to 
                modernize the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program of 
                the Department of Defense established under section 
                1321 of the Department of Defense Cooperative Threat 
                Reduction Act (50 U.S.C. 3711) to better respond to 
                threats during the 10-year period beginning on the date 
                of the report.
                    (D) Recommendations with respect to actions that 
                could be taken to modernize the command and control 
                enterprise and the role of the Director of the Defense 
                Threat Reduction Agency.
                    (E) Such other matters as the Secretary determines 
                appropriate.
            (4) Submission.--Not later than seven days after receiving 
        each report under paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary shall 
        submit such report to Congress without change.
    (c) Cooperative Threat Reduction Defined.--In this section, the 
term ``cooperative threat reduction'' means the activities specified in 
section 1321(a) of the Department of Defense Cooperative Threat 
Reduction Act (50 U.S.C. 3711(a)).