### §133b. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment

(a) Under Secretary of Defense.—There is an Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Under Secretary shall be appointed from among persons who have an extensive system development, engineering, production, or management background and experience with managing complex programs. A person may not be appointed as Under Secretary within seven years after relief from active duty as a commissioned officer of a regular component of an armed force.

(b) Duties and Powers.—Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of Defense, the Under Secretary shall perform such duties and exercise such powers as the Secretary may prescribe, including—

(1) serving as the chief acquisition and sustainment officer of the Department of Defense with the mission of delivering and sustaining timely, cost-effective capabilities for the armed forces (and the Department);

(2) establishing policies on, and supervising, all elements of the Department relating to acquisition (including system design, development, appropriate prototyping activities, and production, and procurement of goods and services) and sustainment (including logistics, maintenance, and materiel readiness);

(3) establishing policies for access to, and maintenance of, the defense industrial base and materials critical to national security, and policies on contract administration;

(4) establishing policies for, and providing oversight, guidance, and coordination with respect to, the nuclear command, control, and communications system;

(5) serving as—

(A) the principal advisor to the Secretary on acquisition and sustainment in the Department;

(B) the senior procurement executive for the Department for the purposes of section 1702(c) of title 41; and

(C) the Defense Acquisition Executive for purposes of regulations and procedures of the Department providing for a Defense Acquisition Executive;

(6) overseeing the modernization of nuclear forces, including the nuclear command, control, and communications system, and the development of capabilities to counter weapons of mass destruction, and serving as the chairman of the Nuclear Weapons Council and the co-chairman of the Council on Oversight of the National Leadership Command, Control, and Communications System;

(7) the authority to direct the Secretaries of the military departments and the heads of all other elements of the Department with regard to matters for which the Under Secretary has responsibility, except that the Under Secretary shall exercise advisory authority over service acquisition programs for which the service acquisition executive is the milestone decision authority;

(8) to the extent directed by the Secretary, exercising overall supervision of all personnel (civilian and military) in the Office of the Secretary of Defense with regard to matters for which the Under Secretary has responsibility, unless otherwise provided by law; and

(9) advising the Secretary on all aspects of acquisition and sustainment relating to—

(A) defense acquisition programs;

(B) core logistics capabilities (as described under section 2464 of this title); and

(C) the national technology and industrial base (as defined in section 4801 of this title).

(c) Precedence in Department of Defense.—

(1) Precedence in matters of responsibility.—With regard to all matters for which the Under Secretary has responsibility by the direction of the Secretary of Defense or by law, the Under Secretary takes precedence in the Department of Defense after the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.

(2) Precedence in other matters.—With regard to all matters other than the matters for which the Under Secretary has responsibility by the direction of the Secretary or by law, the Under Secretary takes precedence in the Department of Defense after the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, and the Secretaries of the military departments.

(Added Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title IX, §901(b), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2340; amended Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title IX, §§902, 910(c)(3), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1511, 1518; Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title IX, §902(92), title XVI, §1662(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1554, 1772; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title VIII, §811(a)(2), title XVIII, §1883(b)(2), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3749, 4294; Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title IX, §901(a)(2), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 354.)

#### **Editorial Notes**

#### Prior Provisions

A prior section 133b was renumbered section 138a of this title and was subsequently repealed.

Another prior section 133b was renumbered section 118 of this title and was subsequently repealed.

#### Amendments

2023—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 118–31, §901(a)(2)(A), struck out "the Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense," after "the Deputy Secretary of Defense,".

Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 118–31, §901(a)(2)(B), struck out "the Chief Management Officer," after "the Deputy Secretary,".

2021—Subsec. (b)(9). Pub. L. 116–283, §811(a)(2), added par. (9).

Subsec. (b)(9)(C). Pub. L. 116–283, §1883(b)(2), substituted "section 4801" for "section 2500".

2019—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 116–92, §902(92), inserted "appropriate prototyping activities," after "development,".

Subsec. (b)(4) to (8). Pub. L. 116–92, §1662(a), added par. (4), redesignated former pars. (4) to (7) as (5) to (8), respectively, and in par. (6) inserted ", including the nuclear command, control, and communications system," after "modernization of nuclear forces".

2017—Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 115–91, §902, substituted "advisory authority" for "supervisory authority".

Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 115–91, §910(c)(3)(A), inserted "the Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense," after "the Deputy Secretary of Defense,".

Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 115–91, §910(c)(3)(B), inserted "the Chief Management Officer," after "the Deputy Secretary,".

#### **Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries**

#### Effective Date of 2021 Amendment

Amendment by section 1883(b)(2) of Pub. L. 116–283 effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed implementation and applicability of existing law, see section 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

#### Effective Date of 2017 Amendment

Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title IX, §902, Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1511, provided that the amendment made by section 902 is effective Feb. 1, 2018, and immediately after the coming into effect of the amendment made by section 901(b) of Pub. L. 114–328 (enacting this section).

Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title IX, §910(c), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1518, provided that the amendment made by section 910(c)(3) is effective on Feb. 1, 2018, and immediately after the coming into effect of the amendments made by section 901 of Pub. L. 114–328 (see Tables for classification).

#### Effective Date

Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title IX, §901(b), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2339, provided that this section is effective on Feb. 1, 2018.

#### Department of Defense Support for Requirements of White House Military Office

Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title XVI, §1672(b), (c), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2959, provided that:

"(b) Portfolio Manager.—The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, shall designate a senior official to coordinate and advocate for the portfolio of national level programs of the Department of Defense that are either or both—

"(1) in direct support of requirements from the White House Military Office; or

"(2) operationally relevant to the mission areas of the White House Military Office.

"(c) Accessibility of Information.—The programmatic and budgetary information required to assess the efficacy of the national level programs covered by subsection (b) shall be provided to the senior official designated under such subsection by the following officials:

"(1) The Secretary of each military department.

"(2) The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

"(3) The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.

"(4) The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"(5) The Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation."