II 

Calendar No. 731 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2871 

[Report No. 118–311] 

To advance Federal Government innovation through the implementation and 

use of multi-cloud computing software technology, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023 

Mr. DAINES (for himself, Ms. ROSEN, and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

DECEMBER 19 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To advance Federal Government innovation through the implementation and use of multi-cloud computing software 

technology, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Multi-Cloud Innovation 

5 and Advancement Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

4 meaning given the term in section 3502 of title 44, 

5 United States Code. 

6 (2) CLOUD COMPUTING.—The term ‘‘cloud 

7 computing’’ has the meaning given the term in Spe8 cial Publication 800–145 of the National Institute of 

9 Standards and Technology, or any successor docu10 ment. 

11 (3) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The term 

12 ‘‘Comptroller General’’ means the Comptroller Gen13 eral of the United States. 

14 (4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

15 the Director of the Office of Management and Budg16 et. 

17 (5) INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

18 TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘information and commu19 nications technology’’— 

20 (A) has the meaning given the term in 

21 subpart 2.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regu22 lation, or any successor regulation; and 

23 (B) includes associated services. 

24 (6) MULTI-CLOUD TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

25 ‘‘multi-cloud technology’’ means architecture and 

26 services that allow for data, application, and proVerDate Sep 11 2014 08:01 Dec 20, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2871.RS S2871

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1 gram portability, usability, and interoperability be2 tween infrastructure, platforms, and hosted applica3 tions of multiple cloud computing vendors and be4 tween public, private, and edge cloud environments 

5 in a manner that securely delivers operational and 

6 management consistency, comprehensive visibility, 

7 and resiliency. 

8 (7) RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 

9 The term ‘‘relevant committees of Congress’’ means 

10 the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern11 mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

12 Oversight and Accountability of the House of Rep13 resentatives. 

14 SEC. 3. USE OF MULTI-CLOUD TECHNOLOGY. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation 

17 with the Administrator of General Services, the Director 

18 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

19 the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Administrator of 

20 the United States Digital Service, and the Administrator 

21 of the Office of Electronic Government, shall— 

22 (1) identify and evaluate any impediments to 

23 the adoption of multi-cloud technology by agencies; 

24 (2) identify best practices for how agencies can 

25 implement multi-cloud technology to allow for data 


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1 portability and interoperability across multiple cloud 

2 computing vendors; 

3 (3) evaluate the adoption by agencies of cyber4 security frameworks to support multi-cloud tech5 nology; and 

6 (4) develop written guidance for agencies based 

7 on the results of the identification described in para8 graph (2) that— 

9 (A) describes how agencies should use 

10 multi-cloud technology to allow for applications, 

11 data, and programs to be portable and inter12 operable between public, private, and edge cloud 

13 environments; and 

14 (B) outlines a roadmap for the implemen15 tation of multi-cloud technology across agencies 

16 not later than January 1, 2025. 

17 (b) BRIEFING.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the 

19 relevant committees of Congress— 

20 (1) a copy of the written guidance developed 

21 under subsection (a)(4); 

22 (2) a briefing on the implementation of multi23 cloud technology by agencies; and 


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1 (3) any recommendations relating to the expan2 sion or extension of the implementation described in 

3 paragraph (2). 

4 SEC. 4. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT STUDY AND TECH5 NICAL CAPABILITIES ASSESSMENT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

8 shall submit to Congress and make publicly available a 

9 report that— 

10 (1) assesses the state of the digital skills and 

11 expertise gap within the Federal workforce relating 

12 to information and communications technology, with 

13 particular attention to the skills and expertise gap 

14 relating to cloud computing and multi-cloud tech15 nology; 

16 (2) assesses the capability of the Federal acqui17 sition workforce to effectively research, solicit, evalu18 ate, acquire, and manage multi-cloud technology 

19 from vendors, with particular attention to flexible or 

20 modular contracting practices that facilitate the in21 herently complex and dynamic nature of multi-cloud 

22 technology procurement; 

23 (3) estimates any costs associated with addi24 tional Federal workforce training as a result of the 

25 increased adoption of multi-cloud technologies; and 


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1 (4) includes any recommendations to address 

2 any gap identified as a result of the assessment de3 scribed in paragraph (1) relating to— 

4 (A) Federal workforce development activi5 ties, including training, certifications, staffing 

6 levels, and partnerships; and 

7 (B) policies and hiring practices for agen8 cies. 

9 (b) TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 1 year 

10 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

11 General shall submit to Congress and make publicly avail12 able a report that— 

13 (1) assesses the technical capabilities of existing 

14 agency networks to support multi-cloud technology; 

15 (2) evaluates any technical capability impedi16 ments of agencies that delay the adoption of multi17 cloud technology; and 

18 (3) includes any recommendations relating to 

19 policies and best practices for agencies to address 

20 any impediments identified as a result of the assess21 ment described in paragraph (1) and the evaluation 

22 described in paragraph (2). 

23 SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

24 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 08:01 Dec 20, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2871.RS S2871

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1 gress and make publicly available a report assessing how 

2 agencies have implemented the guidance developed under 

3 section 3(a)(4) to deploy and secure multi-cloud tech4 nology architecture that includes multiple cloud computing 

5 software vendors. 

6 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Multi-Cloud Innovation 

8 and Advancement Act of 2023’’. 

9 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the mean12 ing given the term in section 3502 of title 44, United 

13 States Code. 

14 (2) CLOUD COMPUTING.—The term ‘‘cloud com15 puting’’ has the meaning given the term in Special 

16 Publication 800–145 of the National Institute of 

17 Standards and Technology, or any successor docu18 ment. 

19 (3) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Comp20 troller General’’ means the Comptroller General of the 

21 United States. 

22 (4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the 

23 Director of the Office of Management and Budget. 


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1 (5) INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECH2 NOLOGY.—The term ‘‘information and communica3 tions technology’’— 

4 (A) has the meaning given the term in sub5 part 2.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, 

6 or any successor regulation; and 

7 (B) includes associated services. 

8 (6) MULTI-CLOUD TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

9 ‘‘multi-cloud technology’’ has the meaning given the 

10 term by the Director of the National Institute of 

11 Standards and Technology pursuant to section 6(a). 

12 (7) RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.—The 

13 term ‘‘relevant committees of Congress’’ means the 

14 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

15 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight 

16 and Accountability of the House of Representatives. 

17 SEC. 3. STUDY AND GUIDELINES FOR VOLUNTARY AGENCY 

18 USE OF MULTI-CLOUD TECHNOLOGY. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

20 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall— 

21 (1) study the use of multi-cloud technology by 

22 agencies; 

23 (2) identify the extent to which agencies use 

24 multi-cloud computing technology; 


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1 (3) identify, among agencies that use multi-cloud 

2 technology— 

3 (A) best practices, including for security, 

4 portability, and interoperability across multiple 

5 cloud computing vendors; 

6 (B) best cybersecurity practices and frame7 works, including cloud native security solutions, 

8 to support multi-cloud technology; 

9 (C) lessons learned from adoption of multi10 cloud technologies by agencies; and 

11 (D) use cases of multi-cloud technology by 

12 agencies; 

13 (4) develop a cost-benefit analysis of agencies 

14 transitioning to multi-cloud technology compared to 

15 the existing cloud computing systems of those agen16 cies; and 

17 (5) provide to the relevant committees of Con18 gress a briefing on the plans and methodologies of the 

19 Director for carrying out this subsection and sub20 section (b). 

21 (b) BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than 1 year after the 

22 date of the completion of the study required under sub23 section (a)(1), the Director shall compile and make avail24 able to agencies the information identified under subsection 


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1 (a)(3) to assist agencies that consider adopting or choose 

2 to adopt multi-cloud technology. 

3 (c) BRIEFING.—Not later than 540 days after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the 

5 relevant committees of Congress the findings of the study 

6 required under subsection (a)(1), including any legislative 

7 recommendations to ensure the safe and secure voluntary 

8 adoption of multi-cloud technology by agencies. 

9 SEC. 4. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT STUDY AND TECH10 NICAL CAPABILITIES ASSESSMENT. 

11 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

12 this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress 

13 and make publicly available a report that— 

14 (1) assesses the state of the digital skills and ex15 pertise gap within the Federal workforce relating to 

16 information and communications technology, includ17 ing cloud computing and multi-cloud technology; 

18 (2) assesses— 

19 (A) the capability of the Federal acquisition 

20 workforce to effectively research, solicit, evaluate, 

21 acquire, and securely procure and manage 

22 multi-cloud technology from vendors, with par23 ticular attention to flexible or modular con24 tracting practices that facilitate the inherently 


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1 complex and dynamic nature of multi-cloud 

2 technology procurement; and 

3 (B) any gaps in the Federal acquisition 

4 workforce with respect to the tasks described in 

5 subparagraph (A); 

6 (3) assesses the capability of the Federal infor7 mation technology workforce to effectively architect, 

8 deploy, manage, and secure multi-cloud technology 

9 from vendors, with particular attention to technical 

10 practices that focus on interoperability, monitoring, 

11 and optimization of the multi-cloud environment; 

12 (4) estimates any costs associated with addi13 tional Federal workforce training as a result of the 

14 increased adoption of multi-cloud technologies; and 

15 (5) includes any recommendations to address 

16 any gap identified as a result of the assessment de17 scribed in paragraph (1) relating to— 

18 (A) Federal workforce development activi19 ties, including training, certifications, staffing 

20 levels, and partnerships; and 

21 (B) policies and hiring practices for agen22 cies. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

2 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 

3 this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress 

4 and make publicly available a report assessing— 

5 (1) the state of cloud technology adoption within 

6 the Federal Government as of the date of enactment 

7 of this Act; 

8 (2) whether and to what extent the use of multi9 cloud technology has resulted in flexibility, cost sav10 ings, and reduced cybersecurity risk; 

11 (3) circumstances that are favorable or not favor12 able for adoption by agencies of multi-cloud tech13 nology; 

14 (4) the technical and other capabilities necessary 

15 for the voluntary adoption of multi-cloud technology 

16 by agencies; 

17 (5) cybersecurity risks and benefits specific to 

18 multi-cloud technology, including best practices for 

19 agencies or entities looking to use multi-cloud tech20 nology to mitigate identified risks; and 

21 (6) a cost-benefit analysis of agencies 

22 transitioning to multi-cloud technology compared to 

23 the existing cloud computing systems of those agen24 cies. 


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1 SEC. 6. MULTI-CLOUD TECHNOLOGY DEFINITION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National 

4 Institute of Standards and Technology shall publish a defi5 nition of ‘‘multi-cloud technology’’ for the purpose of this 

6 Act. 

7 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In publishing the definition 

8 required under subsection (a), the Director of the National 

9 Institute of Standards and Technology shall consider input 

10 from stakeholders and industry leaders. 

11 (c) REVIEW; UPDATES.—The Director of the National 

12 Institute of Standards and Technology shall periodically re13 view and, if necessary, update and republish the definition 

14 required under subsection (a) to reflect advancements in 

15 technology or industry practices. 

16 SEC. 7. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS. 

17 No additional amounts are authorized to be appro18 priated to carry out this Act. 


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Calendar No. 731 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2871 

[Report No. 118–311] 

A BILL 

To advance Federal Government innovation 

D

other purposes. cloud computing software technology, and for through the implementation and use of multiECEMBER 19 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 

Reported with an amendment 


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