I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3181 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to enter into a contract with an eligible 

institution to carry out research and education activities relating to 

military painting. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 10, 2019 

Ms. FINKENAUER (for herself, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. RYAN, and 

Mr. TONKO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to enter into a contract 

with an eligible institution to carry out research and 

education activities relating to military painting. 

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 ‘‘Military Readiness and 

5 Cost Savings Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Bob Stump National Defense Author9 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107– 


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1 314), which passed with broad bipartisan support, 

2 established an Office of Corrosion Policy and Over3 sight within the Office of the Under Secretary of 

4 Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. The office 

5 was created to ‘‘oversee and coordinate efforts 

6 throughout the Department of Defense to prevent 

7 and mitigate corrosion of the military equipment and 

8 infrastructure of the Department’’. 

9 (2) Corrosion of the equipment and infrastruc10 ture of the Department of Defense (referred to in 

11 this section as the ‘‘Department’’) is expensive and 

12 impedes military readiness. According to a study 

13 commissioned by the Department’s Office of Corro14 sion Policy and Oversight, corrosion costs the De15 partment $20.6 billion annually across all services. 

16 These costs comprise 21 percent of the Depart17 ment’s total maintenance costs across all services. 

18 Corrosion is responsible for 11 percent, or roughly 

19 1.1 million, of all non-available days for Department 

20 assets. 

21 (3) Chemical-agent-resistant-coatings, which 

22 help to protect military vehicles and equipment from 

23 chemical and biological weapons and severe environ24 mental conditions that cause corrosion, can range in 

25 price from $100 to $800 per gallon. With approxiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3181.IH H3181

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1 mately 3,760 assets of varying sizes painted at a 

2 typical Department depot per year, such coatings 

3 comprise a significant annual cost category for the 

4 operation of the facility and the maintenance of mili5 tary assets, according to analysis from the South6 west Research Institute. 

7 (4) Military painter training and certification 

8 helps reduce waste and rework of military assets, re9 ducing the costs associated with the application of 

10 chemical-agent-resistant-coatings. For example, one 

11 military painter training and certification provider 

12 helped Letterkenny Army Depot use 8,100 fewer 

13 gallons of such coatings per year, saving the depot 

14 $500,000 per year through improved transfer effi15 ciency and reduced rework, according to the South16 west Research Institute. 

17 (5) The Senate Report accompanying S. 1519 

18 (115th Congress; the National Defense Authoriza19 tion Act for Fiscal Year 2018) included language 

20 recognizing the importance of military painter train21 ing, noting that ‘‘paint training programs can save 

22 the Department time and funding resources by using 

23 advanced technology and equipment along with 

24 hands-on training to effectively apply coatings and 

25 reduce waste. Additionally, increasing coating transVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3181.IH H3181

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1 fer efficiency and preventing corrosion and rework 

2 can improve asset readiness’’. 

3 (6) Investing in military painter and coating 

4 training and certification programs helps improve 

5 military readiness, increases safety for service mem6 bers, and reduces paint costs. It is prudent for Con7 gress to invest in research that will foster innova8 tions in those areas. 

9 (7) The importance of corrosion resistance goes 

10 beyond Department assets. Across nearly every sec11 tor, corrosion is expensive and poses a safety risk to 

12 users. For example, decaying roads and bridges cost 

13 the United States economy $5,000,000,000 a year, 

14 according to the National Association of Corrosion 

15 Engineers. Congress has a duty to pair Federal in16 frastructure investment with corrosion management 

17 to ensure new and existing public infrastructure is 

18 built to last. 

19 (8) The proper application of anticorrosion 

20 coatings requires a high degree of knowledge and 

21 skill. According to the International Union of Paint22 ers and Allied Trades, a poorly executed corrosion 

23 prevention project will leave an asset unprotected, 

24 increase costs to repair or replace all or parts of it, 

25 and irresponsibly use taxpayer dollars. Using trained 


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1 and certified painters is the most effective way to 

2 ensure assets are truly protected from corrosion. 

3 SEC. 3. NATIONAL CENTER FOR MILITARY PAINTER TRAIN4 ING AND APPLIED RESEARCH. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Chapter 131 of title 10, 

6 United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 

7 2228 the following new section: 

8 ‘‘§ 2228a. National Center for Military Painter Train9 ing and Applied Research 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, acting 

11 through the Director of the Office of Corrosion Policy and 

12 Oversight, shall seek to enter into a contract with an eligi13 ble institution under which the institution will carry out 

14 the functions described in subsection (c). 

15 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary shall designate 

16 the institution that is awarded a contract under subsection 

17 (a) as the ‘National Center for Military Painting and Ap18 plied Research’ (referred to in this section as the ‘Center’). 

19 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Center shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) serve as a testing facility for the applica21 tion of new paint coatings developed by industry22 leading research and development facilities; 

23 ‘‘(2) partner with industry to assess the efficacy 

24 of specific blends of chemical-agent-resistant coating 

25 powder on certain military assets to assure maxVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3181.IH H3181

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1 imum cost efficiency, coating effectiveness, and qual2 ity finish; 

3 ‘‘(3) expand training and certification programs 

4 for military painters to covered facilities that have 

5 an ongoing, unmet need for such programs; 

6 ‘‘(4) develop new teaching tools, which may in7 clude the use of virtual reality technology to enable 

8 trainees to simulate the painting of a variety of mili9 tary assets; 

10 ‘‘(5) develop online learning modules for train11 ing military painters in the use of liquid and powder 

12 coatings; 

13 ‘‘(6) explore the adoption of automated painting 

14 technologies while recognizing that the repair of cer15 tain military assets is best performed manually; 

16 ‘‘(7) provide on-site consultation and technical 

17 assistance at covered facilities to maximize cost effi18 ciency, quality assurance, and operational effective19 ness in painting and coating operations; and 

20 ‘‘(8) conduct outreach to servicemembers at 

21 covered facilities, in coordination with Department 

22 of Defense and any appropriate skilled labor organi23 zations, employers, and industry organizations with 

24 specialties in corrosion and painting, to raise aware25 ness of military painter career opportunities and any 


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1 related industrial and commercial painting appren2 ticeship opportunities for Veterans. 

3 ‘‘(d) CONTRACT PROCEDURES.—A contract under 

4 subsection (a) shall be awarded in accordance with full 

5 and open competition (as that term is defined in chapter 

6 1 of title 41, United States Code). 

7 ‘‘(e) PROVISION OF SERVICES FOR COAST GUARD.— 

8 The Secretary of Defense may enter into an agreement 

9 with the Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

10 Guard is operating under which the Center may provide, 

11 with or without reimbursement for the cost thereof, train12 ing and other assistance to the Coast Guard in accordance 

13 with subsection (c). 

14 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than September 

15 30 of each year covered by the contract under subsection 

16 (a), the Center shall submit to the Director of the Office 

17 of Corrosion Policy and Oversight a report that describes 

18 the progress of the Center in carrying out the functions 

19 described in subsection (c), including the progress of the 

20 Center in— 

21 ‘‘(1) expanding training programs for military 

22 painters; and 

23 ‘‘(2) conducting applied research relating to 

24 military painting. 

25 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘eligible institution’ means an 

2 entity that— 

3 ‘‘(A) as of the date of the enactment of 

4 this section, provides military painter training 

5 programs that lead to a certification that is rec6 ognized by the Department of Defense; 

7 ‘‘(B) demonstrates the ability to establish 

8 sustainable military painter operations at mul9 tiple covered facilities, including on military 

10 bases and depots; 

11 ‘‘(C) has a proven ability to scale a mili12 tary painter training program to meet the needs 

13 of multiple covered facilities, including by devel14 oping or expanding a certified train-the-trainer 

15 program; 

16 ‘‘(D) demonstrates experience in devel17 oping and managing a military painter training 

18 and certification program that has proven suc19 cess in achieving cost savings and unit readi20 ness through training in the prevention and 

21 control of corrosion; and 

22 ‘‘(E) possesses the facilities and equipment 

23 necessary to conduct applied research on the ef24 ficacy of military paint composites and coatings 


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1 and the transfer efficiency of such composites 

2 and coatings. 

3 ‘‘(2) The term ‘covered facilities’ means— 

4 ‘‘(A) the facilities of the Department of 

5 Defense, including the facilities of— 

6 ‘‘(i) the Armed Forces; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the reserve components, includ8 ing the National Guard; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) the Army Corps of Engineers; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) subject to an agreement under sub12 section (e), the facilities of the Coast Guard. 

13 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec15 tion— 

16 ‘‘(1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; and 

17 ‘‘(2) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

18 through 2023.’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

20 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

21 after the item relating to section 2228 the following new 

22 item: 

‘‘2228a. National Center for Military Painter Training and Applied Research.’’. 

Æ 


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