I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1864 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to designate a single senior official of 

the Department of Defense to procure wideband satellite communications 

necessary to meet the requirements of the Department of Defense, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 16, 2015 

Mr. BRIDENSTINE (for himself, Mr. COOPER, and Mr. ROGERS of Alabama) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Armed Services 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to designate a single 

senior official of the Department of Defense to procure 

wideband satellite communications necessary to meet the 

requirements of the Department of Defense, 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. PROCUREMENT OF WIDEBAND SATELLITE 

4 COMMUNICATIONS. 

5 (a) ACQUISITION AGENT.—Except as provided by 

6 subsection (b)(1), not later than September 30, 2016, the 

7 Secretary of Defense shall designate a single senior official 


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•HR 1864 IH

1 of the Department of Defense to procure wideband sat2 ellite communications necessary to meet the requirements 

3 of the Department of Defense for such communications, 

4 including with respect to military and commercial satellite 

5 communications. 

6 (b) EXCEPTION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 

8 (a), an official described in paragraph (2) may carry 

9 out the procurement of commercial wideband sat10 ellite communications if the official determines that 

11 such procurement is required to meet an urgent 

12 need. 

13 (2) OFFICIAL DESCRIBED.—An official de14 scribed in this paragraph is any of the following: 

15 (A) A Secretary of a military department. 

16 (B) The Under Secretary of Defense for 

17 Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. 

18 (C) The Chief Information Officer of the 

19 Department of Defense. 

20 (D) A commander of a combatant com21 mand. 

22 (3) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than March 

23 1, 2017, and each year thereafter through 2021, the 

24 Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congres25 sional defense committees (as defined in section 


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•HR 1864 IH

1 101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code) a report 

2 on procurement carried out under paragraph (1) 

3 during the year prior to the submission of the re4 port, including— 

5 (A) a brief description of the urgent need 

6 fulfilled by each such procurement; 

7 (B) the date and length of the contract of 

8 each such procurement; and 

9 (C) the value of each such contract. 

10 (c) PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 

12 shall submit to the congressional defense committees a 

13 plan for the Secretary to meet the requirements of the 

14 Department of Defense for satellite communications, in15 cluding with respect to— 

16 (1) the roles and responsibilities of officials of 

17 the Department; and 

18 (2) carrying out subsections (a) and (b). 

Æ 


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