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one or more separate awards, or a combination 
thereof.’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, one 
or more separate awards of follow-on produc-
tion contracts or transactions with respect to a 
transaction described in such paragraph, or a 
combination thereof,’’ after ‘‘paragraph (1)’’. 
SEC. 815. CLARIFICATION OF OTHER TRANSACTION AU-
THORITY FOR FACILITY REPAIR. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4022(i)(2) of title 10, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘except for 
projects carried out for the purpose of repairing a 
facility,’’; 
(2) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘In carrying out’’; 
(3) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 
(B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(B) The requirements of this paragraph shall 
not apply to projects carried out for the purpose of 
repairing a facility.’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—This section and the amend-
ments made by this section shall apply with respect to a 
transaction for a prototype project under section 4022(i) 
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of title 10, United States Code, entered into on or after 
the date of the enactment of this section. 
SEC. 816. SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES PROCUREMENT 
AUTHORITY. 
Section 1903 of title 41, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding 
paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘For a procurement’’ and 
inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (d), for 
a procurement’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(d) SPECIAL
OPERATIONS
FORCES
PROCURE-
MENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this 
section— 
‘‘(A) a procurement for special operations 
forces to perform activities described in section 
167(k) of title 10 in support of an undeclared 
contingency operation shall be deemed to be in 
support of a contingency operation (as defined 
in section 101(a) of title 10); 
‘‘(B) contracts to be awarded with respect 
to such a procurement shall be deemed to be 
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awarded and performed outside of the United 
States; 
‘‘(C) purchases to be made under such a 
procurement shall be deemed to be made out-
side of the United States; and 
‘‘(D) with respect to such a procurement 
to which this section applies under subsection 
(a)— 
‘‘(i) the amount in subsection (b)(1) is 
deemed to be $35,000; and 
‘‘(ii) the $5,000,000 limitation in sec-
tions 1901(a)(2) and 3305(a)(2) of this 
title and section 3205(a)(2) of title 10 is 
deemed to be $15,000,000. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES.—The 
term ‘special operations forces’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 167(j) of title 10. 
‘‘(B) UNDECLARED
CONTINGENCY
OPER-
ATION.—The term ‘undeclared contingency op-
eration’ means an operation in which members 
of the armed forces are or may become involved 
in military actions, operations, or hostilities 
against an enemy of the United States or 
against an opposing foreign force, other than 
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an operation designated by the Secretary of De-
fense as a contingency operation (as defined in 
section 101(a) of title 10).’’. 
SEC. 817. AVOIDANCE OF USE OF LOWEST PRICE TECH-
NICALLY ACCEPTABLE SOURCE SELECTION 
CRITERIA FOR PROCUREMENT OF MUNI-
TIONS RESPONSE SERVICES. 
Section 880(c)(1) of the John S. McCain National 
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (41 
U.S.C. 3701 note) is amended by inserting ‘‘munitions re-
sponse services,’’ after ‘‘telecommunications devices and 
services,’’. 
SEC. 818. EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO MOD-
IFY 
CERTAIN 
CONTRACTS 
AND 
OPTIONS 
BASED ON THE EFFECTS OF INFLATION. 
Subsection (e) of the first section of Public Law 85– 
804 (50 U.S.C. 1431(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘Decem-
ber 31, 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2025’’. 
SEC. 819. LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR 
CHILLER CLASS PROJECTS OF THE DEPART-
MENT OF THE AIR FORCE. 
(a) LIMITATION.—None of the funds authorized to 
be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available 
for fiscal year 2025 for the Air Force may be obligated 
or expended to acquire goods or services under a non-com-
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petitive justification and approval for the purposes of 
standardizing the heating, ventilation, and air condi-
tioning chillers at installations of the Air Force until the 
date on which the Secretary of Defense submits to the 
congressional defense committees the certification de-
scribed in subsection (b). 
(b) CERTIFICATION DESCRIBED.—The certification 
described in this subsection is a certification that— 
(1) the Secretary of Defense has developed a 
methodology to compare the cost of initially acquir-
ing the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning 
chillers and equipment supporting such chillers for 
the purposes described in subsection (a) under a 
non-competitive justification and approval to the 
cost of initially acquiring such chillers and equip-
ment for such purposes using competitive proce-
dures; 
(2) the Secretary of Defense has established 
metrics to measure the effects of standardizing the 
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning chillers at 
installations of the Air Force, including the costs of 
training technicians, any savings resulting from the 
ability of employees of the Government to repair 
such chillers, the cost of initially acquiring chillers 
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and equipment supporting such chillers for such pur-
pose, and the life cycle costs of such chillers; and 
(3) the Secretary of Defense has collected data 
demonstrating that the use of procedures other than 
competitive procedures to acquire chillers for the 
purposes of standardizing the heating, ventilation, 
and air conditioning chillers at installations of the 
Air Force has resulted in lower life cycle costs com-
pared to using competitive procedures for such ac-
quisitions. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘competitive procedures’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 3012 of title 10, 
United States Code. 
(2) The term ‘‘non-competitive justification and 
approval’’ means the justification and approval re-
quired by section 3204(e)(1) of title 10, United 
States Code, for the use of procedures other than 
competitive procedures to award a contract. 
SEC. 820. REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO COMBAT FOOT-
WEAR OF MEMBERS OF ALL BRANCHES OF 
THE ARMED FORCES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of De-
fense shall issue regulations prohibiting any member of 
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the Armed Forces from wearing optional combat boots as 
part of a required uniform unless the optional combat 
boots are entirely manufactured in the United States and 
entirely made of— 
(1) materials grown, reprocessed, reused, or 
produced in the United States; and 
(2) components that are manufactured entirely 
in the United States and entirely made of materials 
described in paragraph (1). 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘optional combat boots’’, with re-
spect to a member of the Armed Forces, combat 
boots not furnished to such member of the Armed 
Forces by the Secretary of Defense. 
(2) The term ‘‘required uniform’’ means a uni-
form a member of the Armed Forces is required to 
wear as a member of the Armed Forces. 
SEC. 821. ADDITION OF DOMESTICALLY PRODUCED STAIN-
LESS STEEL FLATWARE TO THE REQUIRE-
MENT TO BUY CERTAIN ARTICLES FROM 
AMERICAN SOURCES. 
(a) ADDITION TO COVERED ITEMS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4862(b) of title 10, 
United States Code, is amended— 
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(A) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) Stainless steel flatware.’’; and 
(B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 
paragraph (4). 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by paragraph (1) shall take effect on October 1, 
2025. 
Subtitle C—Provisions Relating to 
Workforce Development 
SEC. 831. UPDATED ADAPTIVE ACQUISITION FRAMEWORK 
TRAINING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 87 of 
title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 1749. Updated Adaptive Acquisition Framework 
training 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President of the Defense 
Acquisition University, in coordination with the Secretary 
of Defense and in consultation with industry representa-
tives, shall ensure that the training program for the acqui-
sition workforce on the adaptive acquisition framework (as 
described in Department of Defense Instruction 5000.02, 
‘Operation of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework’) that 
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is part of the curriculum of the Defense Acquisition Uni-
versity includes training on— 
‘‘(1) the relevant innovative procedures and 
best practices of the private sector for acquiring 
goods and services; and 
‘‘(2) acquisition authorities applicable to the 
adaptive acquisition framework that were established 
or otherwise made available to the Department of 
Defense in the preceding two years. 
‘‘(b) TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.—(1) The training 
required by subsection (a) shall include— 
‘‘(A) learning objectives related to market re-
search, communicating with industry, and identi-
fying and implementing the best practices used by 
industry for acquiring goods and services; 
‘‘(B) learning objectives that encourage the use 
of technologies that are commercial products, com-
mercial services, and commercially available off-the- 
shelf items (as such terms are defined in sections 
103, 103a, and 104, respectively, of title 41), to the 
greatest extent practicable; and 
‘‘(C) training on technology procured as a con-
sumption-based solution (as defined in section 834 
of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National De-
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fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 
U.S.C. 4571 note)) or emerging technology. 
‘‘(2) Beginning 18 months after the date of the en-
actment of this Act, and not less than every two years 
thereafter, the President of the Defense Acquisition Uni-
versity shall update the training described in subsection 
(a) to include all acquisition authorities applicable to the 
adaptive acquisition framework that were established or 
otherwise made available to the Department of Defense 
in the two years preceding such update. 
‘‘(c) ACQUISITION WORKFORCE DEFINED.—In this 
section, the term ‘acquisition workforce’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 101(a), except that the term 
only includes— 
‘‘(1) program executive officers (as such term is 
defined in section 1737 of this title); 
‘‘(2) program managers (as such term is de-
fined in such section); 
‘‘(3) general officers (as such term is defined in 
section 101(b) of this title); 
‘‘(4) flag officers (as such term is defined in 
such section); and 
‘‘(5) individuals holding Senior Executive Serv-
ice positions (as such term is defined in section 3132 
of title 5).’’. 
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 87 of title 10, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 1748 the 
following new item: 
‘‘1749. Updated Adaptive Acquisition Framework training.’’. 
SEC. 832. PERFORMANCE INCENTIVES RELATED TO COM-
MERCIAL PRODUCT AND COMMERCIAL SERV-
ICE DETERMINATIONS. 
Section 3456 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(3) establish and maintain performance incen-
tives for contracting officers and program managers 
that 
request 
support 
described 
in 
subsection 
(b)(1)(A).’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or pro-
gram manager’’ after ‘‘contracting officer’’; and 
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(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or pro-
gram manager (as applicable)’’ after ‘‘con-
tracting officer’’ each place it appears. 
SEC. 833. AUTONOMOUS UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEM AC-
QUISITION PATHWAYS. 
(a) ACQUISITION PATHWAYS.—The Secretary of De-
fense shall ensure that, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, procurement programs for autonomous unmanned 
aerial systems use separate, parallel acquisition pathways 
for hardware and software related to such systems. 
(b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 
shall ensure that members of the acquisition workforce (as 
defined in section 101 of title 10, United States Code), 
with respect to the procurement of autonomous unmanned 
aerial systems under this section and to the maximum ex-
tent practicable— 
(1) use the appropriate software acquisition 
pathway established under section 800 of the Na-
tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2020 (Public Law 116–92; 133 Stat. 1478; 10 
U.S.C. 4571 note); and 
(2) include requirements for hardware compo-
nents of such systems to be compliant with modular 
open system approach (as defined in section 4401 of 
title 10, United States Code). 
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(c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 
shall submit to the congressional defense committees a re-
port that includes— 
(1) a description of plans to implement the sep-
arate, parallel acquisition pathways described in sub-
section (a); and 
(2) recommendations by the Secretary for any 
legislative action the Secretary determines necessary 
to implement this section. 
(d) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply with 
respect to contracts for the procurement of autonomous 
unmanned aerial systems or hardware or software related 
to such systems entered into on or after the date of the 
enactment of this section. 
SEC. 834. PILOT PROGRAM FOR PROGRAM MANAGEMENT 
OFFICES TO COMPETE IN REHABILITATING 
AT-RISK PROGRAMS. 
(a) PILOT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—Not later than 
April 1, 2025, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisi-
tion and Sustainment, in consultation with the Secretaries 
of the military departments and the commanders of the 
combatant commands, shall establish a pilot program to 
test the feasibility and reliability of requiring program 
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managers within the Department of Defense to manage 
at-risk programs selected under subsection (b). 
(b) SELECTION OF AT-RISK PROGRAMS.—The Under 
Secretary, in consultation with the Secretaries of the mili-
tary departments and the commanders of the combatant 
commands, shall select not less than 2 and not more than 
3 at-risk programs for the pilot program established under 
this section. 
(c) SELECTION OF PROGRAM MANAGER.—Not later 
than 12 months after selecting at-risk programs under 
subsection (b), the Under Secretary shall select one pro-
gram manager to assume management of each selected at- 
risk programs. 
(d) EXISTING PERSONNEL.—Activities under the 
pilot program established under this section shall be car-
ried out by existing personnel of the Department of De-
fense. 
(e) EVALUATION METRICS.—Before selecting at-risk 
programs under subsection (b), the Under Secretary, in 
consultation with the Secretaries of the military depart-
ments and the commanders of the combatant commands, 
shall establish metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the 
pilot program and the activities under the pilot program. 
(f) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN REQUIRED.—Not later 
than 180 days after selection of all program managers 
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under subsection (c), the Under Secretary shall submit to 
the congressional defense committees a report that in-
cludes the following: 
(1) The definition of an at-risk program for 
purposes of the pilot program. 
(2) The at-risk programs selected under sub-
section (b) and a description of the technology to be 
developed under such programs. 
(3) The metrics to be used in evaluating the ef-
fectiveness of the at-risk program. 
(g) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 
2027, the Under Secretary shall submit to the congres-
sional defense committees a report containing the fol-
lowing elements: 
(1) Initial results of the pilot program, includ-
ing challenges and successes. 
(2) A recommendation on whether the pilot pro-
gram should be extended, expanded, or made perma-
nent. 
(3) Recommendations for changes to applicable 
statutes, regulations, or policies to support the pilot 
program. 
(h) TERMINATION.—The pilot program established 
under subsection (a), and all activities under such pilot 
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program shall terminate not later than December 31, 
2028. 
(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘at-risk program’’ means a De-
partment of Defense program for the rapid fielding 
of technology that is determined by the Under Sec-
retary to be to be at-risk due to failures or delays 
in reaching technical milestones. 
(2) The term ‘‘Under Secretary’’ means the 
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and 
Sustainment of the Department of Defense. 
Subtitle D—Provisions Relating to 
Supply Chains and Domestic 
Sourcing 
SEC. 841. ENHANCING REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION 
RELATING TO SUPPLY CHAIN RISK. 
Section 3252 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(1) consulting with procurement or other rel-
evant officials of the covered agency;’’; 
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(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘with the 
concurrence of the Under Secretary of Defense 
for Acquisition and Sustainment,’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(A) a summary of the risk assessment 
that serves as the basis for the written deter-
mination required by paragraph (2); and’’; 
(ii) by striking subparagraphs (B) and 
(C); and 
(iii) by redesignating subparagraph 
(D) as subparagraph (B); 
(2) by striking subsection (c); and 
(3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 
subsections (c) and (d), respectively. 
SEC. 842. AMENDMENT TO REQUIREMENT TO BUY STRA-
TEGIC MATERIALS CRITICAL TO NATIONAL 
SECURITY FROM AMERICAN SOURCES. 
Section 4863 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (d)(1)(B), by inserting ‘‘quali-
fying’’ before ‘‘foreign’’; and 
(2) in subsection (m), by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph: 
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‘‘(11) The term ‘qualifying foreign government’ 
means the government of a country with which the 
United States has in effect a reciprocal defense pro-
curement memorandum of understanding entered 
into pursuant to section 4851 of this title.’’. 
SEC. 843. MODIFICATION TO MISCELLANEOUS LIMITA-
TIONS ON THE PROCUREMENT OF GOODS 
OTHER THAN UNITED STATES GOODS. 
Section 4864(a)(2) of title 10, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(G) Diesel engines that operate at a max-
imum of not greater than 1200 revolutions per 
minute and are capable of generating a power 
output of greater than 3500 kilowatts.’’. 
SEC. 844. RISK MANAGEMENT FOR DEPARTMENT OF DE-
FENSE PHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLY CHAINS. 
Section 860(a) of the James M. Inhofe National De-
fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 
117–263; 136 Stat. 2734; 10 U.S.C. 3241 note prec.) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, tempera-
ture exposure throughout the supply chain process,’’ 
before ‘‘and final drug products’’; and 
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(2) in paragraph (3)(A), by inserting ‘‘, includ-
ing temperature monitoring throughout the supply 
chain’’ after ‘‘of drugs’’. 
SEC. 845. INCLUSION OF RECYCLED MATERIALS IN DOMES-
TIC PREFERENCE FOR STRATEGIC AND CRIT-
ICAL MATERIALS. 
Section 848(b) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 
(Public Law 116–283; 134 Stat. 3769; 10 U.S.C. 4811 
note) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting after 
‘‘United States’’ the following: ‘‘, including 
processing of strategic and critical materials 
from recycled and reused minerals and met-
als,’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘, 
including from recycled and reused minerals 
and metals,’’ after ‘‘critical materials’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 
subparagraph (E); 
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘; 
and’’ and inserting a semicolon; and 
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(C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 
the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(D) the development of sources of supply 
for strategic and critical materials derived from 
recycled and reused minerals and metals; and’’. 
SEC. 846. REPORT RELATING TO CERTAIN DOMESTIC NON-
AVAILABILITY DETERMINATIONS. 
(a) REPORT ON PROCUREMENT OF FIRE-RESISTANT 
FIBER BLEND FABRIC.—Not later than 60 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and two years after 
such date, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the 
congressional defense committees a report that includes 
the following: 
(1) Information on the availability of a domes-
tic source for fire-resistant fiber blend fabric for the 
production of uniforms. 
(2) A description of any contract the Secretary 
or a Secretary of a military department has entered 
into for the procurement of fire-resistant fiber blend 
fabric from a domestic source in the three-year pe-
riod preceding the date of such report. 
(b) DOMESTIC NONAVAILABILITY DETERMINATION 
REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall sub-
mit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House 
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of Representatives and the Senate a report that includes 
a description of the following: 
(1) The process of making a domestic nonavail-
ability determination pursuant to section 4862(c) of 
title 10, United States Code, including the average 
length of time to make such determination. 
(2) The process of reviewing such determina-
tions, including factors that trigger the initiation of 
a review, and the timelines associated with each such 
review. 
(3) The process by which Secretary determines 
whether to terminate or modify such determination. 
SEC. 847. SUPPLY CHAIN ILLUMINATION. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall develop 
and implement incentives to encourage each contractor of 
the Department of Defense to implement and use policies, 
procedures, and tools that allow such contractor to assess 
and monitor the entire supply chain of such contractor to 
identify potential vulnerabilities and security and non-
compliance risks with respect to goods and services pro-
vided to the Department. 
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SEC. 848. STUDY ON USE OF OFF-THE-SHELF INFORMATION 
TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS FROM FOREIGN AD-
VERSARY COUNTRIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall 
carry out a study on the use by the Department of De-
fense of off-the-shelf information technology products that 
were manufactured, produced, or assembled by a covered 
company, including goods used by the Department that 
contain such an off-the-shelf information technology prod-
uct. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 
of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Defense 
shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the 
Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the 
findings of the study required by subsection (a). 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘commercially available off-the- 
shelf item’’ has the meaning given such term in sec-
tion 104 of title 41, United States Code. 
(2) The term ‘‘covered company’’ means— 
(A) an entity that is organized under the 
laws of or located in a foreign adversary coun-
try; 
(B) a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of an 
entity described in subparagraph (A); and 
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(C) an entity otherwise directly or indi-
rectly owned by or subject to the control of an 
entity described in subparagraph (A) or (B), as 
determined by the Secretary of Defense. 
(3) The term ‘‘foreign adversary country’’ has 
the meaning given the term ‘‘covered nation’’ in sec-
tion 4872(d) of title 10, United States Code. 
(4) The term ‘‘off-the-shelf information tech-
nology product’’ means a commercially available off- 
the-shelf item that can process, store, or transmit 
digital data. 
Subtitle E—Industrial Base Matters 
SEC. 851. ENTREPRENEURIAL INNOVATION PROJECT DES-
IGNATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) DESIGNATING
CERTAIN
SBIR
AND
STTR 
PROGRAMS
AS
ENTREPRENEURIAL
INNOVATION 
PROJECTS.—Chapter 303 of title 10, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after section 4067 the 
following new section: 
‘‘§ 4068. Entrepreneurial Innovation Project designa-
tions 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—During the first fiscal year be-
ginning after the date of the enactment of this section, 
and during each subsequent fiscal year, each Secretary 
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concerned, in consultation with each chief of an armed 
force under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned, 
shall designate not less than five eligible programs as En-
trepreneurial Innovation Projects. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—An eligible program seeking 
designation as an Entrepreneurial Innovation Project 
under this section shall submit to the Secretary concerned 
an application at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary concerned deter-
mines appropriate. 
‘‘(c) DESIGNATION CRITERIA.—In making designa-
tions under subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall 
consider— 
‘‘(1) the potential of the eligible program to— 
‘‘(A) advance the national security capa-
bilities of the United States and, in the case of 
the Coast Guard, the law enforcement capabili-
ties of the United States on the high seas and 
waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United 
States, including maritime domain awareness 
related to such law enforcement; 
‘‘(B) provide new technologies or proc-
esses, or new applications of existing tech-
nologies, that will enable new alternatives to ex-
isting programs; and 
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‘‘(C) provide future cost savings; 
‘‘(2) whether an advisory panel has rec-
ommended the eligible program for designation; and 
‘‘(3) such other criteria that the Secretary con-
cerned determines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(d) DESIGNATION BENEFITS.— 
‘‘(1) FUTURE-YEARS
DEFENSE
PROGRAM
IN-
CLUSION.—With respect to each designated pro-
gram, the Secretary of Defense shall include in the 
next future-years defense program the estimated ex-
penditures of such designated program. In the pre-
ceding sentence, the term ‘next future-years defense 
program’ means the future-years defense program 
submitted to Congress under section 221 of this title 
after the date on which such designated program is 
designated under subsection (a). 
‘‘(2) PROGRAMMING
PROPOSAL.—Each des-
ignated program shall be included by the Secretary 
concerned under a separate heading in any program-
ming proposals submitted to the Secretary of De-
fense. 
‘‘(3) PPBE 
COMPONENT.—Each designated 
program shall be considered by the Secretary con-
cerned as an integral part of the planning, program-
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ming, budgeting, and execution process of the De-
partment of Defense. 
‘‘(e) ENTREPRENEURIAL
INNOVATION
ADVISORY 
PANELS.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—For each military de-
partment and the Coast Guard, the Secretary con-
cerned shall establish an advisory panel that, start-
ing in the first fiscal year beginning after the date 
of the enactment of this section, and in each subse-
quent fiscal year, shall identify and recommend to 
the Secretary concerned for designation under sub-
section (a) eligible programs based on the criteria 
described in subsection (c)(1). 
‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(A) COMPOSITION.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Each advisory 
panel shall be composed of four members 
appointed by the Secretary concerned and 
one member appointed by the chief of the 
relevant armed force under the jurisdiction 
of the Secretary concerned. 
‘‘(ii) SECRETARY
CONCERNED
AP-
POINTMENTS.—The Secretary concerned 
shall appoint members to the advisory 
panel as follows: 
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‘‘(I) Three members who— 
‘‘(aa) have experience with 
private sector entrepreneurial in-
novation, including development 
and implementation of such inno-
vations into well-established mar-
kets; and 
‘‘(bb) are not employed by 
the Federal Government. 
‘‘(II) One member who is in the 
Senior Executive Service and— 
‘‘(aa) in the case of the advi-
sory panel for the Coast Guard, 
in the acquisition directorate es-
tablished under section 1101 of 
title 14; and 
‘‘(bb) in all other cases, in 
the acquisition workforce (as de-
fined in section 1705 of this title) 
of the relevant military depart-
ment. 
‘‘(iii) 
SERVICE
CHIEF
APPOINT-
MENT.—The chief of an armed force under 
the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned 
shall appoint to the advisory panel one 
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year thereafter, the member appointed 
under subparagraph (A)(iii). 
‘‘(ii) For the second year of operation 
of each such advisory panel, and every 
other year thereafter, the member ap-
pointed under subparagraph (A)(ii)(II). 
‘‘(D) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in an advi-
sory panel shall be filled in the same manner as 
the original appointment. 
‘‘(E) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—Members 
and staff of each advisory panel shall disclose 
to the relevant Secretary concerned, and such 
Secretary concerned shall mitigate to the extent 
practicable, any professional or organizational 
conflict of interest of such members or staff 
arising from service on the advisory panel. 
‘‘(F) COMPENSATION.— 
‘‘(i) PRIVATE SECTOR MEMBER COM-
PENSATION.—Except as provided in clause 
(ii), members of an advisory panel, and the 
support staff of such members, shall be 
compensated at a rate determined reason-
able by the Secretary concerned and shall 
be reimbursed in accordance with section 
5703 of title 5 for reasonable travel costs 
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and expenses incurred in performing duties 
as members of an advisory panel. 
‘‘(ii) PROHIBITION ON COMPENSATION 
OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Members of an 
advisory panel who are full-time officers or 
employees of the United States or Mem-
bers of Congress may not receive addi-
tional pay, allowances, or benefits by rea-
son of their service on an advisory panel. 
‘‘(3) SELECTION PROCESS.— 
‘‘(A) INITIAL SELECTION.—Each advisory 
panel shall select not less than ten eligible pro-
grams that have submitted an application under 
subsection (b). 
‘‘(B) PROGRAM PLANS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible pro-
gram selected under subparagraph (A) 
may submit to the advisory panel that se-
lected such eligible program a program 
plan containing the five-year goals, execu-
tion plans, schedules, and funding needs of 
such eligible program. 
‘‘(ii) SUPPORT.—Each Secretary con-
cerned shall, to the greatest extent prac-
ticable, provide eligible programs selected 
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under subparagraph (A) with access to in-
formation to support the development of 
the program plans described in clause (i). 
‘‘(C) FINAL
SELECTION.—Each advisory 
panel shall recommend to the Secretary con-
cerned for designation under subsection (a) not 
less than five eligible programs that submitted 
a program plan under subparagraph (B) to 
such advisory panel. If there are less than five 
such eligible programs, such advisory panel may 
recommend to the Secretary concerned for des-
ignation under subsection (a) less than five 
such eligible programs. 
‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATIVE
AND
TECHNICAL
SUP-
PORT.—The Secretary concerned shall provide the 
relevant advisory panel with such administrative 
support, staff, and technical assistance as the Sec-
retary concerned determines necessary for such advi-
sory panel to carry out it duties. 
‘‘(5) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Defense may 
use amounts available from the Department of De-
fense Acquisition Workforce Development Account 
established under section 1705 of this title to sup-
port the activities of advisory panels. 
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‘‘(f) REVOCATION
OF DESIGNATION.—If the Sec-
retary concerned determines that a designated program 
cannot reasonably meet the objectives of such designated 
program in the relevant programming proposal referred 
to in subsection (d)(2) or such objectives are irrelevant, 
such Secretary concerned may revoke the designation. 
‘‘(g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of De-
fense shall submit to Congress an annual report describing 
each designated program and the progress each designated 
program has made toward achieving the objectives of the 
designated program. 
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ADVISORY
PANEL.—The term ‘advisory 
panel’ means an advisory panel established under 
subsection (e)(1). 
‘‘(2) DESIGNATED PROGRAM.—The term ‘des-
ignated program’ means an eligible program that 
has been designated as an Entrepreneurial Innova-
tion Project under this section. 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PROGRAM.—The term ‘eligible 
program’ means work performed pursuant to a 
Phase III agreement (as such term is defined in sec-
tion 9(r)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
638(r)(2))).’’. 
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(2) TARGET CHAPTER TABLE OF SECTIONS.— 
The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 
303 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after the item related to section 4067 the 
following new item: 
‘‘4068. Entrepreneurial Innovation Project designations.’’. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT DEADLINE.—Not later than 
120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, each 
of the Secretaries concerned shall establish the advisory 
panels described in section 4068(e) of title 10, United 
States Code, as added by subsection (a). 
SEC. 852. MODIFICATION TO PROCUREMENT REQUIRE-
MENTS RELATING TO RARE EARTH ELE-
MENTS AND STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MATE-
RIALS. 
(a) MODIFICATION REGARDING ADVANCED BAT-
TERIES
IN DISCLOSURES CONCERNING RARE EARTH 
ELEMENTS AND STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MATERIALS 
BY CONTRACTORS OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—Sec-
tion 857 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Au-
thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117– 
263; 136 Stat. 2727; 10 U.S.C. 4811 note) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘permanent magnet’’ 
and inserting ‘‘permanent magnet, or an 
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advanced battery or advanced battery com-
ponent (as those terms are defined, respec-
tively, in section 40207(a) of the Infra-
structure Investment and Jobs Act (42 
U.S.C. 18741(a))),’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘of the magnet’’ and 
inserting ‘‘of the magnet, the advanced 
battery, or the advanced battery compo-
nent (as applicable)’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2), by amending to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—A disclosure under para-
graph (1) with respect to a system described in that 
paragraph shall include— 
‘‘(A) if the system includes a permanent 
magnet, an identification of the country or 
countries in which— 
‘‘(i) any rare earth elements and stra-
tegic and critical materials used in the 
magnet were mined; 
‘‘(ii) such elements and materials were 
refined into oxides; 
‘‘(iii) such elements and materials 
were made into metals and alloys; and 
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‘‘(2) The term ‘covered minerals’ means lith-
ium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Subsection (a) of 
such section 857 is further amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘provides the 
system’’ and inserting ‘‘provides the system as de-
scribed in paragraph (1)’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (4)(C), by striking ‘‘a senior 
acquisition executive’’ and inserting ‘‘a service acqui-
sition executive’’. 
SEC. 853. UPDATE AND EXTEND THE AUTHORIZATION OF 
DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT AND SERVICES FOR 
CONTRACTORS PROGRAM. 
(a) PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION AND REMOVAL OF 
LIMITATION.—Section 883 of the National Defense Au-
thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (10 U.S.C. 4291 note 
prec.) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking paragraph (2); and 
(B) by striking ‘‘CONTRACTS.—’’ through 
‘‘Any storage’’ and inserting ‘‘CONTRACTS.— 
Any storage’’; and 
(2) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘pilot pro-
gram’’ and all that follows through ‘‘of this Act’’ 
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and inserting the following: ‘‘program shall expire on 
December 31, 2039’’. 
(b) REMOVAL OF PILOT PROGRAM REFERENCES.— 
Such section is further amended— 
(1) in the section heading, by striking 
‘‘PILOT’’; 
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘eight-year 
pilot’’; and 
(3) in subsections (b), (d), (e), and (f) by strik-
ing ‘‘pilot’’ each place it appears. 
(c) EXPANSION.—Such section is further amended— 
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘WEAP-
ON SYSTEMS’’; 
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘for the pro-
duction, modification, maintenance, or repair of a 
weapon system that is’’; and 
(3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘described in 
subsection (a) are’’ and inserting ‘‘entered into by 
the Department include’’. 
(d) AMENDMENTS
TO REGULATIONS.—Subsection 
(d) of such section is further amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
(A)— 
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(i) by striking ‘‘the solicitation of of-
fers for a contract described in subsection 
(a),’’ and inserting ‘‘notifying a contractor 
or potential contractor’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘are to’’ and inserting 
‘‘may’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘to 
any contractor awarded the contract, but only’’; 
and 
(C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘to 
be made’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘shall in-
clude’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol-
lowing: ‘‘shall include a requirement that any failure 
by the contractor to perform the supported contract 
is not excusable based on use of the support con-
tract, and the contractor is to remain responsible for 
performance of the primary contract.’’. 
(e) REPEAL
OF
REPORT
REQUIREMENTS.—Sub-
section (f) of such section is further amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Not later 
than’’ and all that follows through ‘‘the Secretary’’ 
and inserting the following: ‘‘Not later than five 
years after the date of the enactment of the Na-
tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
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2025, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary’’; 
and 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Not later 
than’’ and all that follows through ‘‘the Comp-
troller’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘Not later than 
five years after the date of the enactment of the Na-
tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2025, and every 5 years thereafter, the Comp-
troller’’. 
SEC. 854. PROCUREMENT OF COVERED HEARING PROTEC-
TION DEVICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in co-
ordination with the head of the Hearing Center of Excel-
lence, may enter into one or more contracts to procure 
covered hearing protection devices for all members of the 
Armed Forces. 
(b) PRIORITIZATION.—The Secretary shall prioritize 
the award of such a contract to an offeror that— 
(1) is globally headquartered in the continental 
United States; and 
(2) is majority owned and operated by United 
States citizens. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) The term ‘‘covered hearing protection de-
vice’’ means a completely in-canal active hearing 
protection device— 
(A) that is a commercially available off- 
the-shelf item (as defined in section 104 of title 
41, United States Code); 
(B) with a minimum noise reduction rating 
of 25 decibels and a maximum output not to ex-
ceed 80 decibels; and 
(C) that has been previously identified, 
tested, and qualified by the Hearing Center of 
Excellence. 
(2) The term ‘‘Hearing Center of Excellence’’ 
means the center of excellence for hearing loss and 
auditory system injury established pursuant to sec-
tion 721 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 
110–417). 
SEC. 855. PROCUREMENT OF SECURE LITHIUM-ION BAT-
TERIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Defense is re-
quired to procure lithium-ion batteries produced in the 
United States or in allied nations, and cells that contain 
minimal Foreign Entity of Concern-sourced (Foreign En-
tity of Concern, derivative, successor, or affiliate) compo-
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nents or technology beginning in 2026 as specified in sub-
section (b). The percentages required in (b) apply to cells 
procured as end items or embedded within warfighting and 
support systems. 
(b) PERCENTAGES REQUIRED.—(1) Not less than 10 
percent of the total battery procurement of the Depart-
ment of Defense beginning in 2026. 
(2) Not less than 25 percent of the total battery pro-
curement of the Department of Defense beginning in 
2027. 
(3) Not less than 50 percent of the total battery pro-
curement of the Department of Defense beginning in 
2028. 
(4) Not less than 90 percent of the total battery pro-
curement of the Department of Defense beginning in 
2029. 
(c) SOURCING AND PRODUCTION.—For purposes of 
this section, a battery or cell shall be considered compliant 
with the rule in subsection (a) if— 
(1) the final product is assembled or manufac-
tured in the United States, Canada, United King-
dom, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, or 
Japan; 
(2) not less than 95 percent of the components 
of the cells by value originates from non-Foreign 
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Entity of Concern sources (Foreign Entity of Con-
cern, derivative, successor, or affiliate); and 
(3) the production of these batteries and cells 
does not require licensing of technology from a For-
eign Entity of Concern or its derivative, successor, 
or affiliate. 
(d) WAIVER.—If the batteries and cells cannot be 
produced which meet the requirements within subsections 
(b) and (c) at required quality, quantity, and reasonable 
cost, the Secretary of Defense may waive directed percent-
ages in subsection (b). 
SEC. 856. IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF MANUFACTURING INNO-
VATION INSTITUTES ON THE DEFENSE IN-
DUSTRIAL BASE. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit 
to the appropriate congressional committees an assess-
ment of the impact of continued investment in Depart-
ment of Defense sponsored manufacturing innovation in-
stitutes on the defense industrial base in the United 
States. 
SEC. 857. REPORT ON COMPETITION AND EQUIPMENT RE-
PAIR. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that it is integral that the military be able to fix 
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its own equipment, and that efforts deliberately designed 
to prevent the military end user from fixing equipment 
in the field harm our nation’s military readiness. 
(b) REPORT AND PLAN.—The Secretary of Defense 
shall submit to the Chair of the White House Competition 
Council the report required under clause (iii) of section 
5(s) of Executive Order 14036 titled ‘‘Executive Order on 
Promoting Competition in the American Economy’’. 
Subtitle F—Small Business Matters 
SEC. 861. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CONTRACTING GOALS 
FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED 
AND CONTROLLED BY VETERANS. 
Chapter 287 of part V of title 10, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘§ 3906. Small business concerns owned and con-
trolled by veterans: contracting goals 
‘‘(a) CONTRACTING GOALS.—In order to increase 
contracting opportunities for small business concerns 
owned and controlled by veterans, the Secretary shall es-
tablish a goal for each fiscal year for participation in De-
partment contracts (including subcontracts) by small busi-
ness concerns owned and controlled by veterans who are 
not service-disabled veterans that is not less than the Gov-
ernmentwide goal for that fiscal year for participation by 
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small business concerns owned and controlled by service- 
disabled veterans under section 15(g)(1) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)(1)). 
‘‘(b) SOLE SOURCE CONTRACTS
FOR CONTRACTS 
ABOVE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD.—For pur-
poses of meeting the goals under subsection (a) and in 
accordance with this section, a contracting officer may 
award a contract to a small business concern owned and 
controlled by veterans using procedures other than com-
petitive procedures if— 
‘‘(1) such concern is determined to be a respon-
sible source with respect to performance of such con-
tract opportunity; 
‘‘(2) the anticipated award price of the contract 
(including options) will not exceed the amounts es-
tablished in section 36(c)(2) of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 657f(c)(2)); and 
‘‘(3) in the estimation of the contracting officer, 
the contract award can be made at a fair and rea-
sonable price that offers best value to the United 
States. 
‘‘(c) USE OF RESTRICTED COMPETITION.—Except as 
provided in subsection (b), for purposes of meeting the 
goals under subsection (a) and in accordance with this sec-
tion, a contracting officer may award contracts on the 
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basis of competition restricted to small business concerns 
owned and controlled by veterans if the contracting officer 
has a reasonable expectation that two or more small busi-
ness concerns owned and controlled by veterans will sub-
mit offers and that the award can be made at a fair and 
reasonable price that offers best value to the United 
States. 
‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY
OF
SMALL
BUSINESS
CON-
CERNS.—A small business concern may be awarded a con-
tract under this section only if the small business concern 
and the veteran owner of the small business concern are 
listed in the database described in section 36(f)(1) of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657f(f)(1)). 
‘‘(e) SMALL BUSINESS ACT DEFINITIONS.—In this 
section, the terms ‘service-disabled veteran’, ‘small busi-
ness concern’, ‘small business concern owned and con-
trolled by veterans’, and ‘small business concern owned 
and controlled by service-disabled veterans’ have the 
meanings given, respectively, under section 3 of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).’’. 
SEC. 862. PARTICIPATION OF MILITARY RESEARCH AND 
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE STTR 
PROGRAM. 
(a) DEFINITION OF ‘‘RESEARCH INSTITUTION’’.— 
Section 9(e)(8) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
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638(e)(8)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘thereto)’’ the 
following: ‘‘, as well as any undergraduate, graduate, or 
postgraduate degree-granting military research or edu-
cational institution established under title 10, United 
States Code’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Such section is fur-
ther amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘section 4(5)’’ and inserting 
‘‘section 4(3)’’; 
(2) by inserting ‘‘(15 U.S.C. 3703(3))’’ after 
‘‘of 1980’’; and 
(3) by striking ‘‘section 35(c)(1) of the Office 
of Federal Procurement Policy Act’’ and inserting 
‘‘section 1303(a) of title 41, United States Code’’. 
SEC. 863. TRAINING ON INCREASING FEDERAL CONTRACT 
AWARDS TO SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS 
OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY SERVICE-DIS-
ABLED VETERANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of Defense fails 
to meet the goal for participation by small business con-
cerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans es-
tablished in section 15(g)(1)(A)(ii) of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)(1)(A)(ii)) for the Department of 
Defense for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall, in consulta-
tion with the head of the Office of Veterans Business De-
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velopment of the Small Business Administration, provide 
training to the relevant acquisition personnel on how to 
increase the number of contracts awarded to small busi-
ness concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled 
veterans (as defined in section 3(q) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 
632(q)). 
(b) TIMING.—The training described in subsection 
(a) shall be delivered to the relevant acquisition personnel 
not later than 90 days after the date on which the Sec-
retary of Defense has failed to meet the goal described 
in such subsection. 
SEC. 864. ACCESSIBILITY AND CLARITY IN COVERED NO-
TICES FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each covered notice shall be writ-
ten— 
(1) in a manner that is clear, concise, and ac-
cessible to a small business concern (as defined 
under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 10 
U.S.C. 632)); and 
(2) in a manner consistent, to the extent prac-
ticable, with the Federal plain language guidelines 
established pursuant to the Plain Writing Act of 
2010 (5 U.S.C. 301 note). 
(b) INCLUSION OF KEY WORDS IN COVERED NO-
TICES.—Each covered notice shall, to the maximum extent 
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practicable, include key words in the description of the 
covered notice such that a small business concern seeking 
contract opportunities using the single Government-wide 
point of entry described under section 1708 of title 41, 
United States Code, can easily identify and understand 
such covered notice. 
(c) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 
shall issue rules to carry out this section. 
(d) COVERED NOTICE DEFINED.—In this section, 
the term ‘‘covered notice’’ means a notice pertaining to 
small business concerns published by the Secretary of De-
fense or a Secretary of a military department on the single 
Government-wide point of entry described under section 
1708 of title 41, United States Code. 
SEC. 865. EXPANSION OF PILOT PROGRAM FOR ACCESS TO 
SHARED CLASSIFIED COMMERCIAL INFRA-
STRUCTURE. 
(a) PILOT PROGRAM EXPANSION.—Not later than 
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Defense shall, under an existing pilot program 
of the Department of Defense described in subsection 
(b)(1), establish not fewer than six new locations at which 
small business concerns, contractors of the Department of 
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Defense, and institutions of higher education may access 
shared commercial classified infrastructure to— 
(1) expand the access of small business con-
cerns, contractors of the Department of Defense, 
and institutions of higher education to secret/collat-
eral accredited facilities and sensitive compart-
mented information facilities for the purpose of pro-
viding such concerns, contractors, and institutions, 
as contractors of the Department, with a facility to 
securely perform work under contracts involving ac-
cess to classified information; 
(2) increase opportunities for small businesses 
concerns, contractors of the Department of Defense, 
and institutions of higher education that have been 
issued a facility clearance to apply for funding from 
the Government; 
(3) align the locations of access to shared com-
mercial classified infrastructure under such pilot 
program under which the Secretary carries out this 
subsection with the existing facilities of the innova-
tion organizations of the Department of Defense and 
central locations of the national security innovation 
base; and 
(4) identify and address legislative and policy 
barriers preventing broader use of shared classified 
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commercial infrastructure by small business con-
cerns, contractors of the Department of Defense, 
and institutions of higher education, including access 
to required information technology systems, accredi-
tation secret/collateral accredited facilities and sen-
sitive compartmented information facilities, and 
timelines for such accreditation and use by such con-
cerns, contractors, and institutions. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) EXISTING PILOT PROGRAM.—The pilot pro-
gram described in this paragraph is a pilot program 
of the Department of Defense under which there 
have been establishment of locations at which small 
business concerns, contractors of the Department of 
Defense, and institutions of higher education may 
access shared commercial classified infrastructure. 
(2) ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS.—In carrying out 
subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall— 
(A) issue policies governing and guidance 
on the process and timelines for establishing lo-
cations shared commercial classified infrastruc-
ture under the pilot program described in para-
graph (1), including how such locations may ob-
tain facility clearances and access to relevant 
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classified networks of the Department of De-
fense; and 
(B) update and streamline the processes of 
the Department of Defense for approving agree-
ments for the shared or joint use of commercial 
classified infrastructure to facilitate the access 
of small business concerns, contractors of the 
Department of Defense, and institutions of 
higher education to classified environments. 
(c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after 
the date on which the Secretary of Defense establishes the 
locations required under subsection (a), and annually 
thereafter until 2028, the Secretary shall submit to the 
congressional defense committees a report on the estab-
lishment of such locations under this section, including— 
(1) a list of all active and open requests for the 
accreditation of facilities to process classified infor-
mation made pursuant to the pilot program under 
which the Secretary established such locations made 
by an entity described in subsection (a)(1), including 
the date on which such entity properly submitted 
such request to the Department and to the relevant 
facility accreditation agency; 
(2) metrics on the use of the locations estab-
lished under such pilot program at which small busi-
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ness concerns, contractors of the Department of De-
fense, and institutions of higher education may ac-
cess shared commercial classified infrastructure es-
tablished, including the number of small businesses 
concerns, institutions of higher education, contrac-
tors of the Department of Defense, and other enti-
ties that have accessed shared commercial classified 
infrastructure at such locations; 
(3) any actions taken by the Secretary of De-
fense to update and streamline the processes of the 
Department of Defense described in subsection 
(b)(2)(B); and 
(4) any plans for the establishment of addi-
tional such locations under such pilot program pilot 
program locations that will align with existing inno-
vation organizations of the Department of Defense, 
geographic areas with limited facilities at which clas-
sified information may be accessed, and central loca-
tions of the national security innovation base. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 
meaning given such term under section 3 of the 
Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632); 
(2) the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 101(a) 
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of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1001(a)); and 
(3) the term ‘‘shared commercial classified in-
frastructure’’ means fully managed, shared, infra-
structure for accessing classified information and as-
sociated services that are operated by entity other 
than the Department of Defense for the benefit of 
employees of the Government and employees of con-
tractors of the Department authorized to access 
such information and who are located in geographic 
areas with limited facilities at which such individuals 
may access such information. 
SEC. 866. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING RELATING 
TO DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CRITICAL 
TECHNOLOGY AREA OPPORTUNITIES FOR 
SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense and the 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration (in 
this section referred to as the ‘‘covered officials’’) shall— 
(1) increase information sharing on opportuni-
ties available to small business concerns for potential 
contract awards by the Department of Defense for 
critical technology areas; and 
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(2) improve awareness of small business con-
cerns with respect to critical technology area oppor-
tunities within the Department of Defense. 
(b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING OR AGREE-
MENT.—The covered officials shall carry out and coordi-
nate the activities described in subsection (a) by entering 
into one or more memoranda or agreements, as jointly de-
termined by the covered officials. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 
on which the covered officials enter into the first memo-
randum or agreement under subsection (b), and annually 
thereafter, the covered officials shall submit to Congress 
a report detailing the effects of— 
(1) such memorandum or agreement; and 
(2) any other memorandum or agreement en-
tered into in the previous twelve months. 
(d) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN DEFINED.—In this 
section, the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the mean-
ing given such term under section 3 of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 632). 
SEC. 
867. 
COLLABORATE 
MEMORANDUM 
OF 
UNDER-
STANDING REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Adminis-
trator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development of 
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the Small Business Administration and the Director of 
Small Business Programs of the Department of Defense 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a report on the memorandum of understanding (referred 
to in this section as the ‘‘MOU’’) between the Small Busi-
ness Administration and the Department of Defense en-
tered into on December 2, 2022. Such report shall include 
the following: 
(1) The status of activities specified in clause 
(1) of part III of the MOU. 
(2) A summary of the lessons learned specified 
in clause (1)(b) of part III of the MOU. 
(3) An analysis of the activities and efficacy of 
those activities specified in clause (3) of part III of 
the MOU, including any nexus related to small busi-
ness certifications and use of contracting authorities 
at the Department of Defense. 
(4) A description of the training and events 
specified in clause (5) of part III of the MOU. 
(5) A summary of how the MOU prevents small 
business concerns from receiving duplicative assist-
ance or contradictory or confusing information from 
covered centers. 
(6) A discussion of the sufficiency of the MOU 
to achieve the goals to promote entrepreneurship 
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and small business development nationally and lo-
cally and maximize participation in government con-
tracting. 
(7) Any recommended changes to existing laws 
or regulations that would enhance the Parties’ abil-
ity to reach the MOU’s goals. 
(8) Any additional information the Parties 
deem necessary. 
(b) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMITTEES 
DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con-
gressional committees’’ means— 
(1) the Committees on Armed Services and 
Small Business of the House of Representatives; and 
(2) the Committees on Armed Services and 
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate. 
SEC. 868. MODIFICATION TO INITIATIVES TO SUPPORT 
SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE NATIONAL TECH-
NOLOGY AND INDUSTRIAL BASE. 
Section 861 of William M. (Mac) Thornberry Na-
tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 
U.S.C. 4901 note; Public Law 116–283; 134 Stat. 3775) 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
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(i) by inserting ‘‘the Secretary of De-
fense’’ before ‘‘shall update’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘, the Committee on 
Small Business of the House of Represent-
atives, and the Committee on Small Busi-
ness and Entrepreneurship of the Senate’’ 
after ‘‘congressional defense committees’’; 
and 
(B) in paragraph (2)(A)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘biennially’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘annually’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘, the Committee on 
Small Business of the House of Represent-
atives, and the Committee on Small Busi-
ness and Entrepreneurship of the Senate’’ 
after ‘‘congressional defense committees’’; 
and 
(2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 
following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than October 
1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the Assistant Sec-
retary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy shall 
submit to the congressional defense committees, the 
Committee on Small Business of the House of Rep-
resentatives, and the Committee on Small Business 
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and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report that in-
cludes the following for the year covered by the re-
port: 
‘‘(A) A description of activities undertaken 
pursuant to this section. 
‘‘(B) An analysis of effect on the participa-
tion of small businesses in Department of De-
fense contracts as a result of implementation of 
the small business strategy required under sec-
tion 4901 of title 10, United States Code. 
‘‘(C) A description of efforts by the Sec-
retary of Defense to increase participation of 
small businesses in Department of Defense con-
tracts through the small business strategy. 
‘‘(4) SMALL
BUSINESS
STRATEGY
REPORT.— 
Beginning with the report due October 1, 2029, and 
every four years thereafter, the Assistant Secretary 
of Defense for Industrial Base Policy shall submit to 
the congressional defense committees, the Committee 
on Small Business of the House of Representatives, 
and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepre-
neurship of the Senate a report on overall efficacy 
of the small business strategy required under such 
section 4901, including trends and data analysis for 
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the period covered by the report relating to imple-
mentation and outcomes of the strategy.’’. 
SEC. 869. BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM. 
Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
657b) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) COVERED INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In this 
subsection, the term ‘covered individual’ means— 
‘‘(A) a member of the Armed Forces, in-
cluding the National Guard or Reserves; 
‘‘(B) an individual who is participating in 
the Transition Assistance Program established 
under section 1144 of title 10, United States 
Code; 
‘‘(C) an individual who— 
‘‘(i) served on active duty in any 
branch of the Armed Forces, including the 
National Guard or Reserves; and 
‘‘(ii) was discharged or released from 
such service under conditions other than 
dishonorable; and 
‘‘(D) a spouse or dependent of an indi-
vidual described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 
(C). 
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‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—During the period be-
ginning on the date of enactment of this subsection 
and ending on September 30, 2028, the Adminis-
trator shall carry out a program to be known as the 
‘Boots to Business Program’ to provide entrepre-
neurship training to covered individuals. 
‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Boots to Busi-
ness Program are to— 
‘‘(A) provide assistance and in-depth train-
ing to covered individuals interested in business 
ownership; and 
‘‘(B) provide covered individuals with the 
tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to identify 
a business opportunity, draft a business plan, 
identify sources of capital, connect with local 
resources for small business concerns, and start 
up a small business concern. 
‘‘(4) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Boots to Busi-
ness Program may include— 
‘‘(i) a presentation providing exposure 
to the considerations involved in self-em-
ployment and ownership of a small busi-
ness concern; 
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‘‘(ii) an online, self-study course fo-
cused on the basic skills of entrepreneur-
ship, the language of business, and the 
considerations involved in self-employment 
and ownership of a small business concern; 
‘‘(iii) an in-person classroom instruc-
tion component providing an introduction 
to the foundations of self employment and 
ownership of a small business concern; and 
‘‘(iv) 
in-depth 
training 
delivered 
through online instruction, including an 
online course that leads to the creation of 
a business plan. 
‘‘(B) 
COLLABORATION.—The 
Adminis-
trator may— 
‘‘(i) collaborate with public and pri-
vate entities to develop course curricula for 
the Boots to Business Program; and 
‘‘(ii) modify program components in 
coordination with entities participating in a 
Warriors in Transition program, as defined 
in section 738(e) of the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 
(10 U.S.C. 1071 note). 
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‘‘(C) USE OF RESOURCE PARTNERS AND 
DISTRICT OFFICES.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 
shall— 
‘‘(I) ensure that Veteran Busi-
ness Outreach Centers regularly par-
ticipate, on a nationwide basis, in the 
Boots to Business Program; and 
‘‘(II) to the maximum extent 
practicable, use district offices of the 
Administration and a variety of other 
resource partners and entities in ad-
ministering the Boots to Business 
Program. 
‘‘(ii) GRANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying 
out clause (i), the Administrator may make 
grants, subject to the availability of appro-
priations in advance, to Veteran Business 
Outreach Centers, other resource partners, 
or other entities to carry out components 
of the Boots to Business Program. 
‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF 
DEFENSE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.— 
The Administrator shall make available to the 
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 
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Labor information regarding the Boots to Busi-
ness Program, including all course materials 
and outreach materials related to the Boots to 
Business Program, for inclusion on the websites 
of the Department of Defense and the Depart-
ment of Labor relating to the Transition Assist-
ance Program, in the Transition Assistance 
Program manual, and in other relevant mate-
rials available for distribution from the Sec-
retary of Defense and the Secretary of Labor. 
‘‘(E) AVAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF 
VETERANS AFFAIRS.—In consultation with the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Adminis-
trator shall make available for distribution and 
display on the website of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs and at local facilities of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs outreach mate-
rials regarding the Boots to Business Program, 
which shall, at a minimum— 
‘‘(i) describe the Boots to Business 
Program and the services provided; and 
‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 
for participating in the Boots to Business 
Program. 
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‘‘(F) AVAILABILITY
TO
OTHER
PARTICI-
PATING
AGENCIES.—The Administrator shall 
ensure information regarding the Boots to 
Business program, including all course mate-
rials and outreach materials related to the 
Boots to Business Program, is made available 
to other participating agencies in the Transition 
Assistance Program and upon request of other 
agencies. 
‘‘(5) COMPETITIVE
BIDDING
PROCEDURES.— 
The Administration shall use relevant competitive 
bidding procedures with respect to any contract or 
cooperative agreement executed by the Administra-
tion under the Boots to Business Program. 
‘‘(6) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE OF FUNDING OP-
PORTUNITY.—Not later than 30 days before the 
deadline for submitting applications for any funding 
opportunity under the Boots to Business Program, 
the Administration shall publish a notice of the 
funding opportunity. 
‘‘(7) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this subsection, and not 
less frequently than annually thereafter, the Admin-
istrator shall submit to the Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 
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the Committee on Small Business of the House of 
Representatives a report on the performance and ef-
fectiveness of the Boots to Business Program, 
which— 
‘‘(A) may be included as part of another 
report submitted to such committees by the Ad-
ministrator related to the Office of Veterans 
Business Development; and 
‘‘(B) shall summarize available information 
relating to— 
‘‘(i) grants awarded under paragraph 
(4)(C); 
‘‘(ii) the total cost of the Boots to 
Business Program; 
‘‘(iii) the number of program partici-
pants using each component of the Boots 
to Business Program; 
‘‘(iv) the completion rates for each 
component of the Boots to Business Pro-
gram; 
‘‘(v) to the extent possible— 
‘‘(I) the demographics of pro-
gram participants, to include gender, 
age, race, ethnicity, and relationship 
to military; 
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‘‘(II) the number of program 
participants that connect with a dis-
trict office of the Administration, a 
Veteran Business Outreach Center, or 
another resource partner of the Ad-
ministration; 
‘‘(III) the number of program 
participants that start a small busi-
ness concern; 
‘‘(IV) the results of the Boots to 
Business and Boots to Business 
Reboot course quality surveys con-
ducted by the Office of Veterans Busi-
ness Development before and after at-
tending each of those courses, includ-
ing a summary of any comments re-
ceived from program participants; 
‘‘(V) the results of the Boots to 
Business Program outcome surveys 
conducted by the Office of Veterans 
Business Development, including a 
summary of any comments received 
from program participants; and 
‘‘(VI) the results of other ger-
mane participant satisfaction surveys; 
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‘‘(C) an evaluation of the overall effective-
ness of the Boots to Business Program based 
on each geographic region covered by the Ad-
ministration during the most recent fiscal year; 
‘‘(D) an assessment of additional perform-
ance outcome measures for the Boots to Busi-
ness Program, as identified by the Adminis-
trator; 
‘‘(E) any recommendations of the Adminis-
trator for improvement of the Boots to Busi-
ness Program, which may include expansion of 
the types of individuals who are covered individ-
uals; 
‘‘(F) an explanation of how the Boots to 
Business Program has been integrated with 
other transition programs and related resources 
of the Administration and other Federal agen-
cies; and 
‘‘(G) any additional information the Ad-
ministrator determines necessary.’’. 
SEC. 869A. REPORT ON BUNDLED CONTRACTS OF THE DE-
PARTMENT OF DEFENSE. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit 
to the congressional defense committees a report on— 
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(1) the effects of awarding bundled contracts 
(as defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 632)) on the Department of Defense and 
small business concerns (as defined under such sec-
tion); and 
(2) the potential effects of reducing the number 
of bundled contracts awarded. 
Subtitle G—Other Matters 
SEC. 871. CLARIFICATION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY FOR OR-
GANIZATIONAL 
AND 
CONSULTANT 
CON-
FLICTS OF INTEREST. 
Section 9.503 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation 
shall be revised to require that— 
(1) a request for a waiver under such section 
include a written justification for such waiver; and 
(2) the head of a Federal agency may not dele-
gate such waiver authority below the level of the 
deputy head of such agency. 
SEC. 872. PILOT PROGRAM ON PAYMENT OF COSTS FOR DE-
NIED GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OF-
FICE BID PROTESTS. 
(a) PILOT PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 
Defense shall carry out a pilot program to determine the 
effectiveness of requiring a contractor to reimburse the 
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Department of Defense for costs incurred in processing 
covered protests. 
(b) DURATION.—The pilot program under subsection 
(a) shall— 
(1) begin on the date that is two years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act; and 
(2) end on the date that is five years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 
on which the pilot program under subsection (a) ends, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed Serv-
ices of the House of Representatives and the Senate a re-
port assessing the feasibility of making permanent such 
pilot program. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘covered protest’’ means a final 
bid protest— 
(A) dated during the period beginning on 
October 1, 2026, and ending on September 30, 
2029; and 
(B) filed by a party with revenues in ex-
cess of $250,000,000 (based on fiscal year 
2024 constant dollars) during the fiscal year 
immediately preceding the fiscal year in which 
such party filed such bid protest. 
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(2) The term ‘‘final bid protest’’ means a bid 
protest that was denied in an opinion issued by the 
Government Accountability Office and such denial— 
(A) has not been appealed and is no longer 
appealable because the time for taking an ap-
peal has expired; or 
(B) has been appealed and the appeals 
process for which is completed. 
SEC. 873. PROMULGATE GUIDANCE RELATING TO CERTAIN 
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CONTRACTS. 
Not later than January 31, 2025, the Secretary of 
Defense shall issue guidance on the governance and over-
sight of the contracts of the Department of Defense that 
support or enable sensitive activities. 
SEC. 874. FRAMEWORK FOR THE EFFICIENT AND SECURE 
PROCUREMENT OF FOOD SERVICE PROD-
UCTS. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) disposable food service products procured 
for use by the Department of Defense, whether for 
use within or outside the continental United States, 
should 
be 
produced 
in 
the 
United 
States, 
compostable, and minimize the amount of products 
acquired from sources in strategic competitors iden-
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tified in the most recent National Defense Strategy 
submitted under section 113(g) of title 10, United 
States Code; and 
(2) any deviations from the aim identified in 
paragraph (1) should receive the highest levels of 
scrutiny by the Secretary of Defense. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall 
submit to the congressional defense committees a report 
that includes— 
(1) the timeline required to implement a re-
quirement, including amending regulations, for the 
Department of Defense that all disposable food serv-
ice products acquired for the Department of Defense 
are produced in the United States, compostable, and 
minimize the amount of products acquired from 
sources in strategic competitors identified in the 
most recent National Defense Strategy submitted 
under section 113(g) of title 10, United States Code; 
(2) a list of existing laws and regulations estab-
lishing domestic acquisition preferences or require-
ments that may be affected by the requirement de-
scribed in paragraph (1), and recommendations to 
resolve any conflicts between such laws and regula-
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tions and the requirement described in paragraph 
(1); 
(3) a process for waiving the requirement de-
scribed in paragraph (1) on a case-by-case basis, in-
cluding a framework for delegating such waiver au-
thority below the Office of the Secretary of Defense; 
(4) recommendations for the dollar values of 
contracts or other agreements at which the require-
ment described in paragraph (1) and the waiver de-
scribed in paragraph (3), respectively, should apply; 
(5) an assessment of the infrastructure avail-
able in the Department of Defense to implement the 
requirement described in paragraph (1), including 
an assessment of the cost and a timeline for the de-
velopment of the infrastructure that would be re-
quired to implement such requirement; and 
(6) an assessment of the availability of food 
services products that are compostable. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘disposable food service product’’ 
means a food service product designed to be dis-
posed after a single use; 
(2) the term ‘‘food service product’’ means a 
product for serving or transporting prepared foods 
or beverages; 
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(3) the term ‘‘produced in the United States’’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 70912 
of the Build America, Buy America Act (Public Law 
117–58; 41 U.S.C. 8301 note); and 
(4) the term ‘‘compostable’’, with respect to a 
product, means that such product is composed of or-
ganic materials and which will decompose into or 
otherwise become part of usable compost in a safe 
and timely manner in an appropriate composting fa-
cility. 
SEC. 875. PLAN FOR IDENTIFYING AND REPLACING SY-
RINGES OF CONCERN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of De-
fense, in coordination with the Director of the Defense Lo-
gistics Agency and the Director of the Defense Health 
Agency, shall develop and implement a plan to review all 
medical syringes in the inventories and stockpiles of the 
Department of Defense and current and planned acquisi-
tions of the Department to— 
(1) identify medical syringes that have been 
subject to a Food and Drug Administration Import 
Alert or meet the conditions of a Food and Drug 
Administration Safety Communication; and 
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(2) replace such medical syringes with medical 
syringes produced domestically or produced in part-
ners or allies of the United States. 
(b) COORDINATED PLAN CONTENTS.—The Secretary 
of Defense shall include in the plan required under sub-
section (a) the following: 
(1) An identification of any medical syringes in 
the inventories and stockpiles of the Department of 
Defense and which the Department is acquiring or 
plans to acquire that have been subject to a Food 
and Drug Administration Import Alert or meet the 
conditions of a Food and Drug Administration Safe-
ty Communication made in the past five years. 
(2) A process for the Department of Defense to 
replace the medical syringes described in paragraph 
(1) that are in the inventories and stockpiles of the 
Department with those that— 
(A) are produced domestically or in part-
ners or allies of the United States; 
(B) are not subject to an Import Alert de-
scribed in such paragraph; and 
(C) do not meet the conditions of a Safety 
Communication described in such paragraph. 
(3) A process for the Department of Defense to 
cease the acquisition of medical syringes described in 
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paragraph (1) and ensure that the Department ac-
quires only medical syringes that— 
(A) are produced domestically or in part-
ners or allies of the United States; 
(B) are not subject to an Import Alert de-
scribed in such paragraph; and 
(C) do not meet the conditions of a Safety 
Communication described in such paragraph. 
(4) A process enabling the Department of De-
fense to— 
(A) track Food and Drug Administration 
Import Alerts and Safety Communications re-
garding medical syringes; 
(B) review the inventories, stockpiles, and 
current and planned acquisitions of the Depart-
ment for medical syringes that are subject to 
such Import Alerts or that meet the conditions 
of such Safety Communications; and 
(C) replace such medical syringes with 
medical syringes that are produced domestically 
or produced in partners or allies of the United 
States. 
(c) REPORT.—Upon developing the plan required by 
subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall submit to 
the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the 
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House of Representatives a report describing such plan, 
including— 
(1) the number of medical syringes, if any, in 
the inventories and stockpiles of the Department of 
Defense that have been subject to a Food and Drug 
Administration Import Alert or meet the conditions 
of a Food and Drug Administration Safety Commu-
nication made in the past five years; 
(2) a description of any planned or ongoing ac-
quisition by the Department of medical syringes that 
have been subject to a Food and Drug Administra-
tion Import Alert or meet the conditions of a Food 
and Drug Administration Safety Communication 
made in the past five years, including acquisitions 
with respect to which contracts have not yet been 
awarded and existing agreements under which such 
syringes may be acquired for the Department; 
(3) for medical syringes described in paragraph 
(1) or with respect to which the Department is car-
rying out an acquisition described in paragraph (2), 
the product name, manufacturer, and country of ori-
gin; and 
(4) an explanation of the process described in 
subsection (b)(4) that will be implemented under 
such plan. 
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SEC. 876. REPORT ON DOMESTIC SITES FOR RARE EARTH 
ELEMENT MINING. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense shall 
submit to the congressional defense committees a report 
containing a list of domestic sites— 
(1) that have a high potential for containing de-
posits of rare earth elements; 
(2) where new or additional mining operations 
for rare earth elements could be established; or 
(3) that are suitable for mining for rare earth 
elements, as determined by a feasibility study con-
ducted by the Defense Logistics Agency. 
SEC. 877. PROHIBITION ON ENTERING INTO CONTRACTS 
WITH A PERSON ENGAGED IN A BOYCOTT OF 
THE STATE OF ISRAEL. 
The Secretary of Defense may not enter into a con-
tract with a person if such person is engaged in an activity 
that is politically motivated and is intended to penalize 
or otherwise limit significant commercial relations specifi-
cally with Israel or persons doing business in Israel or in 
Israeli-controlled territories. 
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SEC. 878. IMPLEMENTATION OF GAO RECOMMENDATIONS 
RELATING TO SPARE PARTS IN GLOBAL 
SPARES POOL RELATING TO F-35 PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, acting 
through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition 
and Sustainment, shall take such actions as may be nec-
essary to implement the recommendations of the Comp-
troller General of the United States contained in the re-
port entitled, ‘‘F-35 Program: DOD Needs Better Ac-
countability for Global Spare Parts and Reporting of 
Losses Worth Millions’’. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 
a report to Congress on the progress of the implementa-
tion required by subsection (a). 
SEC. 879. OPEN INTERFACE STANDARDS FOR CONTRACTS 
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall make pub-
licly available the open interface standards for contracts 
awarded by the Secretary, unless the service acquisition 
executive (as defined in section 101 of title 10, United 
States Code) with respect to a specific contract submits 
to the Secretary a request to not disclose such standards. 
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SEC. 880. ASSESSMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH GLOBAL 
HOUSEHOLD GOODS CONTRACT REQUIRE-
MENTS. 
(a) ASSESSMENT.—The Commander of the United 
States Transportation Command shall carry out an as-
sessment of the performance of contractors under the 
Global Household Goods Contract in meeting the applica-
ble requirements for capacity and quality in such contract 
during the period beginning on May 1, 2025, and ending 
on August 31, 2025. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 11 months after the 
date of the enactment of this section, the Commander of 
the United States Transportation Command shall submit 
to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and 
the House of Representatives a report on the findings of 
the assessment required under subsection (a). 
SEC. 881. REPORTS ON NATIONAL SECURITY RISKS. 
(a) GAO REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 
the United States shall submit to Congress a report 
containing the results of a study on the national se-
curity risks posed by consulting firms who simulta-
neously contract with the Federal Government and 
the Chinese government or its proxies or affiliates. 
(2) CONTENTS.—In performing the study under 
paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall— 
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(A) assess the extent to which Federal 
agencies collect information on contracts per-
formed on behalf of the Chinese government or 
its proxies or affiliates by consulting firms that 
hold or have held contracts with the Federal 
Government, and whether such information in-
cludes specific projects and deliverables of such 
contracts; 
(B) evaluate the extent to which selected 
Federal agencies, to include at a minimum the 
Department of Defense and elements of the In-
telligence Community, have assessed the risks 
posed by American consulting firms’ work for 
the Chinese government and its proxies or af-
filiates, including an assessment of risk of delib-
erate or inadvertent sharing of Federal Govern-
ment information that may be used for Chinese 
economic or military advantage; 
(C) identify relevant contract clauses, pro-
cedures, and information used by Federal agen-
cies to identify, evaluate and resolve organiza-
tional conflicts of interest when awarding con-
sulting contracts; 
(D) assess the extent to which agencies ex-
perience challenges when identifying, evaluating 
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and resolving organizational conflicts of inter-
est, including determining whether the offeror 
or potential contractor also performs work for 
China; and 
(E) identify steps federal agencies take to 
monitor contractor compliance with any con-
tract clauses, terms or conditions intended to 
resolve identified conflicts of interest. 
(b) REPORT ON CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—The Sec-
retary of Defense shall annually submit to Congress a re-
port on— 
(1) the implementation of section 812 of the 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2024 (10 U.S.C. 4501 note prec.); and 
(2) how the Department of Defense is defining 
the term ‘‘entities related to the Chinese or Russian 
governments’’ and whether, and to what extent, the 
Secretary is investigating conflicts of interest be-
tween prime contractors of the Department of De-
fense and subsidiary companies of such contractors. 
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SEC. 882. PROHIBITION ON FUNDING FOR COVERED ENTI-
TIES AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS OR 
OTHER ENTITIES THAT ENGAGE IN COVERED 
BEHAVIOR. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—None of the funds authorized to 
be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available 
for fiscal year 2025 may be used to contract with or grant 
awards to— 
(1) a covered entity; or 
(2) a nonprofit organization or other entity that 
engages in covered behavior. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘covered entity’’ means— 
(A) NewsGuard Technologies, Inc. (doing 
business as ‘‘NewsGuard’’); or 
(B) 
Disinformation 
Index, 
Inc., 
Disinformation 
Index, 
Ltd., 
or 
Global 
Disinformation Index gUG (collectively doing 
business as ‘‘Global Disinformation Index’’). 
(2) The term ‘‘covered behavior’’ means oper-
ations, activities, or products, the function of which 
is to demonetize or rate the credibility of a domestic 
entity (including news and information outlets) 
based on lawful speech of such domestic entity under 
the stated function of ‘‘fact-checking’’ misinforma-
tion, disinformation, or malinformation. 
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(3) The term ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means 
an organization that is described in section 
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of 
such Code. 
SEC. 883. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO COVERED DISTRIB-
UTED 
LEDGER 
TECHNOLOGY 
AND 
BLOCKCHAIN EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES. 
(a) PROHIBITION ON ACQUISITION.—The Secretary 
of Defense may not acquire, or enter into, extend, or 
renew a contract or other agreement for, any equipment, 
system, or service that uses covered distributed ledger 
technology and blockchain equipment or services as— 
(1) a substantial or essential component of such 
equipment, system, or service; or 
(2) critical technology as part of such equip-
ment, system, or service. 
(b) PROHIBITION ON LOAN AND GRANT FUNDS.— 
(1) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary of Defense 
may not obligate or expend loan or grant funds to 
acquire, or to enter into, extend, or renew a contract 
or other agreement for, any equipment, system, or 
service described in subsection (a). 
(2) PRIORITIZATION.—In implementing the pro-
hibition under paragraph (1), the Secretary of De-
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fense, in administering a loan, grant, or subsidy pro-
gram, shall prioritize available funding and technical 
support to assist affected entities as is reasonably 
necessary for those affected entities to cease use of 
covered distributed ledger technology and blockchain 
equipment or services, to acquire replacement equip-
ment and services, and to ensure that communica-
tions service to users and customers is sustained. 
(c) RULE
OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub-
section (a) or (b) shall be construed to— 
(1) prohibit the Secretary of Defense from ac-
quiring from an entity, or entering into, extending, 
or renewing a contract or other agreement with an 
entity for, a service that connects to the facilities of 
a third party, such as blockchain protocols or inter-
connection arrangements; or 
(2) apply to wireless telecommunications equip-
ment or third-party validators that cannot route or 
redirect user data traffic or permit visibility into any 
user data or packets that such equipment transmits 
or otherwise handles. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The prohibitions under sub-
sections (a) and (b) shall take effect on the date that is 
two years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(e) WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), beginning on the effective date under sub-
section (d), the Secretary of Defense may, upon re-
quest of an entity, issue a waiver of the require-
ments under subsection (a) with respect to such en-
tity for a period of not more than two years. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may only 
provide a waiver under this subsection if the entity 
seeking the waiver— 
(A) provides a compelling justification for 
the additional time to implement the require-
ments of this section; and 
(B) submits to the Secretary, who shall not 
later than 30 days thereafter submit to the 
Committees on Armed Services of the Senate 
and the House of Representatives, a full and 
complete description of the presence of covered 
distributed ledger technology and blockchain 
equipment or services in the entity’s supply 
chain and a phase-out plan to eliminate such 
covered distributed ledger technology and 
blockchain equipment or services. 
(3) ELEMENTS OF THE INTELLIGENCE COMMU-
NITY.—Beginning on the effective date under sub-
section (d), each head of an element of the intel-
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ligence community may waive the requirements 
under subsection (a) if such head determines the 
waiver is in the national security interests of the 
United States. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘covered distributed ledger tech-
nology and blockchain equipment or services’’ means 
distributed ledger technology and blockchain equip-
ment or services of or originating from a foreign ad-
versary, including any of the following companies or 
subsidiaries thereof: 
(A) The Blockchain-based Services Net-
work. 
(B) The Spartan Network. 
(C) The Conflux Network. 
(D) iFinex, Inc. 
(E) Red Date Technology Co., Ltd. 
(2) The term ‘‘executive agency’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 133 of title 41, United 
States Code. 
(3) The term ‘‘foreign adversary’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 7.2 of title 15, 
Code of Federal Regulations. 
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(4) The term ‘‘intelligence community’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 3 of the National 
Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003). 
SEC. 
884. 
REPORT 
ON 
CONTRACT 
GOAL 
FOR 
THE 
ABILITYONE PROGRAM. 
The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congres-
sional defense committees a report on— 
(1) the progress of the Department of Defense 
in achieving the goal for the Department to acquire 
products and services from qualified nonprofit agen-
cies for the blind and qualified nonprofit agencies 
for the other severely disabled (as such terms are de-
fined, respectively, in section 8501 of title 41, 
United States Code) pursuant to chapter 85 of title 
41, United States Code, in an amount equal to one 
percent of the total funds obligated or expended by 
the Department for procurement for a fiscal year; 
and 
(2) any obstacles faced by the Secretary in 
achieving the goal described in paragraph (1). 
SEC. 885. REPORT ON SMALL PURCHASES OF CRITICAL 
MINERALS AND MAGNETS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
enactment of this section, the Director of the Defense 
Contract Management Agency shall submit to the congres-
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sional defense committees a report detailing the dollar 
amount of covered materials manufactured in China and 
Russia and acquired by the Department of Defense 
through contracts valued at or below the simplified acqui-
sition threshold during the period beginning on January 
1, 2020, and ending on the date of the submission of such 
report to the congressional defense committees. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection 
(a) shall include— 
(1) the total value of contracts under which 
covered materials were acquired by the Department 
of Defense during the period covered by the report; 
(2) the total value of contracts under which 
covered materials manufactured in China or Russia 
were acquired by the Department of Defense during 
the period covered by the report; 
(3) the total value of contracts under which 
covered materials were acquired by the Department 
of Defense during the period covered by the report 
for which the Director could not determine whether 
the covered materials were manufactured in China 
or Russia; 
(4) for each covered material, the value of the 
covered material acquired by the Department of De-
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fense during the period covered by the report that 
was manufactured in China or Russia; and 
(5) any recommendations from the Director for 
improving the ability of the Department of Defense 
to track the manufacturer of covered materials. 
(c) ACQUISITIONS
BY
THE DEFENSE LOGISTICS 
AGENCY.—Each value described in subsection (b) con-
tained in the report required by subsection (a) shall be 
disaggregated by acquisitions made by the Defense Logis-
tics Agency and acquisitions made by other elements of 
the Department of Defense. 
(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For the purposes of 
this section, the Director shall regard ‘‘manufacturing’’ as 
being the main value-add step in the supply chain in which 
raw minerals are initially combined into a metallic, 
alloyed, or magnetic form and shall not count late-stage 
cutting and finishing processes or distribution as the crit-
ical manufacturing step. 
(e) COVERED MATERIAL DEFINED.—In this section, 
the term ‘‘covered material’’ means— 
(1) samarium-cobalt magnets; 
(2) neodymium-iron-boron magnets; 
(3) tungsten metal powder; 
(4) tungsten heavy alloy; 
(5) tantalum metals and alloys; 
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(6) aluminum-nickel-cobalt magnets; or 
(7) any other metals listed in section 4863(l) of 
title 10, United States Code. 
SEC. 886. LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR IN-
STALLATION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—None of the funds authorized to 
be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available 
for fiscal year 2025 for the Department of Defense may 
be used to for a contract for the installation of photo-
voltaic modules at any facility or real property of the De-
partment of Defense unless the contract contains a provi-
sion prohibiting the procurement of such photovoltaic 
modules from a foreign entity of concern (as defined in 
section 9901(8) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry Na-
tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 
U.S.C. 4651(8))). 
(b) STUDY.—Not later than 30 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 
shall submit to the congressional defense committees a re-
port on the expected amount to be obligated fiscal year 
2025 to install photovoltaic modules at Department of De-
fense facilities. 
(c) LIMITATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 
appropriations and except as explicitly provided in a 
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provision of law enacted after the date of the enact-
ment of this section, the Secretary of Defense may 
not obligate or expend from amounts otherwise au-
thorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2025 for 
the purpose of installing photovoltaic modules at any 
facility or real property of the Department of De-
fense more than the amount certified in the report 
required under subsection (b) for such purpose dur-
ing fiscal year 2025. 
(2) LIMITATION ON TRANSFER AUTHORITY.— 
Notwithstanding 
any 
other 
provision 
of 
law, 
amounts are not authorized to be transferred or re-
programmed pursuant to any authority of the Sec-
retary of Defense for fiscal year 2025 to exceed the 
amount certified in the report required under sub-
section (b). 
SEC. 887. STUDY AND REPORT ON SHIPPING CONTAINERS 
AND SPECIALTY SHIPPING CONTAINERS. 
(a) STUDY AND REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Trans-
portation, shall submit to the congressional defense com-
mittees, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
ture of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 
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on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, 
a report that contains the results of a study on— 
(1) the national security implications of reliance 
on shipping containers and specialty shipping con-
tainers produced by foreign adversary countries to 
meet national defense requirements; and 
(2) the feasibility and advisability of production 
of shipping containers and specialty shipping con-
tainers by covered countries for procurement by the 
Department of Defense. 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 
(a) shall include— 
(1) an assessment of the ability of the Secretary 
of Defense to procure shipping containers and spe-
cialty shipping containers from sources other than 
foreign adversary countries, including— 
(A) any barriers faced by the Secretary for 
such procurement, along with recommendations 
to mitigate such barriers; and 
(B) a timetable for such procurement; 
(2) in coordination with entities in the domestic 
defense industrial base, an assessment of require-
ments for shipping containers and specialty shipping 
containers that could be produced in a covered coun-
try or which could be acquired from allied or partner 
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countries, including an assessment of the capabilities 
and capacities of the workforce of the domestic de-
fense industrial base, supply chain considerations, 
and the impact on the economy of the United States; 
(3) an assessment how an alternative source for 
procurement of specialty shipping containers would 
affect defense systems requiring specialty shipping 
containers, particularly in the event of a crisis; and 
(4) any other relevant considerations, as jointly 
determined by the Secretary of Defense and Sec-
retary of Transportation. 
(c) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include 
a classified annex. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘covered country’’ means the 
United States or an ally or partner country. 
(2) The term ‘‘foreign adversary country’’ 
means a country specified in section 4872(d)(2) of 
title 10, United States Code. 
(3) The term ‘‘shipping container’’ has the 
meaning given the term ‘‘container’’ in section 
80501 of title 46, United States Code. 
(4) The term ‘‘specialty shipping container’’ 
means a shipping container that is uniquely config-
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ured to support and protect items contained during 
handling, storage, unpacking, and forward and re-
turn shipment, or to protect personnel and equip-
ment from hazardous contents. 
TITLE IX—DEPARTMENT OF DE-
FENSE ORGANIZATION AND 
MANAGEMENT 
Subtitle A—Office of the Secretary 
of Defense and Related Matters 
SEC. 901. CHIEF TALENT MANAGEMENT OFFICER. 
Chapter 4 of title 10, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 149a. Chief Talent Management Officer 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) There is a Chief Talent Man-
agement Officer of the Department of Defense, who shall 
be appointed by the Secretary of Defense. 
‘‘(2) The Chief Talent Management Officer shall re-
port directly to the Secretary of Defense in the perform-
ance of the duties of the Chief Talent Management Officer 
under this section. 
‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Chief Talent Management officer 
shall— 
‘‘(1) serve as the principal staff assistant to the 
Secretary of Defense and Deputy Secretary of De-
fense on matters relating to total force talent man-
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agement within the Department of Defense, includ-
ing talent management for military personnel (in-
cluding members of the active and reserve compo-
nents of the armed forces) and civilian personnel of 
the Department; 
‘‘(2) develop and implement the overall talent 
strategy for military and civilian personnel in the 
Department of Defense, which shall include working 
across the military departments, Joint Staff, Office 
of the Secretary of Defense, and with interagency 
partners to lead the total force talent acquisition 
and management efforts of the Department; 
‘‘(3) oversee updates and reforms for remote 
and hybrid work, the use of enabling technology, 
practices for developing and tracking talent, and en-
couraging movement of talent across components, 
agencies, and non-governmental entities to help pro-
mote flexible career pathways and increase retention; 
‘‘(4) match talent to needs within the Depart-
ment and integrate broad upskilling and reskilling 
programs to create the future national defense work-
force; 
‘‘(5) coordinate all talent programs within the 
Department, including by developing pathways for 
permeability between uniformed and non-uniformed 
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service opportunities and opportunities in the private 
sector; 
‘‘(6) maintain, strengthen, and improve the De-
partment’s use of competitive service hiring authori-
ties under title 5 and the authorities available under 
section 129 of this title to ensure the Department 
recruits and retains a strong and professional civil-
ian workforce; 
‘‘(7) study and promote best practices for work-
force development from the government, nonprofit, 
academic, and private sectors; 
‘‘(8) serve as the principal liaison between the 
Department and the national security talent indus-
trial and innovation base; 
‘‘(9) carry out programs, projects, and other ac-
tivities to strengthen the national security talent in-
dustrial and innovation base; 
‘‘(10) identify rules, regulations, policies, and 
guidance related to military and civilian talent man-
agement that require change for the purposes of 
achieving efficiencies and meeting the personnel 
needs of the Department; 
‘‘(11) coordinate with the Joint Staff and the 
Commanders of the combatant commands to identify 
talent needs to meet operational challenges; 
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‘‘(12) develop an employer brand for the De-
partment of Defense that positions the Department 
as a sought after employer; 
‘‘(13) using available hiring authorities, develop 
a capability to rapidly prototype workforce develop-
ment and talent acquisition approaches with non- 
profit, academic, Government, and private sector 
agencies and organizations; and 
‘‘(14) carry out such other duties relating to 
talent management as may be assigned by the Sec-
retary of Defense. 
‘‘(c) INTERMEDIARY ORGANIZATIONS.—The Chief 
Talent Management Officer shall seek to partner with 
multiple intermediary organizations, including academic 
institutions and other key stakeholders in the talent indus-
trial and innovation base, to support the development of 
pools of qualified individuals with the skills and expertise 
necessary to meet critical personnel needs of the Depart-
ment of Defense. Activities undertaken pursuant to such 
partnerships may include the identification, training, and 
vetting of critical talent for the Department, including in-
dividuals with expertise relating to artificial intelligence, 
biotechnology, cybersecurity, materials and manufac-
turing, business processes, venture capital, financial mar-
kets, and other critical areas. 
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‘‘(d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 
90 days after the date of the enactment of this section, 
and on a semiannual basis thereafter, the Secretary of De-
fense, in coordination with the Chief Talent Management 
Officer, shall submit to the congressional defense commit-
tees a report that includes— 
‘‘(1) the strategy for implementation of the po-
sition of Chief Talent Management Officer of the 
Department of Defense; 
‘‘(2) any additional authorities or funding re-
quired for the Chief Talent Management officer to 
carry the purposes of this section; and 
‘‘(3) such other information as the Secretary 
determines appropriate.’’. 
SEC. 902. EXECUTIVE AGENT FOR COUNTERING THREATS 
POSED BY SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT. 
Chapter 4 of title 10, United States Code, as amend-
ed by section 901, is further amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 149b. Executive agent for countering threats posed 
by small unmanned aircraft 
‘‘(a) EXECUTIVE AGENT.—The Secretary of Defense, 
shall designate a senior official from among the personnel 
of the Department of Defense to act as the executive agent 
responsible for providing oversight of— 
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‘‘(1) the efforts of the Department to counter 
small unmanned aircraft and systems; and 
‘‘(2) associated training and technology pro-
grams. 
‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Executive agent shall— 
‘‘(1) coordinate and integrate joint require-
ments to counter threats posed by small unmanned 
aircraft; 
‘‘(2) provide common individual training to 
members of the Armed Forces on countering such 
threats; and 
‘‘(3) carry out joint research, development, test, 
and evaluation activities for common activities on be-
half of the military departments with respect to 
counter-UAS systems. 
‘‘(c) SUPPORT
WITHIN
DEPARTMENT
OF
DE-
FENSE.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the 
military departments, Defense Agencies, and other compo-
nents of the Department of Defense provide the executive 
agent designated under subsection (a) with the appro-
priate support and resources needed to perform the roles, 
responsibilities, and authorities of the executive agent. 
‘‘(d) COMPLIANCE WITH EXISTING DIRECTIVE.— 
The Secretary shall carry out this section in compliance 
with Directive 5101.1. 
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‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘Directive 5101.1’ means De-
partment of Defense Directive 5101.1, or any suc-
cessor directive relating to the responsibilities of an 
executive agent of the Department of Defense. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘executive agent’ has the mean-
ing given the term ‘DoD Executive Agent’ in Direc-
tive 5101.1. 
‘‘(3) The terms ‘counter-UAS system’, ‘un-
manned aircraft’, and ‘small unmanned aircraft’ 
have the meanings given those terms in section 
44801 of title 49, United States Code.’’. 
SEC. 903. ELIMINATION OF THE CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER 
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. 
(a) REPEAL OF POSITION.—Section 147 of title 10, 
United States Code, is repealed. 
(b) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 913 of the Wil-
liam M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283; 8 
U.S.C. 147 note) is repealed. 
(c) PROHIBITION ON ESTABLISHMENT OF SIMILAR 
POSITIONS.—No Federal funds may be obligated or ex-
pended to establish a position within the Department of 
Defense that is the same as or substantially similar to— 
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(1) the position of Chief Diversity Officer, as 
described in section 147 of title 10, United States 
Code, as such section was in effect before the date 
of the enactment of this Act; or 
(2) the position of Senior Advisor for Diversity 
and Inclusion, as described in section 913(b) of the 
William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Au-
thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 
116–283; 10 U.S.C. 147 note), as such section was 
in effect before the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
Subtitle B—Other Department of 
Defense Organization and Man-
agement Matters 
SEC. 921. DESIGNATION OF SENIOR OFFICIALS RESPON-
SIBLE FOR CONTESTED LOGISTICS POSTURE 
MANAGEMENT. 
(a) ROLE OF UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR 
ACQUISITION AND SUSTAINMENT.—Section 133b(b)(5) of 
title 10, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (C), by adding ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; and 
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(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(D) the official with principal responsi-
bility for contested logistics posture manage-
ment for the Department in accordance with 
section 2229b(a) of this title;’’. 
(b) DESIGNATION OF SENIOR MILITARY DEPART-
MENT OFFICIALS.—Chapter 131 of title 10, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘§ 2229b. Senior officials responsible for contested lo-
gistics posture management 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary of Defense 
for Acquisition and Sustainment shall be the official in 
the Department of Defense with principal responsibility 
for contested logistics posture management for the De-
partment. In carrying out such responsibilities, the Under 
Secretary shall coordinate with the senior military depart-
ment officials designated under subsection (b). 
‘‘(b) DESIGNATION OF SENIOR MILITARY DEPART-
MENT OFFICIALS.—Each secretary of a military depart-
ment shall designate, from among officials serving in the 
department who have been confirmed by the Senate, an 
official to have principal responsibility for contested logis-
tics posture management for that department. 
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‘‘(c) DEPUTIES.—Each senior official designated 
under subsection (b) may designate an official of the mili-
tary department concerned to serve as a deputy to assist 
the senior official in carrying out the responsibilities under 
this section. 
‘‘(d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each senior official des-
ignated under subsection (b) shall be responsible for— 
‘‘(1) ensuring that the department concerned is 
adequately prepared to provide logistics support to 
the armed forces of that department in contested en-
vironments outside the continental United States, in-
cluding by— 
‘‘(A) establishing or arranging for access 
to locations through which supplies and equip-
ment can be provided to such forces; 
‘‘(B) developing any necessary infrastruc-
ture; and 
‘‘(C) to the extent feasible, prepositioning 
supplies and equipment at such locations; and 
‘‘(2) ensuring that the logistics capabilities de-
scribed in paragraph (1) meet the requirements of 
the operational and contingency plans of such forces. 
‘‘(e) CONTESTED LOGISTICS POSTURE STRATEGY.— 
‘‘(1) Each senior official designated under sub-
section (b) shall develop and implement strategy for 
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carrying out the responsibilities described in sub-
section (d). 
‘‘(2) Each strategy under paragraph (1) shall 
include the following: 
‘‘(A) A description of— 
‘‘(i) the locations of sites outside the 
continental United States at which stocks 
of 
supplies 
and 
equipment 
are 
prepositioned as of the date of the strat-
egy; 
‘‘(ii) the status and disposition of 
such prepositioned stocks; and 
‘‘(iii) the operational or contingency 
plan such stocks are intended to support. 
‘‘(B) Identification of— 
‘‘(i) any shortcomings associated with 
the sites and prepositioned stocks de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) that must be 
addressed to optimally execute operational 
and contingency plans; and 
‘‘(ii) any additional sites, infrastruc-
ture, or equipment that may be needed to 
address such shortcomings and support 
such plans. 
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‘‘(C) A description of any additional fund-
ing or other resources required— 
‘‘(i) to address the shortcomings iden-
tified under subparagraph (B)(i); and 
‘‘(ii) to provide for the additional 
sites, infrastructure, and equipment identi-
fied under subparagraph (B)(ii). 
‘‘(D) A prioritized list of investment rec-
ommendations for each item described in sub-
paragraph (C). 
‘‘(E) Identification of each case in which 
the military department concerned lacks the au-
thority or ability to access a location outside the 
United States for purposes of providing logistics 
support as required under operational and con-
tingency plans, set forth separately by location. 
‘‘(F) An assessment of any existing and 
projected threats to sites outside the continental 
United States that are expected to support such 
operational and contingency plans. 
‘‘(3) COVERED PERIOD AND UPDATES.—Each 
strategy under paragraph (1) shall cover the period 
of one year following the date of the strategy and 
shall be updated on an annual basis in accordance 
with paragraph (4). 
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‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 
‘‘(A) INITIAL
REPORT.—Not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
section, each senior official designated under 
subsection (b) shall submit to the congressional 
defense committees a report that includes the 
strategy developed under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—On an an-
nual basis following the submittal of the initial 
report under subparagraph (A), each senior of-
ficial designated under subsection (b) shall sub-
mit to the congressional defense committees a 
report that includes— 
‘‘(i) an updated version of the strat-
egy under paragraph (1); 
‘‘(ii) an assessment of the progress 
made by the military department con-
cerned in achieving the goals of such strat-
egy; and 
‘‘(iii) any plans of the official improve 
the logistics capabilities of the military de-
partment concerned to ensure those capa-
bilities meet the requirements of applicable 
operational and contingency plans. 
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‘‘(f) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the duties re-
quired under this section, each senior official designated 
under subsection (b) shall consult with subject matter ex-
perts from— 
‘‘(1) the Office of the Secretary of Defense; 
‘‘(2) the Joint Staff; 
‘‘(3) the geographic combatant commands; 
‘‘(4) other military departments; 
‘‘(5) the Department of State; and 
‘‘(6) such other departments and agencies of 
the Federal Government as the official determines 
appropriate. 
‘‘(g) REPRESENTATION.—To the extent practicable, 
the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that each official 
designated under subsection (b) is included in any panels, 
working groups, or advisory bodies of the Department 
with roles relating the matters described in subsection 
(d).’’. 
(c) DEADLINE FOR DESIGNATION.—Not later than 
90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, each 
Secretary of a military department shall make the des-
ignation required under section 2229b(b) of title 10, 
United States Code (as added by subsection (b) of this 
section). 
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SEC. 922. ELIGIBILITY OF CHIEF OF THE NATIONAL GUARD 
BUREAU FOR APPOINTMENT AS CHAIRMAN 
OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF. 
Section 152(b)(1)(B) of title 10, United States Code, 
is amended by striking ‘‘the Commandant of the Marine 
Corps, or the Chief of Space Operations’’ and inserting 
‘‘the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Chief of 
Space Operations, or the Chief of the National Guard Bu-
reau’’. 
SEC. 923. DESIGNATION OF DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY OF 
THE ARMY AS PRINCIPAL OFFICIAL RESPON-
SIBLE FOR EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7014 of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(g)(1) The Secretary of the Army shall designate 
the Deputy Under Secretary of the Army as the official 
within the Office of the Secretary of the Army with prin-
cipal responsibility for the explosive ordnance disposal en-
terprise of the Army. 
‘‘(2) The responsibilities of the Deputy Under Sec-
retary of the Army under this subsection shall include— 
‘‘(A) providing oversight and strategic direction 
for the management and operations of the explosive 
ordnance disposal enterprise of the Army, including 
planning, programming, budgeting, and execution; 
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‘‘(B) providing strategic direction for the fund-
ing of the enterprise, including funding for— 
‘‘(i) manning, training, organizing, equip-
ping (including any associated research and de-
velopment), and sustaining the enterprise; and 
‘‘(ii) supporting military installations that 
comprise the enterprise; 
‘‘(C) providing strategic direction for the activi-
ties of the enterprise in providing explosive ordi-
nance disposal support for— 
‘‘(i) the President; 
‘‘(ii) combatant commanders; 
‘‘(iii) military installations; and 
‘‘(iv) civilian law enforcement agencies (in 
accordance with sections 282 and 283 of this 
title); and 
‘‘(D) providing strategic direction on the activi-
ties of the enterprise over the full range of military 
operations from irregular warfare to large-scale 
ground combat. 
‘‘(3) On an annual basis, the Deputy Under Sec-
retary of the Army shall provide to the Committees on 
Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Represent-
atives a briefing on the status of the explosive ordnance 
disposal enterprise of the Army. The briefing shall include, 
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with respect to the period covered by the most recent fu-
ture-years defense program submitted to Congress under 
section 221 of this title (as of the date of the briefing), 
an estimate of the total obligatory authority for the enter-
prise and the numbers and types of personnel expected 
to be assigned to the enterprise. 
‘‘(4) In this subsection, the terms ‘explosive ord-
nance’ and ‘explosive ordnance disposal’ have the mean-
ings given those terms in section 2284(d).’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 924. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DRONE CORPS AS A 
BASIC BRANCH OF THE ARMY. 
(a) DESIGNATION
AS
BASIC
BRANCH.—Section 
7063(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (13) as para-
graph (14); and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(13) Drone Corps; and’’. 
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(b) ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS.—Chapter 707 
of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after section 7081 the following new section: 
‘‘§ 7082. Drone Corps: organization and functions 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is a Drone Corps in the 
Army. The Drone Corps consists of— 
‘‘(1) the Chief of the Drone Corps, who shall be 
appointed by the Secretary of the Army from among 
the officers of the Drone Corps; 
‘‘(2) commissioned officers of the Regular Army 
appointed therein; and 
‘‘(3) other members of the Army assigned 
thereto by the Secretary of the Army. 
‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—Subject to such limitations or 
conditions as the Secretary of the Army may prescribe, 
the Drone Corps shall— 
‘‘(1) be the organization in the Army with pri-
mary responsibility for programs, projects, and ac-
tivities involving— 
‘‘(A) small and medium unmanned air-
craft; 
‘‘(B) unmanned aircraft systems that in-
clude such aircraft; and 
‘‘(C) counter-UAS systems; 
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‘‘(2) serve as a command center for Army oper-
ations involving the aircraft and systems described 
in paragraph (1); 
‘‘(3) carry out activities to integrate such air-
craft and systems with Army forces that have not 
traditionally used such aircraft and systems; 
‘‘(4) conduct research, development, testing, 
and evaluation of such aircraft and systems; 
‘‘(5) provide personnel with specialized training 
in such aircraft and systems; 
‘‘(6) carry out programs to attract and retain 
personnel with expertise relevant to such aircraft 
and systems; 
‘‘(7) develop strategies and capabilities to 
counter the unmanned aircraft and unmanned air-
craft systems of adversary forces; and 
‘‘(8) perform such other functions relating to 
unmanned aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems 
as the Secretary determines appropriate. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The terms ‘counter-UAS system’, ‘un-
manned aircraft’, and ‘unmanned aircraft system’ 
have the meanings given those terms in section 
44801 of title 49, United States Code. 
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‘‘(2) The term ‘medium unmanned aircraft’ 
means an unmanned aircraft with gross takeoff 
weight that is equal to greater than 55 pounds and 
less than 1320 pounds. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘small unmanned aircraft’ means 
an unmanned aircraft with a gross takeoff weight of 
less than 55 pounds.’’. 
SEC. 925. ARMY ELECTRONIC WARFARE CENTER OF EXCEL-
LENCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 707 of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘§ 7085. Electronic Warfare Center of Excellence 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Army 
shall establish and operate an Electronic Warfare Center 
of Excellence within the Army Training and Doctrine 
Command. 
‘‘(b) MISSIONS.—The Electronic Warfare Center of 
Excellence shall be used to— 
‘‘(1) provide comprehensive training and other 
educational programs relating to electronic warfare, 
including— 
‘‘(A) advanced individual training; 
‘‘(B) professional military education; 
‘‘(C) new equipment training; and 
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‘‘(D) instructor training and certification; 
‘‘(2) develop and regularly update the cur-
riculum for such training and programs; 
‘‘(3) identify, develop, and integrate materiel 
and organizational requirements for electronic war-
fare; 
‘‘(4) investigate emerging electronic warfare re-
quirements; 
‘‘(5) conduct assessments for electronic warfare 
materiel requirements determination and develop-
ment; 
‘‘(6) develop and manage the integration of 
electronic warfare solutions with doctrine, organiza-
tion, training, materiel, leadership and education, 
personnel, and facilities; 
‘‘(7) conduct analysis for electronic warfare 
force requirements; 
‘‘(8) develop and manage organizational docu-
mentation relating to electronic warfare, including 
field manuals, technical manuals, training materials, 
standard operating procedures, doctrine publications, 
and after-action reports; 
‘‘(9) carry out such functions as the Secretary 
of the Army determines appropriate.’’. 
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(b) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—Not later than one 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, to the 
extent determined appropriate by the Secretary of the 
Army, the Secretary shall transfer the electronic warfare- 
related programs, projects, and activities of the Cyber 
Center of Excellence of the Army to the Electronic War-
fare Center of Excellence established under section 7085 
of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection 
(a). 
SEC. 926. CODIFICATION OF ADDITIONAL STAFF CORPS OF 
THE NAVY. 
(a) CODIFICATION.—Section 8090 of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended, in subsection (a)— 
(1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’; 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para-
graph (9); and 
(3) by inserting, after paragraph (4), the fol-
lowing new paragraphs: 
‘‘(5) the Supply Corps; 
‘‘(6) the Civil Engineer Corps; 
‘‘(7) the Nurse Corps; 
‘‘(8) the Medical Service Corps; and’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Such section is fur-
ther amended, in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘Medical 
Corps, the Dental Corps, the Judge Advocate General’s 
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Corps, and the Chaplain Corps’’ and inserting ‘‘staff corps 
specified in subsection (a)’’. 
SEC. 927. FEASIBILITY REPORT ON ESTABLISHMENT OF A 
DEFENSE 
INDUSTRIAL 
REVITALIZATION 
BOARD. 
(a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Serv-
ices of the Senate and the House of Representatives a re-
port on the feasibility and advisability of establishing a 
Defense Industrial Revitalization Board (in this section 
referred to as the ‘‘Board’’) that— 
(1) would consist of the members described in 
subsection (b); 
(2) would be responsible for ensuring the de-
fense industrial base is prepared to meet Depart-
ment of Defense wartime production needs by— 
(A) assessing the health of the defense in-
dustrial base; 
(B) identifying critical shortages and im-
pediments to production of critical munitions 
and other war materials; 
(C) identifying required production rates 
for critical munitions; and 
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(D) overseeing and deconflicting Depart-
ment and service efforts to improve defense in-
dustrial capacity; 
(3) would, in furtherance of such responsibil-
ities— 
(A) develop a comprehensive plan that de-
tails immediate steps that can be taken to in-
crease the capacity of the defense industrial 
base; 
(B) utilize existing supply chain mapping 
efforts to identify single points of failure that 
impact munitions and critical weapons plat-
forms and identify funding mechanisms to cre-
ate second sources or other resilience measures, 
with a focus on those munitions necessary for 
a potential war in the Pacific; 
(C) utilize existing supply chain mapping 
efforts to identify reliance on foreign adver-
saries within critical munitions supply chains 
and recommend amelioration efforts; 
(D) for critical munitions, establish a min-
imum procurement rate for purposes of ensur-
ing adequate Department of Defense budgeting 
in each fiscal year and for directing budget pro-
posals for the Department; and 
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(E) review critical munitions production 
capacity on a twice yearly basis and take reme-
dial action to address any shortfalls; and 
(4) would terminate five years after being es-
tablished. 
(b) MEMBERS DESCRIBED.—The Board considered 
for potential establishment in the report under subsection 
(a) would include the following members: 
(1) Relevant Department of Defense acquisi-
tion, research and engineering, and comptroller per-
sonnel. 
(2) Service acquisition executives and program 
managers. 
(3) Defense industry representatives. 
(4) Relevant think tank experts. 
(5) Representatives from the Under Secretary 
of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. 
(6) Representatives from the Under Secretary 
of Defense for Research and Engineering. 
(7) Representatives from the Defense Innova-
tion Unit. 
(c) DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE DEFINED.—In this 
section, the term ‘‘defense industrial base’’ means organi-
zations, facilities, and resources that supply the Depart-
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ment of Defense with materials, products, and services for 
defense purposes. 
SEC. 928. INCLUSION OF MEXICO IN THE AREA OF RESPON-
SIBILITY OF THE UNITED STATES SOUTHERN 
COMMAND. 
Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall— 
(1) remove Mexico from the area of responsi-
bility of the United States Northern Command; and 
(2) include Mexico in the area of responsibility 
of the United States Southern Command. 
SEC. 929. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMANDANT OF THE COAST 
GUARD ON THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF. 
(a) MEMBERSHIP
ON
THE
JOINT
CHIEFS
OF 
STAFF.—Section 151(a) of title 10, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(9) The Commandant of the Coast Guard.’’. 
(b) APPOINTMENT
OF
CHAIRMAN; GRADE
AND 
RANK.—Section 152 of such title is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(1)(B) by striking ‘‘or the 
Commandant of the Marine Corps’’ and inserting 
‘‘the Commandant of the Marine Corps, or the Com-
mandant of the Coast Guard’’; and 
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‘‘(a) The President may’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(b)(1) The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall 
also perform the duties prescribed for the Commandant 
as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under section 
151 of title 10. 
‘‘(2) To the extent that such action does not impair 
the independence of the Commandant in the performance 
of the Commandant’s duties as a member of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff, the Commandant shall inform the Sec-
retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is op-
erating regarding military advice rendered by members of 
the Joint Chiefs of Staff on matters affecting such depart-
ment. 
‘‘(3) Subject to the authority, direction, and control 
of the Secretary of Defense, the Commandant shall keep 
the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard 
is operating fully informed of significant military oper-
ations affecting the duties and responsibilities of such Sec-
retary.’’. 
SEC. 930. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SENIOR INTEL-
LIGENCE OVERSIGHT OFFICIAL. 
Subchapter I of chapter 21 of title 10, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘§ 430c. Senior Intelligence Oversight Official 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Defense, 
or a designee of the Secretary determined by regulations 
prescribed by the Secretary, shall designate a civilian em-
ployee of the Department of Defense in the Senior Execu-
tive Service to serve as the Senior Intelligence Oversight 
Official. 
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Senior Intelligence 
Oversight Official shall exercise independent oversight of 
all intelligence, intelligence-related, and sensitive activities 
of the Department of Defense, including activities involv-
ing— 
‘‘(1) tradecraft; 
‘‘(2) the operational use of an individual; or 
‘‘(3) clandestine operational tactics, techniques, 
and procedures. 
‘‘(c) ACCESS.—The Senior Intelligence Oversight Of-
ficial shall have— 
‘‘(1) complete and unrestricted access to all in-
formation concerning any intelligence, intelligence- 
related, or sensitive activity of the Department of 
Defense 
regardless 
of 
classification 
or 
compartmentalization, including special access pro-
grams, from any personnel or organizational entity 
of the Department of Defense, to the extent nec-
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essary to carry out the responsibilities and functions 
of the Senior Intelligence Oversight Official; and 
‘‘(2) direct access to the Secretary of Defense 
and the Deputy Secretary of Defense, as cir-
cumstances require in the determination of the Sen-
ior Intelligence Oversight Official. 
‘‘(d) REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of 
Defense shall review and update Department of Defense 
Directive 5148.13, and any associated or successor regula-
tion or directive, to conform to this section.’’. 
TITLE X—GENERAL PROVISIONS 
Subtitle A—Financial Matters 
SEC. 1001. GENERAL TRANSFER AUTHORITY. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER AUTHORIZATIONS.— 
(1) AUTHORITY.—Upon determination by the 
Secretary of Defense that such action is necessary in 
the national interest, the Secretary may transfer 
amounts of authorizations made available to the De-
partment of Defense in this division for fiscal year 
2025 between any such authorizations for that fiscal 
year (or any subdivisions thereof). Amounts of au-
thorizations so transferred shall be merged with and 
be available for the same purposes as the authoriza-
tion to which transferred. 
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(2) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in para-
graph (3), the total amount of authorizations that 
the Secretary may transfer under the authority of 
this section may not exceed $6,000,000,000. 
(3) EXCEPTION
FOR
TRANSFERS
BETWEEN 
MILITARY PERSONNEL AUTHORIZATIONS.—A trans-
fer of funds between military personnel authoriza-
tions under title IV shall not be counted toward the 
dollar limitation in paragraph (2). 
(b) LIMITATIONS.—The authority provided by sub-
section (a) to transfer authorizations— 
(1) may only be used to provide authority for 
items that have a higher priority than the items 
from which authority is transferred; and 
(2) may not be used to provide authority for an 
item that has been denied authorization by Con-
gress. 
(c) EFFECT
ON
AUTHORIZATION
AMOUNTS.—A 
transfer made from one account to another under the au-
thority of this section shall be deemed to increase the 
amount authorized for the account to which the amount 
is transferred by an amount equal to the amount trans-
ferred. 
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(d) NOTICE
TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 
promptly notify Congress of each transfer made under 
subsection (a). 
SEC. 1002. REVISION OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FINAN-
CIAL MANAGEMENT REGULATION. 
(a) Not later than September 30, 2026, the Under 
Secretary of Defense for Comptroller shall revise the De-
partment of Defense Financial Management Regulation 
7000.14-R. The Under Secretary shall ensure that the re-
vised regulation— 
(1) is consistent and clear throughout; 
(2) includes updated guidance with respect to 
legislative and regulatory requirements; and 
(3) does not include any outdated guidance or 
guidance subject to change annually in an annual 
appropriations act. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In revising the regulation 
under subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall— 
(1) prioritize clarity and accessibility in the lan-
guage and direction provided, including improve-
ments to the coordination and approval process for 
recommended changes; 
(2) review and adopt modern financial practices 
that better align to current development and produc-
tion cycles; 
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(3) consider information technology solutions to 
improve the accessibility and usability of the Finan-
cial Management Regulation; and 
(4) in consultation with the Cross-Functional 
Team established under section 1003 consider the 
recommendations of the Commission on Planning, 
Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform. 
(c) BRIEFING.—Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, and once every 90 days 
thereafter during the three-year period following such date 
of enactment, the Secretary shall provide to the congres-
sional defense committees a briefing on the efforts to up-
date the Financial Management Regulation. Each such 
briefing shall include each of the following: 
(1) The progress made in updating the Finan-
cial Management Regulation. 
(2) The plan and timeline for completing revi-
sions to the Financial Management Regulation. 
(3) Any barriers to the ability of the Depart-
ment of Defense to update the Financial Manage-
ment Regulation as required under this section. 
(4) Any legislation required to complete revi-
sions of the Financial Management Regulation. 
(5) Any other information determined relevant 
by the Secretary. 
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SEC. 1003. CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAM FOR IMPLEMENTA-
TION OF RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COM-
MISSION 
ON 
PLANNING, 
PROGRAMMING, 
BUDGETING, AND EXECUTION REFORM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Using the authority provided 
pursuant to section 911(c) of the National Defense Au-
thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114– 
328; 10 U.S.C. 111 note), the Secretary of Defense shall 
establish a cross-functional team to address the implemen-
tation of the recommendations of the Commission on Plan-
ning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform (in 
this section referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 
(b) DUTIES.—The duties of the cross-functional team 
established under subsection (a) shall be to assist the Sec-
retary of Defense with the implementation of the rec-
ommendations of the Commission and any efforts regard-
ing such recommendations that the Secretary determines 
necessary. 
(c) TEAM LEADERSHIP.—The Secretary shall select 
an Under Secretary of Defense to lead the cross-functional 
team and a senior military officer to serve as the deputy 
to the Under Secretary so selected. 
(d) DETERMINATION
OF ORGANIZATIONAL ROLES 
AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Secretary, acting through 
the cross-functional team established under subsection (a), 
shall determine the roles and responsibilities of the organi-
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zations and elements of the Department of Defense with 
respect to addressing the implementation of the rec-
ommendations of the Commission, including the roles and 
responsibilities of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 
Defense agencies, Department of Defense field activities, 
the military departments, the combatant commands, and 
the Joint Staff. 
(e) BRIEFINGS.— 
(1) INITIAL BRIEFING.—Not later than 45 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall provide to the congressional defense 
committees a briefing on— 
(A) the progress of the Secretary in estab-
lishing the cross-functional team required under 
subsection (a); and 
(B) the progress the team has made in— 
(i) determining the roles and respon-
sibilities of the organizations and elements 
of the Department of Defense with respect 
the cross-functional team; and 
(ii) carrying out the duties under sub-
section (b). 
(2) UPDATES.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, and once 
every 90 days thereafter during the three-year pe-
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riod following such date of enactment, the Secretary 
shall provide to the congressional defense commit-
tees a briefing containing updates with respect to 
the efforts of the Department regarding implementa-
tion of the recommendations of the Commission. 
SEC. 1004. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION OF TRANSFER 
OF FUNDS. 
Subsection (c) of section 2214 of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(c) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—(1) Not later than five 
days after the Secretary of Defense transfers amounts 
under such authority to transfer amounts, the Secretary 
shall provide to the congressional defense committees and 
the covered members of Congress notice of the transfer. 
‘‘(2) Notice under this subsection with respect to a 
transfer shall include— 
‘‘(A) a written description of the transfer; and 
‘‘(B) upon the request of a congressional de-
fense committee or a covered member of Congress, 
a briefing on the transfer, which shall be provided 
not later than five days after the date on which the 
briefing is requested. 
‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘covered member of 
Congress’ means, with respect to a transfer— 
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‘‘(A) each Member of the House of Representa-
tives who represents a district that would be affected 
by the transfer; and 
‘‘(B) both Senators from each State that would 
be affected by the transfer.’’. 
SEC. 1005. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SPENDING REDUC-
TIONS IN ABSENCE OF SUBMITTED FINAN-
CIAL STATEMENTS OR FAILURE TO ACHIEVE 
UNQUALIFIED OR QUALIFIED INDEPENDENT 
AUDIT OPINION. 
(a) APPLICABILITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
this section applies to the Department of Defense, 
including military departments and Defense Agen-
cies thereof. 
(2) SEPARATE
APPLICABILITY.—If a military 
department or Defense Agency is identified by the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget as 
required to have its own audited financial statement 
under section 3515 of title 31, United States Code, 
that military department and Defense Agency shall 
be treated separately from the Department of De-
fense for purposes of application of this section. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) The terms ‘‘financial statement’’ and ‘‘ex-
ternal independent auditor’’ have the meanings given 
those terms in section 3521(e) of title 31, United 
States Code. 
(3) The term ‘‘unqualified’’, with respect to the 
audit status of a financial statement, includes the 
characterizations clean and unmodified. 
(2) The term ‘‘qualified’’, with respect to the 
audit status of a financial statement, includes the 
characterization modified. 
(c) 
ADJUSTMENTS
FOR
FINANCIAL
ACCOUNT-
ABILITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—On March 2 of each fiscal 
year, the discretionary budget authority available for 
the Department of Defense (or a military depart-
ment or Defense Agency covered by subsection 
(a)(2)) for such fiscal year shall be adjusted as pro-
vided in paragraph (2). 
(2) ADJUSTMENT.—If the Department of De-
fense (or a military department or Defense Agency 
covered by subsection (a)(2)) has not submitted a fi-
nancial statement for the previous fiscal year, or if 
such financial statement has not received either an 
unqualified or a qualified audit opinion by an inde-
pendent external auditor, the discretionary budget 
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authority available for the Department of Defense, 
the military department, or the Defense Agency (as 
the case may be) shall be reduced by .5 percent, 
with the reduction applied proportionately to each 
account (other than an account listed in subsection 
(d) or an account for which a waiver is made under 
subsection (e)). 
(3) 
MINIMIZES
NATIONAL
SECURITY
EF-
FECTS.—Consistent with applicable laws, the Sec-
retary of Defense may make any reduction under 
paragraph (2) in a manner that minimizes any effect 
on national security. 
(4) DEFICIT REDUCTION.—An amount equal to 
the total amount of any reduction under paragraph 
(2) shall be retained in the general fund of the 
Treasury for the purposes of deficit reduction. 
(d) ACCOUNTS EXCLUDED.—The following accounts 
are excluded from any reductions referred to in subsection 
(c)(2): 
(1) Military personnel, reserve personnel, and 
National Guard personnel accounts of the Depart-
ment of Defense. 
(2) The Defense Health Program account of 
the Department of Defense. 
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(e) WAIVER.—The President may waive subsection 
(c)(2) with respect to an account if the President certifies 
that applying the subsection to that account would harm 
national security or members of the Armed Forces who 
are deployed in combat zones. 
(f) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after an adjust-
ment under subsection (c), the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall submit to Congress a re-
port describing the amount and account of each adjust-
ment. 
SEC. 1006. OVERSIGHT REQUIREMENTS FOR FINANCIAL IM-
PROVEMENT 
AND 
AUDIT 
REMEDIATION 
PLAN. 
Section 240b(b) of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘, the 
Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the 
House of Representatives, and the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate’’ after ‘‘congressional defense committees’’; 
and 
(2) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) by amending the paragraph heading to 
read as follows: ‘‘BRIEFINGS’’; and 
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(B) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) Not later than June 30, 2025, and annu-
ally thereafter, the Under Secretary of Defense 
(Comptroller) shall provide to the Committee on 
Oversight and Accountability of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a brief-
ing on the status of the corrective action plan. Such 
briefing shall include an assessment of the progress 
of the Secretary of Defense in achieving an unquali-
fied audit opinion as described in subsection 
(a)(2)(iv)’’. 
SEC. 1006A. USE OF TECHNOLOGY USING ARTIFICIAL IN-
TELLIGENCE TO FACILITATE AUDIT OF THE 
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE DEPART-
MENT OF DEFENSE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025. 
(a) USE OF AI TECHNOLOGY FOR AUDITS.—The Sec-
retary of Defense and the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, 
and Air Force shall encourage, to the greatest extent prac-
ticable, the use of technology that uses artificial intel-
ligence or machine learning for the purpose of facilitating 
audits of the financial statements of the Department of 
Defense. 
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(b) IMPLEMENTATION OF AI TECHNOLOGY FOR AU-
DITS.—The Director of the Chief Digital and Artificial In-
telligence Office of the Department, in coordination with 
the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engi-
neering and the Inspector General of the Department, 
shall oversee the adoption of artificial intelligence and ma-
chine learning technologies in support of financial man-
agement and enterprise business operations. 
(c) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 
shall provide to the Committees on Armed Services of the 
Senate and House of Representatives a briefing that in-
cludes a description of the use of artificial intelligence or 
machine learning technologies as described in (a) and (b), 
including an update on the implementation of the strategy 
titled ‘‘2023 Data, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence 
Adoption Strategy’’ and dated June 27, 2023. 
Subtitle B—Counterdrug Activities 
SEC. 1007. MODIFICATION TO TYPES OF SUPPORT FOR 
COUNTERDRUG ACTIVITIES AND ACTIVITIES 
TO COUNTER TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED 
CRIME. 
Section 284(b)(6)(A) of title 10, United States Code, 
is amended by striking ‘‘within 25 miles of and’’. 
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SEC. 1008. SUPPORT FOR COUNTERDRUG ACTIVITIES AF-
FECTING FLOW OF DRUGS INTO UNITED 
STATES. 
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary shall prescribe Depart-
ment-wide 
guidance 
that 
establishes 
support 
for 
counterdrug activities and programs affecting the flow of 
drugs into the United States as the principal foreign 
counterdrug program priority of the Department. 
SEC. 1009. REPORT ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OPER-
ATIONAL PLANNING TO DEFEAT MEXICAN 
DRUG CARTELS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of De-
fense, in consultation with the heads of such other depart-
ments and agencies as the Secretary determines appro-
priate, shall submit to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees a report on Department of Defense operational 
planning to defeat Mexican drug cartels. Such report shall 
include the following elements: 
(1) A history of Mexican military operations 
against transnational criminal organizations, includ-
ing— 
(A) areas of operations; 
(B) operations against high value targets; 
and, 
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(C) after-action reviews of operations. 
(2) An assessment of Mexican military assets 
and capabilities, including— 
(A) unit-specific leadership assessments; 
(B) unit-specific strengths; 
(C) unit-specific weaknesses; 
(D) unit-specific readiness; and, 
(E) unit-specific susceptibility to corrup-
tion or cooperation with transnational criminal 
organizations. 
(3) An identification of any gaps in Mexican 
military assets and capabilities for which the United 
States Armed Forces could provide additional re-
sources to assist in the defeat of Mexican drug car-
tels. 
(4) A description of operational plans to mili-
tarily defeat Mexican drug cartels with varying levels 
of coordination and cooperation with the Mexican 
military. 
(5) An assessment of additional steps that 
would be necessary to secure a military victory after 
the military defeat of such cartels. 
(b) FORM OF REPORT.—The report required under 
subsection (a) shall be submitted in classified form. 
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(c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 
In this section the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(1) the congressional defense committee; 
(2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
House of Representatives; and 
(3) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 
the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate. 
SEC. 1010. MODIFICATION TO TYPES OF SUPPORT FOR 
COUNTERDRUG ACTIVITIES AND ACTIVITIES 
TO COUNTER TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED 
CRIME. 
Section 284(b)(6)(A) of title 10, United States Code, 
is amended by inserting ‘‘or within the joint operating 
area of Joint Interagency Task Force South’’ after 
‘‘United States’’. 
SEC. 1010A. SALE OR DONATION OF EXCESS DEPARTMENT 
OF 
DEFENSE 
PERSONAL 
PROPERTY 
FOR 
DRUG SURVEILLANCE AND INTERDICTION. 
Section 2576a(d) of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘the highest’’ and inserting ‘‘a 
high’’; and 
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(2) by striking ‘‘In considering’’ and inserting 
‘‘(1) In considering applications for the transfer of 
personal property under this section, the Secretary 
shall give the highest preference to applications indi-
cating that the transferred property will be used in 
counterdrug surveillance and interdiction by local, 
tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies with-
in 100 miles of the United States-Mexico border 
that have an annual budget of not more than 
$200,000,000.’’ 
‘‘(2) In considering’’. 
Subtitle C—Naval Vessels and 
Shipyards 
SEC. 1011. ASSESSMENT REQUIRED IN THE EVENT OF A 
PROPOSED REDUCTION IN BATTLE FORCE 
SHIPS AS PART OF THE ANNUAL NAVAL VES-
SEL CONSTRUCTION PLAN AND CERTIFI-
CATION. 
Section 231 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub-
section (h); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
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‘‘(g) REDUCTION IN BATTLE FORCE SHIPS.—(1) If 
the plan and certification submitted under subsection (a) 
for a fiscal year include a reduction in the number of bat-
tle force ships during the ten-year period following the 
submission of the plan, as compared to the number of such 
ships included in the plan and certification for the pre-
ceding fiscal year, the Secretary of Defense shall submit 
with the plan and assessment an additional assessment 
that includes each of the following: 
‘‘(A) A description of how the proposed reduc-
tion would support the national security strategy of 
the United States. 
‘‘(B) An identification of the total amount of 
resources that have been previously allocated for the 
ship that is no longer being requested, including 
funds for research, development, test, and evaluation 
specific to the ship, advance procurement, advanced 
construction, and economic order quantity. 
‘‘(C) An identification of the total amount of 
resources the industrial base has allocated to sup-
port the ship that is no longer being requested. 
‘‘(D) An analysis of the effect such reduction is 
likely to have on the industrial base, including the 
sub-tier supplier base. 
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‘‘(E) An analysis of the effect of the reduction 
on the overall requirement for the class of ship that 
was reduced. 
‘‘(2)(A) If an additional assessment is required to be 
submitted under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year and the 
Secretary of Defense does not include such assessment 
with the defense budget materials for the fiscal year, not 
more than 75 percent of the funds referred to in subpara-
graph (B) may be obligated or expended until the Sec-
retary submits the additional assessment. 
‘‘(B) The funds referred to in this paragraph are any 
funds made available to the Secretary of Defense for exec-
utive travel that remain available for obligation or expend-
iture as of the date on which the plan and certification 
under subsection (a) and the plan and certification under 
subsection (d) are required to be submitted.’’. 
SEC. 1012. MINIMUM NUMBER OF PUBLIC NAVAL SHIP-
YARDS. 
Section 8062 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsections (f) through (h) 
as subsections (f) though (i), respectively; 
(2) by inserting after subsection (e), the fol-
lowing new subsection (f): 
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‘‘(f) The Secretary of the Navy shall operate not less 
than four public naval shipyards.’’; and 
(3) in subsection (i), as so redesignated— 
(A) by striking ‘‘section, the’’ and all that 
follows through the period at the end and in-
serting ‘‘section:’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘amphibious warfare ship’ means 
a ship that is classified as an amphibious assault 
ship (general purpose) (LHA), an amphibious as-
sault ship (multi-purpose) (LHD), an amphibious 
transport dock (LPD), or a dock landing ship 
(LSD). 
‘‘(2) The term ‘public naval shipyard’ means a 
naval shipyard operated by the Navy as of January 
1, 2024.’’. 
SEC. 1013. MODIFICATIONS TO SHIP REPAIR AUTHORITIES. 
(a) DEFINITION OF SHORT-TERM WORK FOR PUR-
POSES OF NAVY CONSTRUCTION OF COMBATANT AND ES-
CORT
VESSELS
AND
ASSIGNMENT
OF
VESSEL 
PROJECTS.—Section 8669a(c)(4) of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘10 months’’ and in-
serting ‘‘18 months’’. 
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(b) STUDY
ON PRICE DIFFERENTIALS USED
IN 
NAVY SHIP REPAIR SOLICITATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 
appropriations, the Secretary of the Navy shall seek 
to enter into an agreement with a federally funded 
research and development center to conduct a study 
to assess whether relevant price differentials used by 
the Navy in ship repair solicitations accurately re-
flect the true market value of the activity under-
taken to complete the repair work involved in the ab-
sence of any such differential. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The study under paragraph 
(1) shall address all relevant price differentials used 
by the Navy in ship repair solicitations, including— 
(A) the use of Government-owned and op-
erated dry docks; 
(B) the use of inter-port differentials; and 
(C) the use of pier differentials. 
(3) REPORTS.— 
(A) FFRDC REPORT.—The federally funded 
research and development center that conducts 
the study under paragraph (1) shall submit to 
the Secretary of the Navy a report on the re-
sults of the study. 
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(B) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—Not later 
than September 30, 2025, the Secretary of the 
Navy shall submit to the congressional defense 
committees an unaltered copy of the report re-
ceived by the Secretary under subparagraph (A) 
together with a separate statement of the views 
of the Secretary on the results of the study con-
ducted under paragraph (1). 
(c) REPORT
ON NAVY POLICY
FOR SOLICITING 
COASTWIDE BIDS
FOR CERTAIN REPAIR AVAILABIL-
ITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 30, 
2025, the Secretary of the Navy shall submit to the 
congressional defense committees a report on the 
policy of the Navy for soliciting coastwide bids for 
repair availabilities longer than 10 months. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The report under paragraph 
(1) shall include an explanation and assessment of 
each of the following: 
(A) The intent of the policy described in 
paragraph (1). 
(B) The data the Navy uses to assess the 
efficacy of such policy. 
(C) How the Navy estimates the cost of 
moving vessels out of their home port to com-
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plete the availability and the actual cost of mov-
ing vessels out of their home port to complete 
the availability. 
(D) How the Navy estimates the financial, 
labor force, member of the Armed Forces and 
family well-being, berthing, and related costs 
associated with moving a vessel out of its home 
port to complete a repair availability longer 
than 10 months. 
SEC. 1014. CONGRESSIONAL CERTIFICATION REQUIRED 
PRIOR TO START OF CONSTRUCTION ON 
FIRST SHIP OF A SHIPBUILDING PROGRAM. 
Section 8669c(a)(3) of title 10, United States Code, 
is amended by inserting ‘‘100 percent’’ before ‘‘complete’’. 
SEC. 1015. ASSESSMENTS REQUIRED PRIOR TO START OF 
CONSTRUCTION ON FIRST SHIP OF A SHIP-
BUILDING PROGRAM. 
Section 8669c of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
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(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) certifies to the congressional defense com-
mittees that for each block of the ship’s construc-
tion, the detail design will be completed.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 
following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(7) For first ships and subsequent ships, the 
plan of the Navy to oversee and document the com-
pletion of the detail design for each block of the 
ship’s construction before construction of such block 
begins. 
‘‘(8) The extent to which information provided 
by a vendor to support the overall maturity and sta-
bility of a ship’s design is complete before construc-
tion on the ship begins, including with respect to in-
formation that confirms— 
‘‘(A) vendor selection is complete for major 
distributive systems and key equipment sup-
porting operational requirements of the ship; 
‘‘(B) specifications are finalized for such 
major distributive systems and key equipment; 
and 
‘‘(C) the status of factory acceptance test-
ing, as applicable, to validate finalized specifica-
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tions for such major distributive systems and 
key equipment through manufacturing.’’; and 
(3) in subsection (c)(1)— 
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
(A), by striking ‘‘computer aided models’’ and 
inserting ‘‘the completion of 3D computer aided 
modeling’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (C)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘positions and’’ before 
‘‘routes’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘all major’’ before 
‘‘distributive systems’’. 
SEC. 1016. EXCEPTION TO PROHIBITION OF OVERHAUL, RE-
PAIR, OR MAINTENANCE OF CERTAIN VES-
SELS IN SHIPYARDS OUTSIDE THE UNITED 
STATES OR GUAM. 
Section 8680(a)(3) of title 10, United States Code, 
is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 
(B) as subparagraphs (B) and (C) respectively; and 
(2) by inserting before subparagraph (B) the 
following new subparagraph (A): 
‘‘(A) preventive maintenance of a deployed 
naval vessel lasting not more than 21 days;’’. 
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SEC. 1017. STRATEGY ON DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL REARM 
AT SEA CAPABILITY. 
(a) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Navy shall submit to the congressional defense commit-
tees a strategy for delivering a rearm at sea capability to 
the surface fleet of the United States Navy. Such strategy 
shall include each of the following: 
(1) A plan to develop, by not later than three 
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
capability to employ transportable rearming mecha-
nism equipment to load missile canisters into MK 41 
vertical launch system cells on Navy destroyers oper-
ating, including an identification of the current and 
planned investments of the Navy in technology de-
velopment to achieve such capability, including the 
anticipated cost and schedule for such investments. 
(2) A plan for the key milestone events and as-
sociated dates in the development of such capability. 
(3) A plan to coordinate with allies of the 
United States that use variants of the United States 
manufactured MK 41 vertical launch system to 
jointly procure rearm at sea capabilities. 
(4) An identification of any courses of action 
the Secretary is considering other than the plans re-
ferred to in paragraphs (1) through (2) to address 
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the gap between the rearm at sea capabilities of the 
United States and the capabilities of other countries, 
including the use of uncrewed technologies. 
(5) Such other matters as the Secretary deter-
mines appropriate. 
(b) BRIEFING.— Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 
Navy shall provide to the congressional defense commit-
tees a written briefing on the development of the strategy 
required under (a). 
SEC. 1018. AUTHORITY TO USE INCREMENTAL FUNDING TO 
ENTER INTO A CONTRACT FOR THE CON-
STRUCTION 
OF 
A 
VIRGINIA-CLASS 
SUB-
MARINE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Amounts authorized to be appro-
priated by this Act or otherwise made available for the 
Navy for Shipbuilding and Conversion for fiscal year 2025 
may be used by the Secretary of the Navy to enter into 
an incrementally funded contract for the construction of 
a Virgina-class submarine. 
(b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—A contract entered 
into under subsection (a) shall provide that any obligation 
of the United States to make a payment under the con-
tract is subject to the availability of appropriations for 
that purpose, and that total liability to the Government 
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for the termination of the contract shall be limited to the 
total amount of funding obligated at time of termination. 
SEC. 1019. PILOT PROGRAM ON USE OF AUTOMATED IN-
SPECTION TECHNOLOGIES AT SHIPYARDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of the Navy shall carry out a pilot program on the use 
of automated inspection technologies at shipyards. 
(b) SELECTION OF LOCATION.—The Secretary shall 
select one shipyard at which to carry out the pilot program 
required under subsection (a) and shall take such steps 
as may be necessary to minimize the disruption to the op-
erations of the shipyard during the conduct of the pilot 
program. 
(c) ELEMENTS.—In carrying out the pilot program 
required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 
(1) select at least one surface ship as a test 
platform to collect a comprehensive set of inspection 
criteria used for defining maintenance requirements; 
(2) define requirements for the upgrade or over-
haul of the information technology infrastructure at 
the shipyard to ensure compatibility with new tech-
nologies implemented under the pilot program; 
(3) provide for the training of personnel on the 
operation and maintenance of the automated inspec-
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tion technologies selected for use during the pilot 
program; 
(4) designate an individual who shall be respon-
sible for implementing and overseeing each phase of 
the pilot program; and 
(5) recommend a strategic sequencing plan of 
the pilot program to ensure the execution of nec-
essary information technology upgrades prior to the 
deployment of robotic systems. 
(d) REPORT AND BRIEFINGS.— 
(1) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the termination of the pilot program under sub-
section (e), the Secretary shall submit to the con-
gressional defense committees a report on the results 
of the pilot program. 
(2) BRIEFINGS.—Upon completion of the se-
quencing plan required under subsection (c)(5), the 
Secretary shall provide to the congressional defense 
committees a briefing on the plan. 
(e) TERMINATION.—The authority to carry out a 
pilot program under this section shall terminate on the 
date that is three years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
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SEC. 1020. PROHIBITION ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR 
RETIREMENT OF GUIDED MISSILE CRUISERS. 
None of the funds authorized to be appropriated by 
this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2025 
for the Department of Defense may be obligated or ex-
pended retire, prepare to retire, inactivate, or place in 
storage— 
(1) the USS Shilo (CG 67); 
(2) the USS Lake Erie (CG 70); or 
(3) more than two other guided missile cruisers. 
SEC. 1021. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NAMING WAR-
SHIPS AFTER NAVY MEDAL OF HONOR RE-
CIPIENTS. 
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of the 
Navy should name warships after Navy recipients of the 
Medal of Honor from World War I to the present, who 
have not had a vessel named in their honor, as follows: 
(1) Tedford H. Cann. 
(2) Ora Graves. 
(3) John MacKenzie. 
(4) Patrick McGunigal. 
(5) John H. Balch. 
(6) Joel T. Boone. 
(7) Jesse W. Covington. 
(8) Edouard Izac. 
(9) David E. Hayden. 
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(10) Alexander G. Lyle. 
(11) Francis E. Ormsbee, Jr. 
(12) Orlando H. Petty. 
(13) Oscar Schmidt, Jr. 
(14) Daniel A. J. Sullivan. 
(15) Frank M. Upton. 
(16) John O. Siegel. 
(17) Henry Breault. 
(18) Thomas J. Ryan. 
(19) George R. Cholister. 
(20) Thomas Eadie. 
(21) William R. Huber. 
(22) William Badders. 
(23) James H. McDonald. 
(24) John Mihalowski. 
(25) Samuel G. Fuqua. 
(26) William E. Hall. 
(27) Herbert Schonland. 
(28) Nathan G. Gordon. 
(29) Arthur M. Preston. 
(30) Eugene B. Fluckey. 
(31) Robert Bush. 
(32) Rufus G. Herring. 
(33) Franklin J. Pierce. 
(34) George L. Street. 
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(35) George E. Wahlen. 
(36) William L. McGonagle. 
(37) Thomas G. Kelley. 
(38) Joseph R. Kerrey. 
(39) Thomas R. Norris. 
(40) Michael E. Thornton. 
(41) Britt K. Slabinski. 
(42) Edward Byers, Jr. 
SEC. 1022. STUDY RELATED TO RECRUITMENT AND RETEN-
TION OF APPRENTICES AT PUBLIC SHIP-
YARDS. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Commander of United States Naval 
Sea Systems Command shall conduct a study to— 
(1) summarize data relating to the recruitment 
and retention of apprentices across the four public 
shipyards, disaggregated by shipyard, including— 
(A) demographic information on applicants 
for apprenticeships; 
(B) recruiting incentives offered to the ap-
plicants; 
(C) apprenticeship completion rates for ac-
cepted applicants; 
(D) the average duration of service for 
graduates of an apprenticeship; and 
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(E) reasons why individuals voluntarily left 
the apprentice program or the Navy after com-
pleting the apprenticeship program; and 
(2) determine the feasibility of— 
(A) sharing apprenticeship application data 
across all four public shipyards; 
(B) allowing an apprentice to start an ap-
prenticeship program in one such shipyard and 
finish the in another such shipyard; 
(C) allowing an apprentice to enter and 
complete an apprenticeship program in one 
such shipyard but serve in another such ship-
yard upon completion of the four year training 
program; and 
(D) allowing such a shipyard to train an 
individual who, upon completion of the training, 
would be required to serve in a another such 
shipyard but would have the right to return to 
the shipyard where they received such training 
after serving for 4 years at the other shipyard. 
SEC. 1023. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NAMING OF 
NAVAL VESSEL AFTER LIEUTENANT GEN-
ERAL RICHARD E. CAREY. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the Secretary of the Navy should name the 
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Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport vessel of the 
United States Navy that has been ordered (Hull Number 
T-EPF-16) in honor of Lieutenant General Richard E. 
Carey for the acts of valor described in subsection (b). 
(b) ACTS OF VALOR.—The acts of valor described in 
this subsection are as follows: 
(1) Lieutenant General Richard E. Carey par-
ticipated in the Inchon Landing, captured com-
munist forces, and led his rifle platoon to Seoul. 
Three months later, on East Hill at the Chosin Res-
ervoir, Carey hurled grenades at Chinese forces. 
Carey and his fellow Marines were outnumbered 
eight to one. They held their ground and broke 
through the Chinese trap to the sea. 
(2) Carey remained in the fight until March 
1951. While commanding a platoon of machine gun-
ners, Carey was badly wounded. He continued lead-
ing his troops and initially refused to get aid for his 
injuries. Carey’s wounds required hospitalization. 
During 189 days in Korea, Carey had seven near- 
death experiences. As a result of his actions in 
Korea, Carey received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, 
and Purple Heart. 
(3) Returning to the United States, Carey 
earned a flight training slot and became a fighter 
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pilot. In the early 1960s Carey scouted Marine air-
field sites in Vietnam. He returned to Vietnam in 
the summer of 1967 and served during the Tet of-
fensive. Carey flew 204 combat sorties earning the 
Distinguished Flying Cross and 16 Air Medals. 
SEC. 1024. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NAMING OF 
NAVAL VESSEL AFTER MAJOR JAMES CA-
PERS, JR.. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the Secretary of the Navy should name a vessel 
of the United States Navy the ‘‘U.S.S. Major James Ca-
pers Jr.’’ in honor of Major James Capers, Jr., for the 
acts of valor described in subsection (b). 
(b) ACTS OF VALOR DESCRIBED.—The acts of valor 
described in this subsection are the actions of James Ca-
pers, Jr., as a member of the Marine Corps, during the 
period of March 31 through April 3, 1967, during the 
Vietnam War, for which he was previously awarded the 
Silver Star. 
SEC. 1025. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NAMING A 
NAVAL VESSEL AFTER WILLIAM B. GOULD. 
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of the 
Navy should name a commissioned naval vessel after for-
merly enslaved sailor and Civil War veteran, William B. 
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Gould, to honor his strength of character and faithful 
service to the United States. 
Subtitle D—Counterterrorism 
SEC. 1031. EXTENSION OF PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS 
FOR TRANSFER OR RELEASE OF INDIVID-
UALS DETAINED AT UNITED STATES NAVAL 
STATION, GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, TO THE 
UNITED STATES. 
Section 1033 of the John S. McCain National De-
fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 
115–232; 132 Stat. 1953) is amended by striking ‘‘De-
cember 31, 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2025’’. 
SEC. 1032. EXTENSION OF PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS 
TO CONSTRUCT OR MODIFY FACILITIES IN 
THE UNITED STATES TO HOUSE DETAINEES 
TRANSFERRED FROM UNITED STATES NAVAL 
STATION, GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA. 
Section 1034(a) of the John S. McCain National De-
fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 
115–232; 132 Stat. 1954) is amended by striking ‘‘De-
cember 31, 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2025’’. 
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SEC. 1033. EXTENSION OF PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS 
FOR TRANSFER OR RELEASE OF INDIVID-
UALS DETAINED AT UNITED STATES NAVAL 
STATION, GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, TO CER-
TAIN COUNTRIES. 
Section 1035 of the John S. McCain National De-
fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 
115–232; 132 Stat. 1954) is amended by striking ‘‘De-
cember 31, 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2025’’. 
SEC. 1034. EXTENSION OF PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS 
TO CLOSE OR RELINQUISH CONTROL OF 
UNITED STATES NAVAL STATION, GUANTA-
NAMO BAY, CUBA. 
Section 1036 of the National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (Public Law 115–91; 131 Stat. 
1551) is amended by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2018 through 
2024’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2018 through 2025’’. 
Subtitle E—Miscellaneous 
Authorities and Limitations 
SEC. 1041. AUTHORITY TO CONTRIBUTE TO INNOVATION 
FUND. 
Subchapter II of chapter 138 of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
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‘‘§ 2350s. Authority to contribute to innovation fund 
‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO CONTRIBUTE TO NATO INNO-
VATION FUND.—Within amounts authorized by law for 
such purpose during the 10-year period following the date 
of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2025, the Secretary of Defense may 
contribute to the NATO Innovation Fund a total amount 
of no more than $200,000,000. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘NATO’ means the North Atlan-
tic Treaty Organization. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘NATO Innovation Fund’ means 
the multi-sovereign, investment venture capital fund 
of NATO that provides secure investment in dual- 
use, high-impact technology.’’. 
SEC. 1042. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF EXPENDI-
TURE OF FUNDS FOR DEPARTMENT OF DE-
FENSE INTELLIGENCE AND COUNTERINTEL-
LIGENCE ACTIVITIES. 
Section 1057 of the National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and 
inserting ‘‘2030’’; 
(2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and 
inserting ‘‘2030’’; and 
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(3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ 
and inserting ‘‘$125,000’’. 
SEC. 1043. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR REIMBURSE-
MENT OF EXPENSES FOR CERTAIN NAVY 
MESS OPERATIONS. 
Section 1014 of the Duncan Hunter National De-
fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 
110–417; 122 Stat. 4585), as most recently amended by 
section 1028 of the National Defense Authorization Act 
for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283; 134 Stat. 
3388), is further amended— 
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘September 
30, 2025’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2030’’; and 
(2) by striking subsection (c). 
SEC. 1044. PROHIBITION ON REALIGNMENT OR REDUCTION 
OF 
SPECIAL 
OPERATIONS 
FORCES 
END 
STRENGTH AUTHORIZATIONS. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—During the covered period, the 
Secretary of Defense and the Secretaries of each of the 
military departments may not realign or reduce special op-
erations forces end strength authorizations. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘covered period’’ means the two- 
year period beginning on January 1, 2025. 
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(2) The term ‘‘special operations forces’’ means 
the forces identified under section 167(j) of title 10, 
United States Code, or a member of the Armed 
Forces carrying out special operations activities. 
(3) The term ‘‘special operations activities’’ 
means activities described in section 167(k) of title 
10, United States Code, and includes any support 
services provided for the execution such activities, 
including logistics, communications, and intelligence 
activities. 
SEC. 1045. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR WORK 
PERFORMED BY ECOHEALTH ALLIANCE, INC., 
IN CHINA ON RESEARCH SUPPORTED BY THE 
GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under sub-
section (b), none of the funds authorized to be appro-
priated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal 
year 2025 for the Department of Defense may be used 
to fund any work to be performed by EcoHealth Alliance, 
Inc., in China on research supported by the government 
of China, including to provide any grants for such pur-
pose. 
(b) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Defense may waive 
the prohibition under subsection (a) if the Secretary deter-
mines that such a waiver is in the national security inter-
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ests of the United States and, not later than 14 days after 
granting such a waiver, submits to the congressional de-
fense committees a detailed justification for the waiver, 
including— 
(1) an identification of the Department of De-
fense entity obligating or expending the funds; 
(2) an identification of the amount of such 
funds; 
(3) an identification of the intended purpose of 
such funds; 
(4) an identification of the recipient or prospec-
tive recipient of such funds (including any third- 
party entity recipient, as applicable); 
(5) an explanation for how the waiver is in the 
national security interests of the United States; and 
(6) any other information the Secretary deter-
mines appropriate. 
SEC. 1046. PROHIBITION ON TRANSPORTING CURRENCY TO 
THE TALIBAN AND THE ISLAMIC EMIRATE OF 
AFGHANISTAN. 
None of the amounts authorized to be appropriated 
by this Act or otherwise made available to the Department 
of Defense may be made available for the operation of any 
aircraft of the Department of Defense to transport cur-
rency or other items of value to the Taliban, the Islamic 
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Emirate of Afghanistan, or any subsidiary, agent, or in-
strumentality of either the Taliban or the Islamic Emirate 
of Afghanistan. 
SEC. 1047. PROHIBITION ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
USAGE OF TUTOR.COM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall— 
(1) cease offering services through Tutor.com 
not later than 30 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act; and 
(2) terminate any business relationships with 
Tutor.com as soon as legally possible. 
(b) FUTURE RELATIONSHIPS.—The Secretary may 
not enter into any contractual or other relationship with 
Tutor.com as long as Tutor.com is owned by Primavera 
Capital Group or any other entity owned or controlled by 
nationals of the People’s Republic of China. 
SEC. 1048. PROHIBITION ON OPERATION OF CONNECTED 
VEHICLES DESIGNED, DEVELOPED, MANU-
FACTURED, 
OR 
SUPPLIED 
BY 
PERSONS 
OWNED BY, CONTROLLED BY, OR SUBJECT 
TO THE JURISDICTION OF A FOREIGN ENTITY 
OF CONCERN ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
PROPERTY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—No connected vehicle on the list 
required under subsection (b) may be operated on a mili-
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