638 
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.
639 
‘‘(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
640 
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;
641 
‘‘(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;
642 
‘‘(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—
643 
(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
644 
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.
645 
(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-
678 
‘‘(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
686 
(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;
721 
(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-
1151 
prioritized when initially selecting locations to 
deploy microreactors to assist with natural dis-
aster response efforts; 
(H) the methods, capabilities, and costs as-
sociated with transporting microreactors that 
were or may be impacted by natural disasters, 
including considerations about transporting new 
microreactors, in addition to microreactors that 
have been put to use, and any regulatory or 
legal issues that may arise during the transpor-
tation; 
(I) any other strategic considerations that 
should be taken into account before deploying 
microreactors to assist with natural disaster re-
sponse efforts; 
(J) how to integrate microreactors into ex-
isting electrical grids in emergency situations, 
including how grid connection points, microgrid 
limits, site load limits, existing infrastructure, 
and the standard process for grid interconnec-
tions may impact the integration of microreac-
tors into existing electrical grid; 
(K) whether microreactors will be suscep-
tible to cyberattacks, including whether autono-
mous control will impact the microreactor’s