WASHINGTON, D.C. – Led by Chairman John Garamendi (D-Calif.) and Ranking Member Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), the Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness today released their proposals for the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Subcommittee will meet at 12:00pm ET on Thursday, July 29 in Rayburn 2118 and via the WebEx platform. The markup will be live streamed on the committee’s website. The Subcommittee's mark is available here.
Specifically, this year's proposal:
Makes Investments in key Readiness Accounts and Military Infrastructure to Support the Training, Sustainment, and Quality of Life for Military Personnel and Their Families:
Continues Efforts to Address Energy and Extreme Weather Vulnerabilities That Threaten the Resiliency of Military Facilities and Operations:
Builds on Efforts to Address Contested Logistics Challenges Involving Near-Peer competitors by Strengthening Operational Energy Programs:
Builds on the Committee’s Previous Legislative and Oversight Activities to Address Poor Conditions in Barracks, Child Development Centers and Housing:
Builds on the Committee’s Oversight Activities to Address Preventable Training Accidents and Build a Culture of Safety in the Military Departments:
Continues to build on efforts to support the Department of Defense Civilian Workforce:
Continues Efforts to ensure modern weapons systems are sustainable and affordable over time and to Support our Industrial Base:
Continues Efforts to Address Contamination Associated with Per- and Polyfluorinated Compounds On and Around Military Installations:
Specifically, this year's proposal:
Makes Investments in key Readiness Accounts and Military Infrastructure to Support the Training, Sustainment, and Quality of Life for Military Personnel and Their Families:
- Authorizes appropriations for military construction, family housing, and BRAC cleanup activities.
- Authorizes appropriations for operation & maintenance accounts that support military operations, training, environmental remediation, and weapon system sustainment.
Continues Efforts to Address Energy and Extreme Weather Vulnerabilities That Threaten the Resiliency of Military Facilities and Operations:
- Requires each military department to complete installation master plans at two of their most at-risk installations within one year of enactment.
- Requires the Department to amend DOD building codes to require consideration of microgrids with islanding capability as part of planned new construction; and, encourages the department to renegotiate contracts related to existing on-installation renewable energy projects to enhance installation resiliency during power disruptions.
- Requires installation commanders to consult with local governments to ensure installation master plans include outside the fence line resiliency considerations.
- Requires the Department to assess energy and water usage at existing data centers and set conservation goals for new data centers.
- Requires the Department to include EV charging infrastructure needs in their planning for new domestic military construction; requires the Department to adopt industry standard planning considerations in the development and roll-out of charging infrastructure at military installations.
Builds on Efforts to Address Contested Logistics Challenges Involving Near-Peer competitors by Strengthening Operational Energy Programs:
- Requires the Department to create a working group of program planners, energy staff, joint staff, and geographic combatant commands to enhance integration of military department energy initiatives into operational planning and platform development to combat contested logistics challenges.
- Requires the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment to report on alternative fuels and mandates the conduct of a wholistic review of the associated production, transportation, geopolitical, commercial, and research and development of alternative energy.
- Requires the Secretary of Defense to designate a Combatant Command as the agency responsible for global bulk fuel storage, delivery, and distribution; directs the so-designated Combatant Command to conduct a strategy on the infrastructure and programs necessary to optimally support global bulk fuel management of the Department of Defense.
Builds on the Committee’s Previous Legislative and Oversight Activities to Address Poor Conditions in Barracks, Child Development Centers and Housing:
- Requires the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment to report on and provide a list of domestic facilities and average facility childcare wait list, assess efforts to find solutions and reduce wait times, assess the extent to which staffing availability impacts childcare availability, and assess whether including childcare facilities in agreements for new private housing would be an effective solution.
- Requires the military departments to conduct safety inspections and develop 10-year facility improvement plans for child development centers.
- Requires the Department to place higher priority on the sustainment of quality-of-life facilities such as barracks by setting aside a percentage of infrastructure sustainment funds for that purpose.
Builds on the Committee’s Oversight Activities to Address Preventable Training Accidents and Build a Culture of Safety in the Military Departments:
- Establishes a Joint Safety Council within the Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense that advises on all operational safety matters, establishes safety standards, collects and analyzes safety data, and develops safety priorities.
- Addresses concerns about the quality and objectivity of the military department’s mishap investigations by directing the Deputy Secretary of Defense to develop a plan for the establishment of a Mishap Investigation Review Board, which would provide oversight and independent review of mishap investigations.
- Requires the Secretaries of the Army and Marine Corps to develop a plan to address the recommendations contained in GAO’s recent report on tactical vehicle mishaps.
- Requires the Secretary of Defense to review the risks, benefits, and plans for enhancing the protections for combat uniforms in an effort to protect service members from flash fires.
Continues to build on efforts to support the Department of Defense Civilian Workforce:
- Requires the Secretary of Defense to provide a report detailing the number of military, civilian, and contractor personnel assigned to or employed by OSD over the past ten years; to assess whether the number of civilian billets in OSD-Policy has kept pace with changes in the organization’s mission over time; and to provide a recommendation as to whether an increase to OSD’s statutory personnel caps is necessary to ensure sufficient civilian staffing and enable corrective action for any inappropriate contracting.
- Prohibits changes to the size or function of the Naval Audit Service until the Comptroller General completes a report on the operations of the Naval Audit Service.
- Requires the Secretary of Defense to develop a plan to address the recommendations contained in the Comptroller General of the United States report entitled "Sexual Harassment and Assault: Guidance Needed to Ensure Consistent Tracking, Response, and Training for Department of Defense Civilians."
- Requires that the Secretary of Defense to establish relevant metrics, collect and report on diversity statistics, and report on the status of diversity and inclusion efforts among the civilian work force.
Continues Efforts to ensure modern weapons systems are sustainable and affordable over time and to Support our Industrial Base:
- Requires the Comptroller General to report on organic maintenance capability and capacity within the F-35 program including depot standup, technical data requirements, unique tooling, and contractor assistance in depot standup; assess the potential to transition supply-chain management from a contractor-led to a government-led function, and; assess key field-level maintenance challenges as well as mitigating actions.
- Requires the Comptroller General to provide annual reports in the years 2022-2025 on the F-35 program sustainment system, including an analysis of the sustainment strategy, an analysis of the Department’s ability to reduce costs toward affordability metrics, and an analysis of the Department’s efforts to provide oversight of key contractor-led sustainment functions.
- Requires the Secretary of Defense to initiate a pilot program to develop a digital twin of the facilities and operations of at least one government-owned and operated military depot that is not a shipyard.
- Requires the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology to review efforts to digitize field-level maintenance for ground vehicles.
Continues Efforts to Address Contamination Associated with Per- and Polyfluorinated Compounds On and Around Military Installations:
- Requires the Department of Defense to review current practices to prevent or mitigate AFFF spills and promulgate best practices for spill prevention and mitigation, enterprise wide.
- Increases transparency and facilitates information-sharing with defense communities impacted by PFAS contamination.
- Places a temporary moratorium on the incineration of PFAS-contaminated materials until DOD adopts and promulgates EPA interim guidance for disposal.
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