WASHINGTON, D.C. – Led by Chairman James Langevin (D-R.I.) and Ranking Member Jim Banks (R-Ind.), the Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems today released their proposals for the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Subcommittee will meet at 10:00am ET on Wednesday, June 8 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 includes: 

Empowering and Encouraging Innovation
  • Creates a new class of biomanufacturing capabilities and facilities, providing a crucial capability to transition products successfully proven in the lab to commercial scale.
  • Strengthens the bioindustrial manufacturing base in the United States.
  • Enables research into a new generation of chemicals and materials, including carbon neutral cement and carbon negative commodity chemicals.
  • Requires DOD to analyze the biotechnology industrial base and recommend actions to ensure robust domestic manufacturing capabilities. Also investigates the feasibility of forward deployed biomanufacturing to ease supply chain concerns.
  • Encourages the Department to anticipate the revolutionary potential of quantum computing by creating a quantum computer strategy and identifying plans to use quantum computer testbeds in the near future.
  • Encourages support for patentable inventions that occur outside the defense laboratory ecosystem, supporting innovation efforts at the tactical edge.
  • Recognizes the need for positioning, navigation, and timing capabilities if GPS is denied or disrupted.
  • Encourages collaboration among government, universities, and industry to promote cutting edge research into new navigation and timing technology. 
  • Requires a report on the National Guard's needs for domestic backup PNT. 
  • Requires DOD to brief on the adoption of open architecture standards to support faster integration and deployment of new navigation systems.
  • Explores the potential for novel vehicle technologies for movement of personnel and cargo.
  • Encourages the Department to rationalize battery types, chemistries, and form factors.
 
Strengthening Support for Science and Technology and Test and Evaluation Efforts
  • Encourages disruptive investments by requiring the Department to periodically reexamine risk distribution within its research and development portfolio. 
  • Requires the Department to examine how it identifies new technology opportunities using horizon scanning in order to ensure that S&T strategies are forward-looking. 
  • Requires the Department to report out actual delivery times for software programs in order to ensure frequent deliveries of working software.
  • Assesses the sufficiency of test and evaluation resources to meet the demands of major defense programs, assesses contractor-provided testing capabilities, and examines equipment shortfalls within the test and evaluation community.
  • Reviews the resource planning constructs for the test and evaluation enterprise.
 
Cyber and Information Technology
  • Directs an independent assessment of the military's software and information technology to determine the cost poorly performing software and information technology systems are imposing in lost working hours and the associated time and money.
  • Requires a GAO review of the JADC2 program to ensure service-specific efforts support joint warfighting needs on an appropriate timeline and budget.
  • Directs a review of the Marine Corps’ utilization of its Cyber Auxiliary and mandates a report by each of the military services’ Principal Cyber Advisors to evaluate and report on the applicability of a Cyber Auxiliary for the other services. 
  • Mandates that the Navy examine the model of Fifth Fleet’s Task Force 59, an operational element dedicated to integration of and experimentation with artificial intelligence and unmanned technologies, and report to the Committee how the effort will be funded, and its lessons memorialized and shared for employment across the geographically-aligned fleets.
  • Authorizes a comprehensive review of the Cyber Excepted Service, a congressionally established civilian personnel system to support the human capital lifecycle for civilian employees engaged in or in support of a cyber related mission. The review will assess and author recommendations to strengthen the program. 
  • Directs an independent review of the Office of the Chief Information Officer to ensure that the CIO has an adequate workforce of size and expertise to ensure the successful management of the CIO’s statutorily defined responsibilities over electromagnetic spectrum, precision navigation and timing (PNT), architecture and programs related to information technology, networking, information assurance, cybersecurity, and cyber capabilities of the Department.
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