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TITLE VIII--ACQUISITION POLICY, ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT, AND RELATED MATTERS

Subtitle B—Amendments to General Contracting Authorities, Procedures, and Limitations.

P. L. 116-

House Conference Report   116-617

(a) Sustainment Activities in the National Defense Strategy.--

(1) In general.--Section 113(g)(1)(B) of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 551 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following new clauses:

``(viii) A strategic framework prescribed by the Secretary that guides how the Department will prioritize and integrate activities relating to sustainment of major defense acquisition programs, core logistics capabilities (as described under section 2464 of this title), commercial logistics capabilities, and the national technology and industrial base (as defined in section 2500 of this title).

``(ix) A strategic framework prescribed by the Secretary that guides how the Department will specifically address contested logistics, including major investments for related infrastructure, logistics-related authorities, force posture, related emergent technology and advanced computing capabilities, operational resilience, and operational energy, over the following five-year period to support such strategy.''.

(2) Duties of the under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.--Section 133b(b) of title 10, United States Code, is amended--

(A) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the end;

(B) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and

(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

``(9) advising the Secretary on all aspects of acquisition and sustainment relating to--

``(A) defense acquisition programs;

``(B) core logistics capabilities (as described under section 2464 of this title);
and

``(C) the national technology and industrial base (as defined in section 2500 of this title).''.

(3) Interim guidance.--Not later than October 1, 2021, the Secretary of Defense shall publish interim guidance to carry out the requirements of this subsection.

(b) Report.--Not later than February 1, 2021, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the progress towards publishing the interim guidance required under subsection (a)(3).

The House bill contained a provision (sec. 811) that would amend section 113 of title 10, United States Code, pertaining to the National Defense Strategy, to add a requirement to develop a strategic framework for prioritizing and integrating activities relating to sustainment of major defense acquisition programs. The provision would also amend section 133 of title 10, United States Code, to expand responsibilities of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment to include those pertaining to major defense acquisition programs, logistics, and the national technology and industrial base.

The Senate amendment contained no similar provision.

The Senate recedes with an amendment that would add a second strategic framework to the National Defense Strategy under section 113, relating to contested logistics, and would further expand the Under Secretary's responsibilities under section 133 to be applicable to all acquisition programs.

The conferees note with concern that the Department of Defense systemically fails to address sustainment planning for defense acquisition programs in a sufficient manner, which too often results in significant cost growth during the sustainment phase of the life cycle, of these systems where 70 percent of the costs occur.

The conferees urge the Department to increase its emphasis on delivering joint contested logistics capabilities to support the combatant commands, particularly where there are interdependencies between the armed services. The conferees continue to be concerned that the Department continues to emphasize lethality at the expense of the key force projection and sustainment capabilities required to support great power competition.

House Committee Report 116-442 Accompanying H. R. 6395

Section 811--Sustainment Reform for the Department of Defense

This section would amend section 113 of title 10, United States Code, to add a requirement to develop a strategic framework for prioritizing and integrating activities relating to sustainment of major defense acquisition programs. This section would also clarify additional responsibilities of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.