[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4496 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4496

  To expand the authorities of the Office of Strategic Capital of the 
                         Department of Defense.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 11, 2024

  Mr. Romney (for himself and Mrs. Shaheen) introduced the following 
   bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To expand the authorities of the Office of Strategic Capital of the 
                         Department of Defense.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Investing in Our Defense Act of 
2024''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION TO MAKE EQUITY INVESTMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 149 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new 
        subsection (e):
    ``(e) Equity Investments.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Office may, as a minority investor, 
        support eligible investments with funds or use other mechanisms 
        for the purpose of purchasing, and may make and fund 
        commitments to purchase, invest in, make pledges in respect of, 
        or otherwise acquire, equity or quasi-equity securities or 
        shares or financial interests of any entity, upon such terms 
        and conditions as the Director may determine.
            ``(2) Limitations on equity investments.--
                    ``(A) Per project limit.--The aggregate amount of 
                support provided under this subsection with respect to 
                any eligible investment shall not exceed 20 percent of 
                the aggregate amount of all equity investment made to 
                the project at the time that the Office approves 
                support for the eligible investment.
                    ``(B) Total limit.--Support provided under this 
                subsection shall be limited to not more than 35 percent 
                of the aggregate exposure of the Office on the date on 
                which the support is provided.
            ``(3) Sales and liquidation of support.--The Office shall 
        seek to sell and liquidate any support for an eligible 
        investment provided under this subsection as soon as 
        commercially feasible, commensurate with other similar 
        investors in the project and taking into consideration the 
        national security interests of the United States.
            ``(4) Timetable.--The Office shall create an eligible 
        investment-specific timetable for support provided under 
        paragraph (1).
            ``(5) Budgetary treatment of equity investments.--Support 
        provided under this subsection shall constitute a credit 
        program under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 
        621 et seq.), and the budgetary cost of equity investments 
        shall accordingly be calculated on a net-present basis.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Subsection (f)(1) of such section, as 
redesignated by subsection (a), is further amended by inserting ``, 
equity investment'' after ``loan guarantee''.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION TO INVEST IN CRITICAL MINERALS.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the Office 
of Strategic Capital should seek to invest in critical minerals in 
support of the policy described in section 1414 of the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118-31; 137 Stat. 
528; 10 U.S.C. 4811 note).
    (b) Investments in Critical Minerals.--Section 149(f)(3) of title 
10, United States Code, as amended by section 2, is further amended by 
adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(FF) Critical minerals.''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION TO COLLECT FEES FOR PROVIDING CAPITAL 
              INVESTMENTS.

    Section 149 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 
2, is further amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new 
        subsection (f):
    ``(f) Fee Authority.--The Director may charge and collect fees for 
providing capital assistance in amounts to be determined by the 
Director. Such fees, once collected, may be used only for the purposes 
and to the extent provided in advance by appropriations Acts.''.

SEC. 5. HIRING AUTHORITIES.

    Section 149 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by sections 
2 and 4, is further amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following new 
        subsection (g):
    ``(g) Officers and Employees.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        section, officers, employees, and agents of the Office shall be 
        selected and appointed by the Director, and shall be vested 
        with such powers and duties as the Director may determine.
            ``(2) Administratively determined employees.--
                    ``(A) Appointment; compensation; removal.--Of 
                officers and employees employed by the Office under 
                paragraph (1), not more than 50 may be appointed, 
                compensated, or removed without regard to title 5.
                    ``(B) Reinstatement.--Under such regulations as the 
                Secretary of Defense may prescribe, officers and 
                employees appointed to a position under subparagraph 
                (A) may be entitled, upon removal from such position 
                (unless the removal was for cause), to reinstatement to 
                the position occupied at the time of appointment or to 
                a position of comparable grade and salary.
                    ``(C) Additional positions.--Positions authorized 
                by subparagraph (A) shall be in addition to those 
                otherwise authorized by law, including positions 
                authorized under section 5108 of title 5.
                    ``(D) Rates of pay for officers and employees.--The 
                Director may set and adjust rates of basic pay for 
                officers and employees appointed under subparagraph (A) 
                without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 or 
                subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, relating to 
                classification of positions and General Schedule pay 
                rates, respectively.''.
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