[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 390. Mr. LANKFORD submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place title X, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. IMPROVING THE ANALYSIS AND REPORTING OF COST AND 
                   UNIT-LEVEL READINESS IMPACTS OF SUPPORTING 
                   SOUTHWEST BORDER OPERATIONS.

       The Secretary of Defense shall--
       (1) ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense 
     (Comptroller) follows best practices for--
       (A) completing well-documented cost estimates when 
     assessing the Department of Homeland Security's requests for 
     assistance (referred to in this sections as ``RFAs'') related 
     to the southwest border by documenting its estimated methods 
     for future RFAs; and
       (B) credible estimates when assessing RFAs related to the 
     southwest border by completing a robust sensitivity analysis 
     of key cost drivers, a risk and uncertainty analysis, and 
     cross checks for future RFAs;
       (2) ensure that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 
     in collaboration with the Secretaries of the military 
     departments, identifies--
       (A) units likely to be sourced to support U.S. Customs and 
     Border Protection along the southwest border; and
       (B) the potential unit-level readiness impacts of assigning 
     such units before the Secretary of Defense responds to 
     pending RFAs, when conditions permit;
       (3) ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, 
     in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense 
     (Comptroller), submits the annual reports required under 
     section 1014(d)(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act 
     for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328) to the 
     congressional defense committees on time;
       (4) ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense 
     (Comptroller) clarifies guidance to ensure that the military 
     services and the National Guard Bureau track all costs 
     associated with the Department of Defense's support to U.S. 
     Customs and Border Protection's border security mission, 
     including costs associated with installation support, 
     oversight of border construction projects, and National Guard 
     personnel benefits, and includes such costs in future reports 
     referred to in paragraph (3); and
       (5) in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland 
     Security, develop a memorandum of understanding, which 
     shall--
       (A) ensure that field operations of the Department of 
     Homeland Security are consistent with directives of the 
     Department of Homeland Security;
       (B) define a common outcome for the Department of Defense's 
     support to the Department of Homeland Security, consistent 
     with best practices for interagency collaboration;
       (C) ensure all RFAs clearly define the role of the 
     Department of Defense in an operation, including contingency 
     plans for circumstances in which the Department of Defense's 
     support may need to be increased or decreased; and
       (D) articulate how such common outcome will enable the 
     Department of Homeland Security to achieve its southwest 
     border security mission; and
       (6) annually submit to the Committees on Armed Services and 
     Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and 
     the Committees on Armed Services and Homeland Security of the 
     House of Representatives a report on the costs incurred by 
     the Department of Defense in support of activities by the 
     Department of Homeland Security on the southwest border.
                                 ______