Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 101 (Friday, June 14, 2024)

[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 101 (Friday, June 14, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H4067-H4097]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

SERVICEMEMBER QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENT AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Curtis). Pursuant to House Resolution
1287 and rule XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of
the Whole House on the state of the Union for the further consideration
of the bill, H.R. 8070.
Will the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk) kindly take the
chair.

{time} 0918

In the Committee of the Whole

Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for the further consideration of
the bill (H.R. 8070) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025
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, with Mr. Loudermilk (Acting Chair) in the chair.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The Acting CHAIR. When the Committee of the Whole rose on Thursday,
June 13, 2024, amendment No. 53, printed in part B of House Report 118-
551, offered by the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Norman) had been
disposed of.

Amendments En Bloc No. 4 Offered by Mr. Rogers of Alabama

Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Chair, pursuant to House Resolution 1287,
I offer amendments en bloc.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendments en bloc.
Amendments en bloc No. 4 consisting of amendment Nos. 235, 236, 237,
238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251,
252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265,
266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279,
280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, and 289 printed in part B
of House Report 118-551, offered by Mr. Rogers of Alabama:

AMENDMENT NO. 235 OFFERED BY MR. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY

Add at the end of title XI of division A the following:

SEC. 11__. OMB EMPLOYMENT FORM REQUIREMENT FOR DOD
CONTRACTORS.

The Secretary shall require all individuals hired to
Department of Defense contracts to use Declaration for
Federal Employment Form OMB No. 3206-0812.

AMENDMENT NO. 236 OFFERED BY MR. AMODEI OF NEVADA

At the end of subtitle D of title III, insert the
following:

SEC. 3__. BRIEFING ON ARMY ORGANIZATIONAL CLOTHING AND
EQUIPMENT USED IN COLD AND EXTREME COLD WEATHER
ENVIRONMENTS.

(a) In General.--Not later than March 31, 2025, the
Secretary of the Army shall provide to the Committees on
Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives
a briefing on the modernization and sustainment plans of the
Army for organizational clothing and equipment used in cold
and extreme cold weather environments. The briefing shall
include the following topics:
(1) The planned requirement of the Army for organizational
clothing and equipment used in cold and extreme cold weather
environments.
(2) The current inventory of the Army of such clothing and
equipment.
(3) The modernization plan of the Army with respect to such
clothing and equipment.
(4) Any relevant investments currently programmed for such
clothing and equipment in the Future Years Defense Program.
(5) The cost and timeline associated with implementing such
plan, including any additional outlays by Congress necessary
to fulfil the plan.
(6) Such other matters as the Secretary finds appropriate.
(b) Organizational Clothing and Equipment Used in Cold and
Extreme Cold Weather Environments.--In this section,

[[Page H4068]]

the term ``organizational clothing and equipment used in cold
and extreme cold weather environments'' includes extreme cold
weather clothing, footwear, handwear, shelters, sleep
systems, sleep mats, snowshoes, and skis.

AMENDMENT NO. 237 OFFERED BY MR. JAMES OF MICHIGAN

At the end of subtitle C of title XVII, add the following:

SEC. 17__. REPORT ON THE USE OF MAJOR NON-NATO ALLY STATUS
FOR KENYA.

(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the designation of a country as a major non-NATO ally
is intended to facilitate an increased security relationship
between the United States and the designated country and is
not intended to be merely a symbolic gesture;
(2) Kenya is an increasingly important security partner in
East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean; and
(3) major non-NATO ally status for Kenya should be utilized
to facilitate increased security cooperation with Kenya to
advance our shared security priorities.
(b) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the Secretary of State, shall submit a
classified report, along with an unclassified summary, to the
appropriate congressional committees, which shall--
(1) identify all opportunities to increase security
cooperation with Kenya as a result of its major non-NATO ally
designation;
(2) assess the feasibility of implementing the identified
opportunities, including cost, timeline, and availability of
defense articles as applicable; and
(3) assess the priority of identified opportunities based
on the Kenyan government's requests and input and the impact
on advancing the national security interests of the United
States.
(c) Supplemental Reports.--On the date that is 180 days
after the report required under subsection (b) is submitted,
and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the Secretary of State, shall submit a
classified annex, along with an unclassified summary, to the
appropriate congressional committees containing a report that
identifies all requests by the Kenyan government on
cooperation on activities covered under the major non-NATO
ally status, including--
(1) a detailed summary of each request, including cost and
the defense articles requested;
(2) whether those requests were approved or denied; and
(3) an explanation for why each request was approved or
denied.
(d) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives; and
(4) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives.

AMENDMENT NO. 238 OFFERED BY MR. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY

At the end of subtitle B of title XIII, add the following
new section:

SEC. 13__. REPORT ON FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING AND DEPLOYING
ASYMMETRIC NAVAL ASSETS IN DEFENSE OF TAIWAN.

(a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the heads of other relevant Federal
departments and agencies, shall submit a classified report,
along with an unclassified summary, to the appropriate
congressional committees that contains an assessment of--
(1) the feasibility of developing and deploying asymmetric
naval assets for a potential defense of Taiwan;
(2) whether Taiwan's ability to deter, or in the
alternative confront, a maritime invasion by the People's
Republic of China would be enhanced by deployment of small,
high-speed, long-range (200 or more nautical miles), extreme-
weather-capable, reduced-radar-signature boats with the
capacity for launching missiles, addressing subsurface
threats or delivering and recovering small troop units to
coastal and littoral locations in the vicinity of the Taiwan
Strait, and, if so, in what number and in what
configurations;
(3) whether existing and planned Tuo Chiang class
catamaran-hulled corvettes are naval assets capable of fully
meeting the needs of an effective asymmetric naval defense
strategy; and
(4) the vulnerability of Taiwan's existing larger-platform
surface naval fleet, including Keelung-class destroyers,
Cheung Kung-class frigates, Chi Yang-class frigates, Kang
Ding-class frigates.
(b) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.

AMENDMENT NO. 239 OFFERED BY MR. BUCHANAN OF FLORIDA

At the end of subtitle F of title X, insert the following:

SEC. 10__. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY ON USE OF UNMANNED
VEHICLES TO REDUCE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
EXPENSES.

(a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study to assess ways unmanned vehicles can
reduce overall operating expenses and costs at the Department
of Defense. Such study shall include--
(1) an analysis of unmanned ground and air systems and a
comparison of the capability, capacity, and operating cost
tradeoffs associated with each such system and those
associated with similar manned technologies or systems;
(2) recommendations regarding new areas in which unmanned
technology could supplant or complement manned systems in
order to reduce overall force operating costs; and
(3) such other matters as the Comptroller General
determines appropriate.
(b) Briefing and Report.--Not later than March 31, 2025,
the Comptroller General shall--
(1) provide to the congressional defense committees a
briefing on the preliminary findings of the study required
under subsection (a); and
(2) agree to a format and timeline for providing to such
committees a final report on the study.

AMENDMENT NO. 240 OFFERED BY MR. GARBARINO OF NEW YORK

At the end of subtitle C of title II, add the following new
section:

SEC. 2__. FUNDING FOR SURFACE AND SHALLOW WATER MINE COUNTER-
MEASURES.

(a) Increase.--Notwithstanding the amounts set forth in the
funding tables in division D, the amount authorized to be
appropriated in section 201 for research, development, test
and evaluation, Navy, as specified in the corresponding
funding table in section 4201, for advanced component
development and prototypes, surface and shallow water mine
countermeasures, line 035 (PE 0603502N), is hereby increased
by $9,000,000.
(b) Offset.--Notwithstanding the amounts set forth in the
funding tables in division D, the amount authorized to be
appropriated in section 201 for research, development, test
and evaluation, Navy, as specified in the corresponding
funding table in section 4201, for advanced component
development and prototypes, chalk coral, line 063 (PE
0603734N), is hereby reduced by $9,000,000.

AMENDMENT NO. 241 OFFERED BY MS. CARAVEO OF COLORADO

At the end of subtitle H of title V, insert the following:

SEC. 5__. REPORT ON SEPARATING MEMBERS WHO HAVE HEALTH CARE
EXPERIENCE AND MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS.

By not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall submit to
the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of
Representatives a report on the process by which members of
the Armed Forces with health care experience transition to
civilian life and the number such members who join the
Medical Reserve Corps.

AMENDMENT NO. 242 OFFERED BY MR. AMODEI OF NEVADA

Add at the end of subtitle C of title XXVIII the following:

SEC. 28__. TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO MAP REFERENCE IN THE
MILITARY LAND WITHDRAWALS ACT OF 2013.

Subtitle G of the Military Land Withdrawals Act of 2013
(Public Law 113-66; 127 Stat. 1025; 136 Stat. 3027) is
amended by striking ``November 30, 2022'' each place it
appears and inserting ``May 22, 2024''.

AMENDMENT NO. 243 OFFERED BY MR. CARBAJAL OF CALIFORNIA

At the end of subtitle C of title XVII, insert the
following new section:

SEC. 17__. LIMITATION ON DISPLAYING IN CERTAIN PUBLIC AREAS
CUT FLOWERS OR GREENS NOT PRODUCED IN THE
UNITED STATES.

(a) In General.--A cut flower or a cut green may not be
officially displayed in any public area of a building of the
Executive Office of the President or of the Department of
State or of the Department of Defense unless the cut flower
or cut green is produced in the United States.
(b) Rule of Construction.--The limitation in subsection (a)
may not be construed to apply to any cut flower or cut green
used by a Federal officer or employee for personal display.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``cut flower'' means a flower removed from a
living plant for decorative use.
(2) The term ``cut green'' means a green, foliage, or
branch removed from a living plant for decorative use.
(3) The term ``produced in the United States'' means grown
in--
(A) any of the several States;
(B) the District of Columbia;
(C) a territory or possession of the United States; or
(D) an area subject to the jurisdiction of a federally
recognized Indian Tribe.
(d) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the
date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this
section.

[[Page H4069]]

AMENDMENT NO. 244 OFFERED BY MRS. SPARTZ OF INDIANA

At the end of subtitle C of title XV, insert the following:

SEC. 15__. ASSESSMENT OF INNOVATIVE DATA ANALYSIS AND
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the
congressional defense committees a report containing the
results of an assessment of the implementation by the
Department of Defense of innovative data analysis and
information technology solutions that could improve risk
management, agility, and capabilities for strategic defense
purposes.

AMENDMENT NO. 245 OFFERED BY MR. GREEN OF TEXAS

At the end of subtitle C of title V insert the following
new section:

SEC. 5__. POSTHUMOUS COMMISSION AS CAPTAIN IN THE REGULAR
ARMY FOR MILTON HOLLAND.

(a) Posthumous Commission.--Milton Holland, who, while
sergeant major of the 5th Regiment, United States Colored
Infantry, was awarded the Medal of Honor in recognition of
his action on September 29, 1864, during the Battle of
Chapin's Farm, Virginia, when, as the citation for the medal
states, he ``took command of Company C, after all the
officers had been killed or wounded, and gallantly led it'',
shall be deemed for all purposes to have held the grade of
captain in the regular Army, effective as of that date and
continuing until his separation from the Army.
(b) Prohibition of Benefits.--Section 1523 of title 10,
United States Code, applies in the case of the posthumous
commission described in subsection (a).

AMENDMENT NO. 246 OFFERED BY MS. GARCIA OF TEXAS

At the end of subtitle E of title V insert the following
new section:

SEC. 5__. ANNUAL TRAINING ON THE PREVENTION OF SEXUAL ABUSE
FOR STUDENTS IN THE JUNIOR RESERVE OFFICERS'
TRAINING CORPS.

Chapter 102 of title 10, United States Code, is amended
by adding at the end the following new section:

``Sec. 2037. Training on prevention of sexual abuse

``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Defense, acting
through the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and
Readiness, shall establish training for students enrolled in
the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps regarding
prevention of sexual abuse.
``(b) Elements.--The training established under this
section shall--
``(1) be age-appropriate;
``(2) be evidence-based in polyvictimization research;
``(3) be comprehensive, including elements regarding--
``(A) grooming;
``(B) bullying, including cyberbullying;
``(C) appropriate relationships and interactions between
such students and instructors;
``(D) signs of inappropriate behavior between adults and
adolescents; and
``(E) digital abuse; and
``(4) provide such students with the contact information
of local resources through which a student may report alleged
sexual abuse or receive treatment and support for such abuse.
``(c) Provision.--The Secretary shall ensure that each
such student receives training established under this
section--
``(1) from an entity other than an administrator or
instructor of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps;
and
``(2) once each year.
``(d) Metrics.--The Secretary shall establish and
maintain metrics regarding the effectiveness of the training
established under this section.
``(e) Sexual Abuse Defined.--In this section, the term
`sexual abuse' means an offense covered by section 920, 920b,
920c, or 930 of this title (article 120, 120b, 120c, or 130
of the Uniform Code of Military Justice).''.

AMENDMENT NO. 247 OFFERED BY MS. STANSBURY OF NEW MEXICO

At the end of subtitle B of title III, insert the
following:

SEC. 3__. EXTENSION OF PERIOD FOR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS
UNDER NATIVE AMERICAN LANDS ENVIRONMENTAL
MITIGATION PROGRAM.

Section 2713(c)(3) of title 10, United States Code, is
amended by striking ``two calendar years'' and inserting
``five calendar years''.

AMENDMENT NO. 248 OFFERED BY MR. JOYCE OF OHIO

At the end of subtitle A of title XVII, insert the
following new section:

SEC. 17__. PROJECT SPECTRUM.

Chapter 19 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by
inserting before section 399 the following new section:

``Sec. 398b. Project Spectrum

``(a) Project Spectrum; Purpose.--There is within the
Office of Small Business Programs of the Department of
Defense a program known as `Project Spectrum', the purpose of
which is to provide to covered entities, through an online
platform, digital resources and services that increase
awareness about cybersecurity risks and help such covered
entities to comply with the cybersecurity requirements of the
defense acquisition system.
``(b) Eligibility.--The Director of the Office of Small
Business Programs may establish eligibility requirements for
the receipt by a covered entity of a given resource or
service made available through Project Spectrum.
``(c) Application.--To receive through Project Spectrum a
resource or service for which the Director has established an
eligibility requirement under subsection (b), a covered
entity shall submit to the Director an application at such
time, in such form, and containing such information as the
Director determines appropriate.
``(d) Functions.--In carrying out Project Spectrum, the
Director shall maintain an online platform through which the
Director shall make available to each covered entity that the
Director determines to be eligible under subsection (b) with
respect to a given resource or service, the following:
``(1) Educational materials regarding cybersecurity,
including cybersecurity training courses and workforce
development training.
``(2) Guidance regarding best practices for cybersecurity
matters, including guidance for developing internal
cybersecurity policies and suggestions for procedures for
reviewing any violation of such policies.
``(3) Assessments of the cybersecurity practices and
cybersecurity systems used by a covered entity.
``(4) A review and feasibility assessment of products,
software, and data security tools available in the commercial
marketplace.
``(5) Cybersecurity services, including dashboard
monitoring services, continuous threat monitoring services,
software patching services, and patch testing services.
``(6) Cybersecurity readiness checks.
``(7) A platform for secure data collaboration between two
or more employees of a covered entity and between multiple
covered entities.
``(8) Any additional resources or services, as determined
by the Director.
``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `covered entity' means a supplier of the
Department of Defense that is a small or medium business and
registers to access the online platform of Project Spectrum.
``(2) The term `defense acquisition system' has the meaning
given to such term in section 3001 of this title.''.

AMENDMENT NO. 249 OFFERED BY MR. WILSON OF SOUTH CAROLINA

At the end of subtitle E of title X, insert the following:

SEC. 10__. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR BADR ORGANIZATION.

None of the amounts authorized to be appropriated by this
Act or otherwise made available to the Department of Defense
for fiscal year 2025 may be made available, directly or
indirectly, to the Badr Organization.

AMENDMENT NO. 250 OFFERED BY MR. JACKSON OF TEXAS

At the end of subtitle C of title XVII, add the following:

SEC. 17_. UNITED STATES-ISRAEL EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
CAPABILITIES COOPERATION.

Subtitle G of title XII of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 is amended by
inserting after section 1279 (22 U.S.C. 8606 note) the
following:

``SEC. 1279A. UNITED STATES-ISRAEL EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
CAPABILITIES COOPERATION.

``(a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United
States to support and encourage further defense collaboration
with Israel in areas of emerging technologies capable of
enabling the warfare capabilities of both the United States
and Israel to meet emerging defense challenges, including but
not limited to the areas of artificial intelligence,
cybersecurity, robotics, quantum and automation.
``(b) Authority To Establish Emerging Defense Technology
Capabilities Program With Israel.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense, upon request
of the Ministry of Defense of Israel and in consultation with
the Secretary of State and the Director of National
Intelligence, is authorized to carry out research,
development, test, and evaluation, on a joint basis with
Israel, in areas of emerging technologies capable of enabling
the warfare capabilities of both the United States and Israel
to meet emerging defense challenges, including the areas of
artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics, quantum and
automation. Any activities carried out pursuant to such
authority shall be conducted in a manner that appropriately
protects sensitive information and United States and Israel
national security interests.
``(2) Report.--The activities described in paragraph (1)
and subsection (c) may be carried out after the Secretary of
Defense submits to the appropriate committees of Congress a
report setting forth the following:
``(A) A memorandum of agreement between the United States
and Israel regarding sharing of research and development
costs for the capabilities described in paragraph (1), and
any supporting documents.
``(B) A certification that the memorandum of agreement--
``(i) requires sharing of costs of projects, including in-
kind support, between the United States and Israel;
``(ii) establishes a framework to negotiate the rights to
any intellectual property developed under the memorandum of
agreement; and
``(iii) requires the United States Government to receive
semiannual reports on expenditure of funds, if any, by the
Government of Israel, including a description of

[[Page H4070]]

what the funds have been used for, when funds were expended,
and an identification of entities that expended the funds.
``(c) Annual Limitation on Amount.--The amount of support
provided under this section in any year may not exceed
$47,500,000.
``(d) Lead Agency.--The Secretary of Defense shall
designate the Irregular Warfare Technology Support
Directorate as the lead agency of the Department of Defense
in carrying out this section.
``(e) Semiannual Reports.--The Secretary of Defense shall
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress on a
semiannual basis a report that contains a copy of the most
recent semiannual report provided by the Government of Israel
to the Department of Defense pursuant to subsection
(b)(2)(B)(iii).
``(f) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this
section, the term `appropriate committees of Congress'
means--
``(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Relations, the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs, the Committee on Appropriations, and
the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and
``(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Homeland Security, the
Committee on Appropriations, and the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives.
``(g) Sunset.--The authority in this section to carry out
activities described in subsection (b), and to provide
support described in subsection (c), shall expire on the date
that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this
section.''.

AMENDMENT NO. 251 OFFERED BY MR. WILSON OF SOUTH CAROLINA

At the end of subtitle C of title II, insert the following
new section:

SEC. 2__. REPORT ON POTENTIAL INCLUSION OF ISRAEL IN THE
NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND INDUSTRIAL BASE.

(a) Assessment.--The Secretary of Defense shall assess the
feasibility and advisability of including Israel in the
national technology and industrial base.
(b) Elements.--The assessment under subsection (a) shall
include the following:
(1) A detailed assessment of the potential benefit to the
national security of the United States of including Israel in
the national technology and industrial base.
(2) An assessment of how Israel's inclusion in the national
technology and industrial base may affect research and
development projects on which Israel and the United States
are collaborating.
(3) Detailed delineation of the specific steps Israel must
take to facilitate eligibility for inclusion in the national
technology and industrial base.
(4) An analysis of the progress Israel has made, as of the
date of the assessment, with respect to the steps described
in paragraph (3).
(5) Analysis of how Israel's potential inclusion in the
national technology and industrial base could aid United
States strategic competitiveness with China.
(6) An assessment of any barriers--
(A) to expansion of the national technology and industrial
base generally; and
(B) to Israel's inclusion in the national technology and
industrial base specifically.
(c) Report.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit
to the congressional defense committees a report on the
results of the assessment conducted under subsection (a).
(d) Form.--The report required under subsection (c) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex.
(e) National Technology and Industrial Base Defined.--In
this section, the term ``national technology and industrial
base'' has the meaning given that term in section 4801 of
title 10, United States Code.

AMENDMENT NO. 252 OFFERED BY MR. BUCHANAN OF FLORIDA

At the end of subtitle F of title X, add the following new
section:

SEC. 10__. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE REPORT ON THREAT OF RIFLE-
TOTING ROBOT DOGS USED BY CHINA TO THE NATIONAL
SECURITY OF THE UNITED STATES.

The Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report
on--
(1) the use of rifle-toting robot dogs by China; and
(2) the threat such use poses to the national security of
the United States.

AMENDMENT NO. 253 OFFERED BY MS. SPANBERGER OF VIRGINIA

At the end of subtitle B of title IX, insert the following:

SEC. 9__. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SENIOR INTELLIGENCE OVERSIGHT
OFFICIAL.

Subchapter I of chapter 21 of title 10, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following:

``Sec. 430c. Senior Intelligence Oversight Official

``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Defense, or a
designee of the Secretary determined by regulations
prescribed by the Secretary, shall designate a civilian
employee of the Department of Defense in the Senior Executive
Service to serve as the Senior Intelligence Oversight
Official.
``(b) Responsibilities.--The Senior Intelligence Oversight
Official shall exercise independent oversight of all
intelligence, intelligence-related, and sensitive activities
of the Department of Defense, including activities
involving--
``(1) tradecraft;
``(2) the operational use of an individual; or
``(3) clandestine operational tactics, techniques, and
procedures.
``(c) Access.--The Senior Intelligence Oversight Official
shall have--
``(1) complete and unrestricted access to all information
concerning any intelligence, intelligence-related, or
sensitive activity of the Department of Defense regardless of
classification or compartmentalization, including special
access programs, from any personnel or organizational entity
of the Department of Defense, to the extent necessary to
carry out the responsibilities and functions of the Senior
Intelligence Oversight Official; and
``(2) direct access to the Secretary of Defense and the
Deputy Secretary of Defense, as circumstances require in the
determination of the Senior Intelligence Oversight Official.
``(d) Review of Regulations.--The Secretary of Defense
shall review and update Department of Defense Directive
5148.13, and any associated or successor regulation or
directive, to conform to this section.''.

AMENDMENT NO. 254 OFFERED BY MS. SLOTKIN OF MICHIGAN

Page 272, lines 22-23, strike ``located within the
continental United States'' and insert ``located within a
State, the District of Columbia, or a territory or possession
of the United States''.

AMENDMENT NO. 255 OFFERED BY MR. KILDEE OF MICHIGAN

At the end of subtitle C of title XXXI, insert the
following:

SEC. 31__. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING DEVELOPMENT OF STORAGE
FACILITIES FOR PERMANENT STORAGE OF NUCLEAR
MATERIAL WITHIN THE GREAT LAKES BASIN.

It is the sense of Congress that the Government of the
United States and the government of Canada should not develop
storage facilities for the permanent storage of spent nuclear
fuel, low-level or high-level nuclear waste, or military-
grade nuclear material within the Great Lakes Basin.

AMENDMENT NO. 256 OFFERED BY MS. PLASKETT OF VIRGIN ISLANDS

At the end of subtitle B of title XIII, add the following
new section:

SEC. 13_. REPORT ON IMPACT OF THE MALIGN INFLUENCE OF CHINA
AND RUSSIA.

(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the heads of other Federal departments and
agencies as necessary, shall submit to the Committees on
Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives
a report that includes a detailed assessment of the impact of
the malign influence of China and Russia in Africa, South
America, Central America, and the Caribbean on the national
security and economic interests of the United States.
(b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall
also include the following:
(1) A detailed description of the--
(A) current political, economic, and social stability of
Africa, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean;
(B) economic investments of Russia and China in Africa,
South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, and the
collateral conditions;
(C) impact of the presence of Russia and China in Africa,
South America, Central America, and the Caribbean on
democracy and diplomacy; and
(D) use of private military companies by Russia and China
to advance political, economic, and military interests.
(2) An assessment of the--
(A) direct and indirect impacts of Russia and China's
presence in Africa, South America, Central America, and the
Caribbean on the national and regional security interests of
the United States;
(B) current United States military and diplomatic
strategies in response to the expansion of Chinese and
Russian influence in Africa, South America, Central America,
and the Caribbean;
(C) assets and resources available to counter threats from
Russia and China, and protect the security interests of the
United States; and
(D) United States military force posture in Africa, South
America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
(c) Form of Report.--The report required under subsection
(a) shall be submitted in unclassified form without any
designation relating to dissemination control, but may
include a classified annex.

AMENDMENT NO. 257 OFFERED BY MS. WEXTON OF VIRGINIA

At the end of subtitle E of title VIII, insert the
following new section:

SEC. 8__. IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF MANUFACTURING INNOVATION
INSTITUTES ON THE DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE.

Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees an assessment of the
impact of continued investment in Department of Defense
sponsored manufacturing innovation institutes on the defense
industrial base in the United States.

[[Page H4071]]

AMENDMENT NO. 258 OFFERED BY MR. RASKIN OF MARYLAND

At the end of subtitle F of title XVIII, add the following

SEC. 17__. REPORT ON REDUCING MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MENTAL
HEALTH AND SECURITY CLEARANCE ELIGIBILITY.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on
Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a
report on the Department's activities to inform members of
the Armed Forces about how mental health affects security
clearance eligibility. The report required under this section
shall include the following topics:
(1) The Department's outreach and education activities to
inform members of the Armed Forces that seeking mental health
care will not affect their security clearance status or
eligibility.
(2) The Department's outreach and education activities to
ensure that health care providers in the military health
system, non-medical counselors, TRICARE providers, and other
relevant personnel convey accurate information to members of
the Armed Forces regarding mental health and security
clearance eligibility, making clear that seeking mental
health care will not affect their security clearance status
or eligibility.

AMENDMENT NO. 259 OFFERED BY MRS. RADEWAGEN OF AMERICAN SAMOA

At the end of subtitle A of title XXVIII, insert the
following new section:

SEC. 28__. ASSESSMENT OF WORKFORCE NEEDS IN THE FREELY
ASSOCIATED STATES TO SUPPORT FUTURE MILITARY
CONSTRUCTION.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense
for Energy, Installations, and Environment shall conduct a
study and submit a report to the congressional defense
committees--
(1) summarizing planned military major and minor
construction in the Freely Associated States (``FAS'') over
the next 5 fiscal years;
(2) assessing the ability of the local workforce in the FAS
to support future military construction; and
(3) detailing options for the Department of Defense to
cooperate with the Department of Labor, the Department of the
Interior, and the FAS to develop plans to help address any
construction workforce shortages.

AMENDMENT NO. 260 OFFERED BY MR. NUNN OF IOWA

In subtitle G of title V, add at the end the following:

SEC. 5__. ADDRESSING MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IN THE TRANSITION
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
AND THE SOLID START PROGRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT
OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

(a) Transition Assistance Program of the Department of
Defense.--Section 1142(b) of title 10, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``(11),'' before ``and
(16)''; and
(2) by striking paragraph (11) and inserting the following:
``(11) Information concerning mental health, including--
``(A) the availability of mental health services furnished
by the Secretary concerned, the Secretary of Defense, the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or a non-profit entity;
``(B) the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder,
traumatic brain injury, anxiety disorders, depression,
chronic pain, sleep disorders, suicidal ideation, or other
mental health conditions associated with service in the armed
forces;
``(C) the risk of suicide, including signs, symptoms, and
risk factors (including adverse childhood experiences,
depression, bipolar disorder, homelessness, unemployment, and
relationship strain);
``(D) the availability of treatment options and resources
to address substance abuse, including alcohol, prescription
drug, and opioid abuse;
``(E) the potential effects of the loss of community and
support systems experienced by a member separating from the
armed forces;
``(F) isolation from family, friends, or society; and
``(G) the potential stressors associated with separation
from the armed forces.''.
(b) Solid Start Program of the Department of Veterans
Affairs.--Section 6320(b)(1) of title 38, United States Code,
is amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (G) and (H) as
subparagraphs (I) and (J), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the following new
subparagraphs:
``(G) assisting eligible veterans who elect to enroll in
the system of patient enrollment under section 1705(a) of
this title;
``(H) educating veterans about mental health and counseling
services available through the Veterans Health
Administration;''.
(c) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense and the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report on the
information and materials developed pursuant to the
amendments made by this section.
(d) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives.

AMENDMENT NO. 261 OFFERED BY MR. BUCHANAN OF FLORIDA

At the end of subtitle B of title VII, insert the following
new section:

SEC. 7_. COMBATING OBESITY IN CERTAIN ARMED FORCES.

(a) Strategy and Educational Campaign.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall--
(A) develop a strategy to align the obesity-related
programs of the Department of Defense with the classification
of obesity as a medically accepted disease; and
(B) conduct an educational campaign to promote awareness,
diagnosis, and treatment of obesity as a disease in the
covered Armed Forces.
(2) Requirements for strategy.--The strategy developed
under paragraph (1)(A) shall include the following:
(A) A plan to coordinate obesity-related programs across
the Department of Defense to treat obesity as a disease and
reduce the prevalence of obesity in the covered Armed Forces.
(B) An assessment of the effectiveness of health programs
of the Department of Defense that are intended to educate,
prevent, or treat obesity among members of the covered Armed
Forces, and a plan to modify or update such programs to treat
obesity as a disease.
(C) An assessment of the adequacy of nutrition education
for physicians and other health care practitioners in the
military health system to evaluate and treat obesity as a
disease, including the need for any additional education or
guidelines for such physicians and other health care
practitioners.
(D) A strategy to work toward members of the covered Armed
Forces with obesity receiving appropriate treatment.
(3) Requirements for educational campaign.--The educational
campaign conducted under paragraph (1)(B) shall include the
following:
(A) Information to educate members of the covered Armed
Forces regarding best practices to prevent, reduce, or
mitigate obesity, and available resources to address the root
causes of obesity.
(B) Information targeted to physicians and other health
care practitioners in the military health system to promote
diagnosis and treatment of obesity as a disease.
(4) Consultation.--In developing the strategy and
educational campaign required by paragraph (1), the Secretary
of Defense shall consult with the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, acting through the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services, and other Health and Human Services
agencies, as determined appropriate by the Secretary of
Health and Human Services.
(b) Inclusion of Information Regarding Unmet Weight
Standards in Certain Reports.--Beginning not later than 1
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Defense shall include information regarding
unmet weight standards in any report submitted by the
Secretary to Congress regarding disqualifications for
enlistment in, disability incurred in, or medical discharges
from, the covered Armed Forces.
(c) Additional Department of Defense Reports.--
(1) Effects of obesity on readiness of covered armed
forces.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the Administrator of the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report regarding the effects of
obesity on the readiness of the covered Armed Forces. Such
report shall include legislative recommendations of the
Secretary to address such effects.
(2) Effectiveness of obesity, food, and nutrition-related
programs of department of defense.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually
thereafter, the Director of the Defense Health Agency shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
on the effectiveness of the obesity, food, and nutrition-
related programs of the Department of Defense in reducing
obesity and improving military readiness.
(d) GAO Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report analyzing the existing obesity, food, and
nutrition-related programs of the Department of Defense.
(2) Requirements.--The report required by paragraph (1)
shall include the following:
(A) An assessment of programs directed to members of the
covered Armed Forces.
(B) An assessment of programs directed to health care
providers in the military health system.
(C) An assessment of the effectiveness of such programs in
reducing obesity and the impact of obesity on military
readiness.
(D) Recommendations to coordinate and improve existing
programs to reduce obesity and the impact of obesity on
military readiness.

[[Page H4072]]

(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means
the following:
(A) The Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives.
(B) The Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
(C) The Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives.
(D) The Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives.
(E) The Committee on Armed Services of the Senate.
(F) The Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate.
(G) The Committee on Finance of the Senate.
(H) The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
of the Senate.
(2) The term ``covered Armed Force'' means the Army, Navy,
Marine Corps, Air Force, or Space Force.

AMENDMENT NO. 262 OFFERED BY MR. IVEY OF MARYLAND

At the end of subtitle B of title XVII, add the following:

SEC. 17__. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY AND REPORT ON
ANTAGONISTIC USE OF SATELLITES.

(a) Study.--
(1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct a study to assess threats to the
interests of the United States posed by antagonistic use of
satellites by adversarial foreign states, including--
(A) use of a satellite for combat;
(B) damage, destruction, or incapacitation of a satellite
that is owned, operated, controlled, or used by--
(i) the United States Government;
(ii) a commercial entity organized under the laws of the
United States or any jurisdiction within the United States;
or
(iii) a country that is a member of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization; and
(C) conducting or attempting to conduct espionage or
surveillance of, or a cyber intrusion that affects--
(i) a physical resource of the Department of Defense,
including a Department of Defense installation; or
(ii) critical infrastructure (as defined in section 1016(e)
of the USA PATRIOT Act (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e))), including--

(I) an electricity transmission system or network;
(II) a water management system or resource;
(III) a telecommunications facility or network;
(IV) a nuclear facility;
(V) an airport;
(VI) a railway; or
(VII) a sea port.

(2) Consultation.--In conducting the study under this
subsection, the Comptroller General shall consult with--
(A) the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration;
(B) the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission;
(C) the Secretary of Defense;
(D) the Secretary of Homeland Security; and
(E) specialists who--
(i) are affiliated with an institution of higher education
or research organization; and
(ii) have expertise in satellite technology, satellite
warfare, cybersecurity, or another relevant subject related
to warfare and communications.
(b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit
to the Secretary of Defense, the Committee on Armed Services
of the Senate, and the Committee on Armed Services of the
House of Representatives a report that--
(1) includes operational, policy, and legislative
recommendations to protect against and respond to threats
identified by the study required under subsection (a); and
(2) may include recommendations for--
(A) preventive, preparatory, and emergency response actions
by municipal governments, State governments, and private
sector entities; and
(B) educational curricula and workforce development
programs to address the need for trained professionals who
are able to implement the recommendations described in such
report.
(c) Adversarial Foreign State Defined.--In this section,
the term ``adversarial foreign state'' means--
(1) the Islamic Republic of Iran;
(2) the People's Republic of China;
(3) the Russian Federation; and
(4) any foreign state designated by the Secretary of State
as an adversarial foreign state for purposes of this section.

AMENDMENT NO. 263 OFFERED BY MR. CRENSHAW OF TEXAS

At the end of subtitle A of title XII, add the following
new section:

SEC. 12__. REPORT ON COOPERATION BETWEEN THE NATIONAL GUARD
AND THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA.

(a) Report Required.--Not later than February 15, 2024, the
Secretary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on the feasibility and
advisability of enhanced cooperation between the National
Guard and the Republic of India. Such report shall include
the following elements:
(1) A description of the cooperation between the National
Guard and India during the 10 preceding calendar years,
including mutual visits, exercises, training, and equipment
opportunities.
(2) An evaluation of the feasibility and advisability of
enhancing cooperation between the National Guard and India on
a range of activities, including--
(A) disaster and emergency response;
(B) cyber defense and communications security;
(C) military medical cooperation;
(D) mountain warfare;
(E) jungle warfare;
(F) counterinsurgency;
(G) counterterrorism;
(H) cultural exchange and education of members of the
National Guard in Hindi; and
(I) programs for National Guard advisors to assist in
training the reserve components of the military forces of
India.
(3) Recommendations to enhance such cooperation and improve
interoperability, including through familiarization visits,
cooperative training and exercises, and co-deployments.
(4) Identification of States that may serve as potential
partners with India through a State partnership under section
341 of title 10, United States Code.
(5) Any other matter the Secretary of Defense determines
appropriate.
(b) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the congressional defense committees;
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives.

AMENDMENT NO. 264 OFFERED BY MR. KAPTUR OF OHIO

In subtitle I of title V, add at the end the following;

SEC. 5__. AUTHORIZATION FOR LAST SERVICEMEMBER STANDING
MEDAL.

(a) Authorization.--Chapter 57 of title 10, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating sections 1135 and 1136 as sections
1136 and section 1137, respectively; and
(2) by inserting after section 1134 the following new
section:

``Sec. 1135. Last Servicemember Standing medal

``(a) Medal Authorized.--The Secretary concerned may issue
a service medal, to be known as the `Last Servicemember
Standing medal', to persons eligible under subsection (c).
``(b) Design.--The Last Servicemember Standing medal shall
be of an appropriate design approved by the Secretary of
Defense, with ribbons, lapel pins, and other appurtenances.
``(c) Eligible Persons.--Subject to subsection (d), a
person eligible to be issued the Last Servicemember Standing
medal is any member who--
``(1) served on active duty;
``(2) was deployed during war or overseas contingency
operation;
``(3) as a result of a combat instance during such war or
overseas contingency, was the last surviving member of a
unit;
``(4) demonstrated extraordinary heroism in defense of the
United States during such combat instance; and
``(5) whose character is recommended for recognition by
their commanding officer and at least two peers.
``(d) One Medal Authorized.--Not more than one Last
Servicemember Standing medal may be issued to any person.
``(e) Issuance to Next-of-Kin.--If a person described in
subsection (c) is deceased, the Secretary concerned may
provide for issuance of the Last Servicemember Standing medal
to the next-of-kin of the person.
``(f) Regulations.--The issuance of a Last Servicemember
Standing medal shall be subject to such regulations as the
Secretaries concerned shall prescribe for purposes of this
section. The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that any
regulations prescribed under this subsection are uniform to
the extent practicable.''.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Secretary of Defense should take appropriate actions to
expedite--
(1) the design of the Last Servicemember Standing medal
provided for by section 1136 of title 10, United States Code,
as added by subsection (a); and
(2) the establishment and implementation of mechanisms to
facilitate the issuance of the Last Servicemember Standing
Medal to persons eligible for the issuance of the medal under
such section.

AMENDMENT NO. 265 OFFERED BY MR. GRAVES OF LOUISIANA

At the end of subtitle I of title V, add the following:

SEC. 5__. ELIGIBILITY OF VETERANS OF OPERATION END SWEEP FOR
VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL.

The Secretary of the military department concerned may,
upon the application of an individual who is a veteran who
participated in Operation End Sweep, award that individual
the Vietnam Service Medal.

AMENDMENT NO. 266 OFFERED BY MR. NUNN OF IOWA

At the end of subtitle G of title VIII, insert the
following new section:

SEC. 8__. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO COVERED DISTRIBUTED LEDGER
TECHNOLOGY AND BLOCKCHAIN EQUIPMENT OR
SERVICES.

(a) Prohibition on Acquisition.--The Secretary of Defense
may not acquire, or enter

[[Page H4073]]

into, extend, or renew a contract or other agreement for, any
equipment, system, or service that uses covered distributed
ledger technology and blockchain equipment or services as--
(1) a substantial or essential component of such equipment,
system, or service; or
(2) critical technology as part of such equipment, system,
or service.
(b) Prohibition on Loan and Grant Funds.--
(1) Prohibition.--The Secretary of Defense may not obligate
or expend loan or grant funds to acquire, or to enter into,
extend, or renew a contract or other agreement for, any
equipment, system, or service described in subsection (a).
(2) Prioritization.--In implementing the prohibition under
paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense, in administering a
loan, grant, or subsidy program, shall prioritize available
funding and technical support to assist affected entities as
is reasonably necessary for those affected entities to cease
use of covered distributed ledger technology and blockchain
equipment or services, to acquire replacement equipment and
services, and to ensure that communications service to users
and customers is sustained.
(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in subsection (a) or (b)
shall be construed to--
(1) prohibit the Secretary of Defense from acquiring from
an entity, or entering into, extending, or renewing a
contract or other agreement with an entity for, a service
that connects to the facilities of a third party, such as
blockchain protocols or interconnection arrangements; or
(2) apply to wireless telecommunications equipment or
third-party validators that cannot route or redirect user
data traffic or permit visibility into any user data or
packets that such equipment transmits or otherwise handles.
(d) Effective Date.--The prohibitions under subsections (a)
and (b) shall take effect on the date that is two years after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(e) Waiver Authority.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2),
beginning on the effective date under subsection (d), the
Secretary of Defense may, upon request of an entity, issue a
waiver of the requirements under subsection (a) with respect
to such entity for a period of not more than two years.
(2) Requirements.--The Secretary may only provide a waiver
under this subsection if the entity seeking the waiver--
(A) provides a compelling justification for the additional
time to implement the requirements of this section; and
(B) submits to the Secretary, who shall not later than 30
days thereafter submit to the Committees on Armed Services of
the Senate and the House of Representatives, a full and
complete description of the presence of covered distributed
ledger technology and blockchain equipment or services in the
entity's supply chain and a phase-out plan to eliminate such
covered distributed ledger technology and blockchain
equipment or services.
(3) Elements of the intelligence community.--Beginning on
the effective date under subsection (d), each head of an
element of the intelligence community may waive the
requirements under subsection (a) if such head determines the
waiver is in the national security interests of the United
States.
(f) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) The term ``covered distributed ledger technology and
blockchain equipment or services'' means distributed ledger
technology and blockchain equipment or services of or
originating from a foreign adversary, including any of the
following companies or subsidiaries thereof:
(A) The Blockchain-based Services Network.
(B) The Spartan Network.
(C) The Conflux Network.
(D) iFinex, Inc.
(E) Red Date Technology Co., Ltd.
(2) The term ``executive agency'' has the meaning given the
term in section 133 of title 41, United States Code.
(3) The term ``foreign adversary'' has the meaning given
such term in section 7.2 of title 15, Code of Federal
Regulations.
(4) The term ``intelligence community'' has the meaning
given the term in section 3 of the National Security Act of
1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003).

AMENDMENT NO. 267 OFFERED BY MR. AMO OF RHODE ISLAND

At the end of subtitle E of title I, add the following new
section:

SEC. 1__. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON DOMESTIC PROCUREMENT OF
DEFENSE ARTICLES FOR AUKUS PARTNERSHIP.

(a) In General.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) researching, producing, and procuring defense articles
for the AUKUS partnership from within the United States
boosts local economies and improves national security by
enhancing domestic defense article production capabilities;
and
(2) therefore, the Secretary of Defense should promote and
prioritize domestic manufacturing, supply chains, and
research for defense articles intended for use by members of
the AUKUS partnership.
(b) AUKUS Partnership Defined.--In this section, the term
``AUKUS partnership'' means the enhanced trilateral security
partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the
United States announced in September 2021.

AMENDMENT NO. 268 OFFERED BY MR. LYNCH OF MASSACHUSETTS

At the end of subtitle A of title VI, add the following:

SEC. 604. PROGRAM TO ASSIST SERVICE MEMBERS AT RISK OF
SUICIDE.

(a) Program Required.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense,
in consultation with the Director of the Defense Health
Agency, shall develop and implement a centralized program to
monitor and provide assistance to members of the Armed Forces
at risk of suicide who have been recently discharged from
health care, as outlined in Recommendation 6.29 of the final
report issued by the Suicide Prevention and Response
Independent Review Committee.
(b) Matters to Be Included.--The centralized program
referred to in subsection (a) shall specify the following:
(1) The individual and agency responsible for conducting
service member follow up.
(2) The time when initial follow-up will occur.
(3) The times when subsequent follow-ups will occur.
(4) The manner in which patients will be contacted.
(5) The process for documentation of follow-up attempts.
(6) The procedures for ensuring patient safety where
patient is unreachable.
(7) The processes for medical treatment facilities to link
mortality data to health care delivery data in order to
better identify settings and patients at higher risk of
suicide, further inform local suicide prevention strategies
for targeted high-risk groups, and ensure compliance with
reporting and investigating suicides occurring within 72
hours of discharge from a hospital.
(c) Members of the Armed Forces at Risk of Suicide.--For
purposes of this section, the term ``members of the Armed
Forces at risk of suicide'' includes members of the Armed
Forces who have attempted suicide and members of the Armed
Forces who have been discharged as patients and who have been
clinically assessed as benefitting from follow-up support
related to suicide prevention.

AMENDMENT NO. 269 OFFERED BY MR. TAKANO OF CALIFORNIA

At the end of subtitle E of title V, insert the following
new section:

SEC. 5__. EXPANSION OF AUTHORITY TO DETAIL MEMBERS TO LAW
EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

(a) Expansion.--Section 2004 of title 10, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``The Secretary'';
(B) by striking the second sentence; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
``(2)(A) The Secretary of the military department concerned
may pay expenses incident to the detail, under this
subsection, of an officer or enlisted member for a period of
training described in paragraph (1).
``(B) Not more than 25 officers and enlisted members from
each military department may, in any single fiscal year,
begin a period of training described in paragraph (1) for
which the Secretary of the military department concerned pays
expenses under this paragraph.
``(3) The Secretary of the military department concerned
may detail an officer or enlisted member under paragraph (1)
without paying expenses under paragraph (2).'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``either'' and inserting
``in the case of a member for whose training the Secretary of
the military department concerned pays expenses under
subsection (a)(2), either'';
(B) in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3)--
(i) by striking ``period of two years'' and all that
follows and inserting an em dash; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following new clauses:
``(i) in the case of a member for whose training the
Secretary of the military department concerned pays expenses
under subsection (a)(2), two years; or
``(ii) in the case of a member described in subsection
(a)(3), one year for each year or part thereof of legal
training under subsection (a).'';
(C) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs
(3) and (4), respectively;
(D) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new
paragraph (2):
``(2) in the case of a member described in subsection
(a)(3), either--
``(A) have served on active duty for a period of not less
than two years nor more than eight years and be an officer in
the grade of O-3 or below as of the time the training is to
begin; or
``(B) have served on active duty for a period of not less
than four years nor more than ten years and be an enlisted
member in the grade of E-5, E-6, or E-7 as of the time the
training is to begin;''; and
(E) in subsection (d), by striking ``under this section''
and inserting ``paid under subsection (a)(2) of''.
(b) Basic Allowance for Housing During Detail.--
(1) Rule of construction.--Section 403 of title 37, United
States Code, is amended--
(A) by redesignating subsection (q) as subsection (r); and
(B) by inserting after subsection (p) the following new
subsection (q):
``(q) Rule of Construction for Certain Detail.--A member of
the armed forces may

[[Page H4074]]

not be denied an allowance under this section solely on the
basis that such member has been detailed for a period of
training under section 2004 of title 10.''.
(2) Retroactive effect.--A member of the Armed Forces who,
on or after August 1, 2023, the Secretary of the military
department concerned determined, under section 502 of title
37, United States Code, was absent for a period that is
longer than the leave authorized by section 701 of title 10,
United States Code, because the member was detailed or
assigned by the Secretary of the military department
concerned as a full-time student to a civilian institution to
pursue a program of education, is entitled to the basic
allowance for housing under section 403 of title 37, United
States Code, to which the member would have been entitled if
the member were not so absent.

Amendment No. 270 Offered by Mr. Buchanan of Florida

At the end of subtitle J of title V, insert the following:

SEC. 5__. ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM FOR SERVICEMEMBERS.

The Secretary of Defense shall study the feasibility of
establishing a mentoring program for members of the Armed
Forces who are interested in becoming entrepreneurs or
founding start-up businesses after their active duty service.

Amendment No. 271 Offered by Mr. Moskowitz of Florida

At the end of subtitle B of title II, add the following new
section:

SEC. 2__. PROHIBITION ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR CANINE AND
FELINE RESEARCH.

(a) Prohibition.--None of the funds authorized to be
appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for the
Department of Defense may be obligated or expended to conduct
biomedical research or testing using canines or felines.
(b) Waiver.--The Secretary of Defense may waive the
prohibition under subsection (a) if the Secretary--
(1) determines that the waiver is in the national security
interest of the United States; and
(2) not later than the date on which the waiver is invoked,
submits a notification of the waiver and a justification of
the reason for seeking the waiver to the Committees on Armed
Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Amendment No. 272 Offered by Mr. Donalds of Florida

At the end of subtitle C of title XXXI, add the following
new section:

SEC. 31__. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON COMMITMENT TO NUCLEAR POWER.

It is the sense of Congress that in order to achieve
geopolitical energy leadership and secure American energy
security in the years to come, Congress urges the Department
of Defense to embrace and accept nuclear power as a clean
baseload energy source that is easily compatible with other
intermittent energy sources to ultimately achieve a reliable,
secure, and resilient energy apparatus within the Department
of Defense.

Amendment No. 273 Offered by Mr. Nunn of Iowa

At the end of subtitle D of title XII, add the following
new section:

SEC. 12__. STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP ON DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL
PRIORITIES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND
ISRAEL.

The Secretary of Defense shall seek to establish a
partnership between the Defense Innovation Unit of the
Department of Defense and appropriate counterparts of Israel
in order to--
(1) enhance market opportunities for United States-based
and Israeli-based defense technology companies;
(2) bolster Israel's defense industrial base;
(3) harmonize global security posture through emerging
technology;
(4) counter Iran and Iran-aligned adversarial proxy group
development of dual-use defense technologies; and
(5) in coordination with appropriate counterpart offices of
the Israeli ministry of defense--
(A) enable coordination on defense industrial priorities;
(B) streamline emerging defense technology research and
development;
(C) create more pathways to market for defense technology
startups; and
(D) collaborate on the development of dual-use defense
capabilities through coordination.

Amendment No. 274 Offered by Ms. Pettersen of Colorado

At the end of subtitle A of title XVI, add the following
new section:

SEC. 16__. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF VERY LOW
EARTH ORBIT SPACECRAFT.

It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Space Force has demonstrated its commitment to
building a resilient, safe, and secure space architecture and
incorporating transformational commercially developed space
technologies in order to accelerate the fielding of
capabilities, including in very low earth orbit;
(2) advancements in propulsion systems, materials science,
affordable launch costs, and orbital management techniques
have opened up new possibilities for utilizing very low earth
orbit for various purposes, including ultra-high-resolution
reconnaissance, low latency communication, and improved space
domain awareness;
(3) Congress and the Department of Defense should continue
to pursue the efforts described in paragraph (1) in support
of the National Defense Strategy and the Commercial Space
Strategy of the Space Force to accelerate the purposeful
pursuit of hybrid space architectures; and
(4) the Space Force should continue to scale up those
efforts and further explore the benefits of very low earth
orbit spacecraft development to improve responsiveness,
enhance image resolution, generate orbital diversity, and
increase resilience against space debris and other threats.

Amendment No. 275 Offered by Mr. Banks of Indiana

At the end of subtitle C of title II, add the following new
section:

SEC. 2__. PLAN ON HACKING FOR DEFENSE EXPANSION.

(a) Plan Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
submit to the congressional defense committees a plan for the
expansion of the Hacking for Defense program of the
Department of Defense over the period of three fiscal years
following the date of the plan.
(b) Elements.--The plan required under subsection (a) shall
include measures--
(1) to increase the number of institutions of higher
education participating in Hacking for Defense programs;
(2) to expand support for certain elite teams after Hacking
for Defense course completion;
(3) to expand opportunities after Hacking for Defense
course completion in countries that are members of--
(A) the AUKUS partnership;
(B) the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue; or
(C) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
(4) to partner with other organizations and elements of the
Department of Defense to expand the Hacking for Defense
curriculum to a second semester prototyping course; and
(5) to support the development of professional military
education programs in the National Defense University system
that are similar to the Hacking for Defense program.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``AUKUS partnership'' means the enhanced
trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United
Kingdom, and the United States announced in September 2021.
(2) The term ``Quadrilateral Security Dialogue'' means the
strategic security dialogue between--
(A) India;
(B) Japan;
(C) Australia; and
(D) the United States.

Amendment No. 276 Offered by Mr. Nunn of Iowa

At the end of subtitle C of title II, add the following new
section:

SEC. 2__. REPORT ON POTENTIAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN
THE DEFENSE INNOVATION UNIT AND THE TAIWAN
MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall assess the
feasibility and advisability of establishing a strategic
partnership between the Defense Innovation Unit and the
Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, pursuant to which the
Unit and the Ministry would--
(1) coordinate on defense industrial priorities;
(2) collaborate on the development of dual-use defense
capabilities.
(3) establish mechanisms to streamline emerging defense
technology research and development and microchip supply
chain security;
(4) create additional pathways to market for relevant
defense technology startups; and
(5) carry out other activities to--
(A) enhance market opportunities for United States-based
and Taiwan-based defense technology companies;
(B) bolster Taiwan's defense industrial base;
(C) harmonize global security posture through emerging
technology; and
(D) counter the development of dual-use defense
technologies by the Chinese Communist Party.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit
to the congressional defense committees a report on the
results of the assessment conducted under subsection (a).

Amendment No. 277 Offered by Mr. Banks of Indiana

At the end of subtitle B of title XVII, insert the
following new section:

SEC. 17_. REPORTING ON IRANIAN CENTRIFUGE INSTALLATION.

(a) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall provide
a report to the congressional defense committees, the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives,
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate with the
content described in paragraph (2).
(2) Content described.--The content described for the
report in paragraph (1) includes the following:
(A) An assessment of the types and numbers of centrifuges
installed in declared and undeclared nuclear facilities in
Iran since May 2021.

[[Page H4075]]

(B) An assessment of the timeline required by Iran to
produce weapons-grade uranium in May 2021.
(C) An assessment of the current timeline required by Iran
to produce weapons-grade uranium.
(D) An assessment of whether Iran has moved advanced
centrifuges to facilities other than its safeguarded
enrichment plants, including where and how many, if
applicable.
(E) An assessment of how many advanced centrifuges Iran
would need of each type to enrich to weapons-grade.
(F) An assessment of whether a heavily fortified nuclear
facility Iran is building near the Natanz site contains or
will contain an enrichment plant.
(3) Form.--This report shall be transmitted in unclassified
form and may contain a classified annex.

Amendment No. 278 Offered by Mr. Donalds of Florida

At the end of subtitle C of title II, add the following new
section:

SEC. 2__. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE CONTINUING NEED FOR
INNOVATION IN THE ARMED FORCES.

(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
Congress encourages the Armed Forces to continue innovating,
including by using technological methods that incorporate
artificial intelligence, quantum information science,
advanced air mobility, and counter-UAS systems to ultimately
maintain, bolster, and augment military readiness, wartime
preparedness, and ensure the overall national security of the
United States.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``advanced air mobility'' means a
transportation system that transports people and property by
air between two points in the United States using aircraft
with advanced technologies, including electric aircraft or
electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, in both
controlled and uncontrolled airspace.
(2) The term ``artificial intelligence'' has the meaning
given such term in section 5002 of the National Artificial
Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401).
(3) The term ``counter-UAS system'' has the meaning given
such term in section 44801(5) of title 49, United States
Code.
(4) The term ``quantum information science'' has the
meaning given such term in section 2 of the National Quantum
Initiative Act (15 U.S.C. 8801).

Amendment No. 279 Offered by Mr. Walberg of Michigan

At the end of subtitle F of title X, add the following new
section:

SEC. 10__. STUDY ON TESTING OF FOREIGN ADVERSARY HIGHLY
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES.

(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
coordination with the relevant Federal agencies, shall
conduct a study on the effects on the national security of
the United States of highly automated vehicles (as such term
is defined in section 503(c)(6) of title 23, United States
Code) associated with foreign adversary countries operating
or testing in the United States.
(b) Matters to Be Included.--The study required by
subsection (a) shall also include the following:
(1) An evaluation of the technology used by highly
automated vehicles and their capabilities.
(2) A list of entities--
(A) domiciled in or directly or indirectly owned,
controlled, or directed by a foreign adversary country;
(B) that manufacture highly automated vehicles; and
(C) are currently operating highly automated vehicles in
the United States.
(3) The number of highly automated vehicles currently
operating in the United States that are owned or operated by
such entities.
(4) An evaluation whether any such entity has contracted
with or supplied any technology to the military of a foreign
adversary country.
(5) The locations where highly automated vehicles owned or
operated by such entities are operating in the United States.
(6) Potential vulnerabilities posed by the operation of
such highly automated vehicles in the United States.
(c) Submission.--The Secretary of Defense shall submit the
results of the study conducted pursuant to subsection (a)
to--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Homeland Security, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce
of the House of Representatives.

Amendment No. 280 Offered by Mr. Donalds of Florida

At the end of subtitle A of title XVI, insert the
following:

SEC. 16__. REPORT ON SPACE FORCE USE OF NUCLEAR THERMAL
PROPULSION AND NUCLEAR ELECTRIC PROPULSION
SPACE VEHICLES.

The Chief of the Space Force shall submit to Congress a
report on the use by the Space Force of nuclear thermal
propulsion and nuclear electric propulsion space vehicles.
Such report shall include--
(1) a description of how the Space Force uses such
vehicles;
(2) a description of how the Space Force plans to use such
vehicles in the future; and
(3) an identification of any potential benefits that such
vehicles can provide to bolster the national security of the
United States.

Amendment No. 281 Offered by Mr. Donalds of Florida

Add at the end of subtitle C of title XXXI, add the
following new section:

SEC. 31__. SENSE OF CONGRESS SUPPORTING PROJECT PELE.

It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) Congress supports Project Pele, which seeks to develop,
demonstrate, and deploy an advanced portable nuclear
microreactor at Idaho National Laboratory by 2025; and
(2) Project Pele will be critical in maintaining and
bolstering United States national security by providing firm,
reliable, clean, and dense baseload energy to power United
States military bases and other distributed military
operations, both domestically and abroad.

Amendment No. 282 Offered by Ms. Kelly of Illinois

At the end of subtitle D of title VI, add the following:

SEC. 6__. EXPANSION OF PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY OF MILITARY
ONESOURCE PROGRAM FOR RETIRED AND DISCHARGED
MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND THEIR IMMEDIATE
FAMILIES.

(a) In General.--Under regulations prescribed by the
Secretary of Defense, the period of eligibility for the
Military OneSource program of the Department of Defense of an
eligible individual retired, discharged, or otherwise
released from the Armed Forces, and for the eligible
immediate family members of such an individual, shall be the
18-month period beginning on the date of the retirement,
discharge, or release, as applicable, of such individual.
(b) Information to Families.--The Secretary shall, in such
manner as the Secretary considers appropriate, inform
military families and families of veterans of the Armed
Forces of the wide range of benefits available through the
Military OneSource program.

Amendment No. 283 Offered by Mr. James of Michigan

At the end of subtitle A of title VIII, insert the
following new section:

SEC. 8__. BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MULTIYEAR PROCUREMENT OF
PRIORITY ITEMS.

(a) Recommendation.--Along with the budget materials
submitted to Congress in support of the annual budget request
of the President (submitted to Congress pursuant to section
1105 of title 31, United States Code), for fiscal year 2026
and for each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of
Defense, in coordination with the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget and the Comptroller General of the
United States, shall include an annex with recommendations to
Congress--
(1) contracts for priority items that could be considered
under a covered multiyear contract that were not considered
as such in the budget materials submitted, and the rationale
for exclusion of such priority items from such materials;
(2) the cost of implementation of such contracts for
priority items under a covered multiyear contract;
(3) any challenges to implementing such contracts for
priority items under a covered multiyear contract; and
(4) any technical assistance required to include contracts
for such priority items under a covered multiyear contract in
a subsequent fiscal year.
(b) Prioritization.--The Secretary of Defense, in
coordination with the covered officials, shall designate any
contracts for priority items based on need that will best
serve the commanders of the geographic combatant commands for
contingency planning and execution.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``contract for priority items'' means a
contract for goods for any the following:
(A) Shipbuilding.
(B) Fighter aircraft.
(C) Submarines.
(D) Ground vehicle systems.
(E) Unmanned aerial systems.
(F) Hypersonics.
(G) Any goods needed to address supply chain disruptions
and constraints for the Department of Defense.
(2) The term ``covered officials'' mean--
(A) the Secretary of the Army;
(B) the Secretary of the Navy;
(C) the Secretary of the Air Force; and
(D) the Director of the National Guard Bureau.
(3) The term ``covered multiyear procurement'' means a
multiyear contract described under section 3501 of title 10,
United States Code, except that--
(A) such contract shall be for a term of greater than one
but less than three years;
(B) performance of such contract during the second or
subsequent year of such term may be contingent upon the
appropriation of funds and may provide for a cancellation
payment to be made to the contractor if such appropriations
are not made.

Amendment No. 284 Offered by Mr. Moylan of Guam

At the end of subtitle C of title XXVIII, add the following
new section:

[[Page H4076]]

SEC. 28__. RESEARCH, STANDARDS, AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS
RELATING TO INDOOR RESIDENTIAL MOLD.

(b) Research on Health Impacts of Indoor Residential
Mold.--
(1) Research.--
(A) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the Director of the Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Health Affairs, the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development, the Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, the President of the
National Academy of Sciences, and the Chair of the Board of
Directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences
shall conduct a comprehensive study of the health effects of
indoor residential mold growth in barracks or other housing
on military installations, using the most up-to-date
scientific peer-reviewed medical literature.
(B) Contents.--The study conducted under subparagraph (A)
shall ascertain--
(i) detailed information about harmful or toxigenic mold
that may impact the services and those living on military
installations, as well as any toxin or toxic compound such
mold can produce;
(ii) the most accurate research-based methods of detecting
harmful or toxigenic mold;
(iii) potential dangers of prolonged or chronic exposure to
indoor residential mold growth in residential areas on
military installations;
(iv) the hazards involved with inadequate mold inspections
on military installations and improper indoor residential
mold remediation in barracks on military installations;
(v) the estimated current public health burden of new or
exacerbated physical illness resulting from exposure to
indoor residential mold on the military services and its
effect on quality of life as it impacts readiness, including
its impact on children in military families;
(vi) improved understanding of the different health
symptomology that can result from exposure to mold in indoor
residential environments on military installations, including
military barracks;
(vii) ongoing surveillance of the prevalence of idiopathic
pulmonary hemorrhage in infants living on military
installations; and
(viii) longitudinal studies on the effects of indoor old
exposure in early childhood on the development of asthma and
other respiratory illnesses of children living on military
installations.
(C) Availability.--Not later than the expiration of the 3-
year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this
Act, the results of the study conducted under subparagraph
(A) shall be submitted to Congress and the President and made
available to the general public.
(c) Health, Safety, and Habitability Standards and Model
Standards.--
(1) Model standards for preventing, detecting, and
remediating indoor residential mold growth.--Based on the
results of the interagency health study conducted under
subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense, in consultation
with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and
Health at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
the Secretary of Energy, the Executive Director of the
National Institute of Building Sciences, and the President of
the National Academy of Sciences shall, in accordance with
section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and
Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note; Public Law 104-
113), jointly issue model health, safety, and habitability
standards for preventing, detecting, and remediating indoor
residential mold growth on military installations,
including--
(A) model residential mold inspection standards for
military barracks;
(B) model indoor residential mold remediation standards for
military installations;
(C) standards for testing the toxicity of indoor
residential mold and any toxin or toxic compound produced by
indoor residential mold on military installations;
(D) health and safety standards for the protection of those
inspecting for and remediating mold in housing on military
installations;
(E) standards for indoor residential mold testing labs that
serve military installations;
(F) model ventilation standards for the design,
installation, and maintenance of air ventilation or air-
conditioning systems in housing on military installations to
prevent indoor residential mold growth or the creation of
conditions that foster indoor mold growth in housing on
military installations; and
(G) model building code standards for housing on military
installations to control moisture and prevent mold growth.
(2) Consultation.--To the maximum extent possible, model
standards issued under this subsection shall be developed
with the assistance of--
(A) organizations that develop mold and water damage
standards and work with military installations;
(B) organizations involved in establishing national
building construction standards and work with military
installations;
(C) organizations involved in improving indoor air quality;
(D) public health advocates that serve the military
community; and
(E) health and medical professionals that serve military
servicemembers and their families, including practitioners
that care for children of servicemembers.
(3) Resiliency.--Model standards issued under this
subsection shall take into account geographic diversity,
propensity for extreme weather or flooding, and other
resiliency metrics impacting military housing.
(4) Deadlines.--
(A) Public review and comment.--The officers identified in
paragraph (1) shall make draft standards issued under this
section available for public review and comment at least 90
days prior to publication of the final standards or model
standards pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(B) Publication.--Not later than years after the results of
the study conducted under subsection (a) are submitted to
Congress in accordance with such section, the officers
identified in subsection (a) shall issue, and make available
to the public, final standards and model standards under this
section.
(5) Review and updates.--The officers identified in
paragraph (1) shall--
(A) review the model standards issued under this subsection
at least once every 5 years based on latest scientific
advances and published studies relating to indoor residential
mold growth; and
(B) update such standards and model standards as necessary
to preserve and improve the quality of housing on military
installations, and prevent the displacement of those
currently living on military installations.
(d) Construction Requirements for New Housing on Military
Installations.--
(1) Model construction standards.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary of Defense, in consultation
with Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the
Executive Director of the National Institute of Building
Sciences, and the President of the National Academy of
Sciences, to the extent such Director and President agree to
participate, shall develop model construction standards and
techniques for preventing and controlling indoor residential
mold in new residential properties on military installations.
(B) Contents.--The model standards and techniques shall
provide for geographic differences in construction types and
materials, geology, weather, and other variables that may
affect indoor residential mold levels in new buildings and on
various military installations.
(C) Consultation.--To the maximum extent possible, such
standards and techniques shall be developed with--
(i) the assistance of organizations involved in
establishing national building construction standards and
techniques, especially those who do this work on military
installations;
(ii) the assistance of organizations that develop mold and
water damage standards on military installations; and
(iii) public health advocates that serve the military
community.
(D) Publication.--The Secretary shall make a draft of the
document containing the model standards and techniques
available for public review and comment. The Secretary shall
make final model standards and techniques available to the
public not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(E) Applicability to new construction and rehabilitation.--
Within 1 year of the publication of the final model standards
and techniques required by subparagraph (D), the Secretary of
Defense shall include such model standards and techniques as
a requirement for residential rehabilitation or new
construction projects funded with Federal appropriations made
available by such agencies.
(e) Education for Military Health Professionals.--The
Secretary of Defense shall include education for military
health professions on mold-related illness, including signs
and symptoms of toxigenic mold exposure, in recurring
training received by miliary health practitioners at such
time and in such manner as the Secretary chooses.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``indoor residential mold'' means any form of
multi-cellular fungi in indoor environments, including
cladosporium, penicillium, alternaria, aspergillus, fusarium,
trichoderma, memnoniella, mucor, stachybotrys chartarum,
streptomyces, and epicoccumoften found in water-damaged
indoor environments and building materials.
(2) The term ``toxigenic mold'' means any indoor mold
growth that may be capable of producing a toxin or toxic
compound, including mycotoxins and mVOCs, that can cause
pulmonary, respiratory, neurological, gastrointestinal, or
dermatological illnesses, or other major adverse health
impacts, as determined by the Secretary of Defense in
consultation with the Director of the National Institutes of
Health, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Amendment No. 285 Offered by Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania

At the appropriate place in subtitle G of title VIII,
insert the following:

[[Page H4077]]

SEC. 8__. REPORT ON CONTRACT GOAL FOR THE ABILITYONE PROGRAM.

The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional
defense committees a report on--
(1) the progress of the Department of Defense in achieving
the goal for the Department to acquire products and services
from qualified nonprofit agencies for the blind and qualified
nonprofit agencies for the other severely disabled (as such
terms are defined, respectively, in section 8501 of title 41,
United States Code) pursuant to chapter 85 of title 41,
United States Code, in an amount equal to one percent of the
total funds obligated or expended by the Department for
procurement for a fiscal year; and
(2) any obstacles faced by the Secretary in achieving the
goal described in paragraph (1).

Amendment No. 286 Offered by Mr. Krishnamoorthi of Illinois

At the end of subtitle A of title VIII, insert the
following section:

SEC. 8__. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN CHINESE E-COMMERCE
PURCHASES.

(a) In General.--None of the funds authorized to be
appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for
fiscal year 2025 for the Department of Defense may be
obligated or expended to acquire any good from Temu or Shein
or through a service operated by either such entity except as
provided by subsection (b).
(b) Waiver.--Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to
the acquisition of a good to the extent that the Secretary of
Defense determines that such acquisition of such good from
Temu or Shein or through a service operated by either such
entity is in the interest of national security.

Amendment No. 287 Offered by Mr. Moolenaar of Michigan

Page 599, lines 1 and 2, strike ``(d)(1)(A) of such section
is amended'' and insert ``(d)(1) of such section is amended--
''.
Page 599, line 2, strike ``by'' and insert the following:
(1) in subparagraph (A), by
Page 599, line 3, strike the period at the end and insert
``; and''.
After page 599, line 3, add the following:
(2) in subparagraph (B), by adding at the end the
following:
``(viii) An identification of performance goals and
measures to advance the lines of effort of the Initiative
relative to the operational requirements of the Initiative,
determined in coordination with the Secretary of each
military department.''.
Page 599, line 5, insert an em dash after ``amended''.
Page 599, line 2, strike ``by'' and insert the following:
(1) by
Page 599, line 6, strike the period at the end and insert
``; and''.
After page 599, line 6, add the following:
(2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
``(2) A detailed description of the progress made toward
achieving the performance goals and measures identified
pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(B)(viii).''.

Amendment No. 288 Offered by Mr. Walberg of Michigan

At the end of subtitle H of title V, insert the following
new section:

SEC. 5__. PROHIBITION OF TIKTOK.

The Director of the Department of Defense Education
Activity shall publish guidance prohibiting the use of TikTok
for instructional purposes at schools operated by the
Department of Defense Education Activity.

Amendment No. 289 Offered by Mr. Buchanan of Florida

At the end of subtitle F of title X, add the following new
section:

SEC. 10__. REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF THE OPTIMIZING THE
HUMAN WEAPON SYSTEM PROGRAM.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall submit to the
congressional defense committees a report that includes--
(1) an analysis of the effectiveness of the Optimizing the
Human Weapon System Program of the Army; and
(2) recommendations for improving and expanding the
Program.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 1287, the gentleman
from Alabama (Mr. Rogers) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Smith)
each will control 10 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alabama.
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Chair, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman
from Iowa (Mr. Nunn).
Mr. NUNN of Iowa. Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Rogers for his
leadership on the National Defense Authorization Act.
I rise in support of four amendments today included in this en bloc.
I offer my first amendment in memory of Corporal Adam Lambert, a
proud marine from Adel, Iowa. He returned home and, unfortunately, lost
his life to suicide shortly after his combat tour of duty.
Today, America loses 22 of its veterans to suicide every single day.
We must do more to stop this silent epidemic. Amendment No. 980 aims to
reduce the number of veteran suicides by improving our Transition
Assistance Program, or TAP, and the Solid Start program to alert
transitioning veterans of the mental health services available to them
today through the VA.
Second, fighting Communist China requires America be a leader in
cybersecurity. My amendment No. 1012 bans the Department of Defense
from acquiring, procuring, or utilizing blockchain technology created
by our foreign adversaries.
The CCP is developing new technology to manipulate America and
infiltrate our national security by rewiring our hard infrastructure.
America is investing heavily in blockchain technology today,
developing cloud storage technology. This technology is the future of
data management, with worldwide adoption expected in the next decade.
Let me be clear: Failure for America to be able to act or for the
Department of Defense to become a subsidiary of a Chinese blockchain is
a thousand times worse than anything even TikTok could present today.
This is a critical step to stop this crisis before it is too late,
Mr. Chair, and protect Americans.
Last, innovation in America's defense demands a public-private
partnership, particularly with our most strategic allies. Amendment
Nos. 1038 and 1055 will counter near-peer adversaries in the Middle
East and tackle the tech advances that Communist China has made.
As Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah rain down terror on Israel, we must
support our strongest ally in the Middle East as she defends herself.
With these strategic partnerships, we can support not only our allies
but also learn from the innovations being created by our allies, create
new pathways and new markets for our defense tech startups, and
continue to leverage America's dominance and spirit of innovation to
shape a safer world.
These amendments will establish a key strategic partnership between
the Defense Innovation Unit, where I have worked, with our allies in
Israel and Taiwan.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this en bloc in a
bipartisan way across both sides of the aisle, and I thank the chairman
for including this in his overall package.
Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman
from Michigan (Mr. Kildee).
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Chair, I thank the ranking member for allowing me to
speak on my amendment. It is a bipartisan amendment expressing the
sense of Congress that we should not permanently store nuclear waste
near the Great Lakes.
My amendment responds to the Government of Canada's recent plans to
build a facility that would permanently hold thousands of tons of high-
level nuclear waste in the Great Lakes Basin, the greatest source of
freshwater known to mankind.
Permanently storing hazardous nuclear waste so close to our Great
Lakes does not make any sense at all. A potential accident involving
nuclear waste would threaten the drinking water of millions of people
in the United States and Canada and jeopardize thousands of jobs in the
fishing, boating, and tourism industries.
Surely, absolutely, there must be a safer location to permanently
store radioactive waste than adjacent to the world's greatest source of
freshwater.
My amendment, which is included in this en bloc, has strong
bipartisan support, and it would be an important step in protecting the
Great Lakes.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this en bloc.
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman
from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).
Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman for including these
amendments en bloc.
I rise today in support of the en bloc, which contains two of my
amendments.
The first amendment would help identify the national security risk of
autonomous vehicles from foreign adversary countries operating in the
U.S. AVs will transform the future of transportation and increase
safety on roads, but we must ensure our adversaries are not deploying
data-collecting vehicles across our country, giving the likes of the
CCP an unprecedented vantage point in the United States.

The next amendment would help ensure our Department of Defense
schools

[[Page H4078]]

are not using TikTok for instructional purposes. As we know, ByteDance
is beholden to the CCP, and we cannot allow our military installations
or the schools operated by the DOD to become spy cells for the Chinese
Communist Party.
Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of the en bloc and the underlying bill.
Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett).
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment No. 256
included in this en bloc.
The United States and its allies are engaged in a global strategic
competition with China and Russia. While Europe and the Indo-Pacific
are the primary theaters of this contest, China and Russia are
increasing their malign influence in the global south, including in
Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
My amendment directs the Department of Defense to assess the impact
of Russia's influence in South America, Central America, and the
Caribbean on the national security and economic interests of the United
States.
This builds upon my amendment included in the fiscal year 2023 NDAA,
which directed the Department of Defense to assess the standing U.S.
military force posture in the Caribbean, given U.S. national and
regional security interests in the region.
Mr. Chair, I urge support of my amendment in amendments en bloc No.
4.
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support the
en bloc package, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman
from Rhode Island (Mr. Amo).
Mr. AMO. Mr. Chair, I thank Ranking Member Smith for allowing me to
speak on my amendment No. 267 in the en bloc.
The Australia, United Kingdom, and United States security pact, also
known as AUKUS, is one of the most significant security arrangements in
generations. It is essential to maintaining free trade and security in
the Indo-Pacific.
As we strengthen our coordination of defense article production with
our allies, we must continue to prioritize domestic research,
producers, and procurement.
AUKUS is a premier example of the domestic benefits. The University
of Rhode Island and Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport,
formed research and education partnerships with Australian partners.
AUKUS will also support good-paying jobs and small businesses across
Rhode Island.
My amendment reinforces twin ideas that AUKUS is critical to
protecting national security and that it boosts local economies by
enhancing defense production capabilities.
Let's ensure the Pentagon promotes and prioritizes domestic
production as we work alongside our allies for a safer and more stable
future.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

{time} 0930

Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Green).
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, and still I rise. I thank the
gentleman for yielding 1 minute and I thank those members of the Rules
Committee who made this moment possible.
Mr. Chair, today, I rise to call attention to a 159-year-old
injustice. Milton Holland was given a battlefield promotion. When he
received that promotion, it was not validated later on when it was
discovered that he was a person of African ancestry.
The battlefield promotion he was given was denied because of who he
was. He was a member of the Union Army, by the way. He received the
Medal of Honor but could not maintain the promotion that he received
for the valor he displayed in battle.
This injustice will be corrected today. Every person who votes will
be bending the arc of the moral universe toward justice for Milton
Holland.
Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of the amendments
en bloc, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendments en bloc offered
by the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers).
The en bloc amendments were agreed to.

Amendments En Bloc No. 5 Offered by Mr. Rogers of Alabama

Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Chair, pursuant to House Resolution 1287,
I offer amendments en bloc.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendments en bloc.
Amendments en bloc No. 5 consisting of amendment Nos. 290, 291, 292,
293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306,
307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320,
321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 334,
335, 336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346, 347, 348,
and 350 printed in part B of House Report 118-551, offered by Mr.
Rogers of Alabama:

Amendment No. 290 Offered by Mr. Levin of California

At the end of subtitle G of title V, insert the following:

SEC. 17__. AMENDMENTS TO PATHWAYS FOR COUNSELING IN
TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

Section 1142(c)(1) of title 10, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (M) as subparagraph (R);
and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (L) the following:
``(M) Child care requirements of the member (including
whether a dependent of the member is enrolled in the
Exceptional Family Member Program).
``(N) The employment status of other adults in the
household of the member.
``(O) The location of the duty station of the member
(including whether the member was separated from family while
on duty).
``(P) The effects of operating tempo and personnel tempo on
the member and the household of the member.
``(Q) Whether the member is an Indian or urban Indian, as
those terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Health
Care Improvement Act (Public Law 94-437; 25 U.S.C. 1603).''.

Amendment No. 291 Offered by Mr. Wenstrup of Ohio

At the end of subtitle B of title VII, add the following:

SEC. 7__. PODIATRISTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

(a) Qualification of Doctors of Podiatry for Original
Appointment as Commissioned Officers.--Section 532(b)(1) of
title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting
``podiatry,'' after ``osteopathy,''.
(b) Members of Medical Corps.--Not later than one year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Defense shall ensure that podiatrists are assigned to the
Medical Corps of each military department. The Secretary
shall notify the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate
and House of Representatives in writing upon carrying out
this subsection.

Amendment No. 292 Offered by Ms. Tenney of New York

At the end of subtitle B of title VIII, insert the
following new section:

SEC. 8__. ADDITION OF DOMESTICALLY PRODUCED STAINLESS STEEL
FLATWARE TO THE REQUIREMENT TO BUY CERTAIN
ARTICLES FROM AMERICAN SOURCES.

(a) Addition to Covered Items.--
(1) In general.--Section 4862(b) of title 10, United States
Code, is amended--
(A) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new
paragraph:
``(3) Stainless steel flatware.''; and
(B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (4)
(2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1)
shall take effect on October 1, 2025.

Amendment No. 293 Offered by Ms. Tenney of New York

Page 920, after line 5, insert the following new section:

SEC. 28__. FEASIBILITY STUDY BY THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ON
REPLICATING THE ARMY FUTURE SOLDIER PREP COURSE
THROUGH THE OTHER SERVICE BRANCHES.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a
feasibility study on replicating the Army Future Soldier Prep
Course through the other services that contains the
following:
(1) A cost estimate for each of the services including--
(A) Any military construction or Facilities sustainment,
restoration and modernization costs;
(B) Additional personnel costs; and
(C) Additional operations and maintenance costs.
(2) Existing bases for each service that could host such a
program.

Amendment No. 294 Offered by Mr. McCaul of Texas

At the end of subtitle B of title VII, insert the following
new section:

SEC. 7__. REPORT ON MEDICAL INSTRUMENT STERILIZATION.

(a) Study Required.--
(1) In general.--The Inspector General of the Defense
Health Agency shall conduct a study on the adequacy of
sterilization of medical instruments at medical facilities of
the Defense Health Agency.
(2) Elements.--The study required by paragraph (1) shall
include the following elements:

[[Page H4079]]

(A) A description of the processes or checks used to ensure
medical instruments are sterilized prior to use on patients
at medical facilities of the Defense Health Agency.
(B) A description of the policies and processes used to
identify and mitigate the use of insufficiently sterilized
medical instruments at such medical facilities and the
processes and timelines for informing patients of any such
near-miss (if any disclosure is required).
(C) An identification of the aggregate number of adverse
events or near-misses as a result of insufficiently
sterilized medical instruments at such medical facilities
during the period beginning on January 1, 2022, and ending on
January 1, 2024.
(D) A determination of primary factors that result in
insufficiently sterilized medical instruments at such medical
facilities.
(E) A description of the extent to which unsterilized
medical instruments have impacted the operation of such
medical facilities.
(F) An assessment of whether such medical facilities have
sufficient--
(i) medical instruments;
(ii) medical devices to timely clean and sterilize medical
instruments; and
(iii) staff to sterilize medical instruments.
(G) An assessment of whether staff at such medical
facilities are properly trained to sterilize medical
instruments.
(H) A determination of the number of surgeries at such
medical facilities that were delayed or rescheduled as a
result of unsterilized medical instruments.
(I) Recommendations to improve the sterilization of medical
instruments at such medical facilities, including an
identification and evaluation of existing options, such as
mobile sterilization units and coordinating with community
medical centers to expand surgical capacity.
(b) Report Required.--Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the
Defense Health Agency shall submit to Congress a report on
the study required by subsection (a), which shall include an
action plan to consider and implement the recommendations
included in such study.

Amendment No. 295 Offered by Mr. Moulton of Massachusetts

At the appropriate place in title XXVIII, insert the
following:

SEC. __. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE TO EXPEDITE CERTAIN
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS LOCATED IN GUAM.

(a) In General.--To expedite military construction projects
in Guam intended to improve the defense of Guam and the Indo-
Pacific region, each Secretary of a military department may
provide grants, conclude cooperative agreements, and
supplement other Federal funds to regulatory agencies located
in Guam that such Secretary determines appropriate,
including--
(1) the Guam Environmental Protection Agency; and
(2) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
(b) Elements.--Each agreement under subsection (a) may
include--
(1) the provision of Department of Defense technical
assistance to regulatory agencies responsible for the timely
completion of military construction projects; and
(2) the use of Department of Defense personnel to perform
conservation activities for which the regulatory agency is
responsible.
(c) Military Construction Project Defined.--In this
section, the term ``military construction project'' has the
meaning given such term in section 2801 of title 10, United
States Code.

Amendment No. 296 Offered by Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia

At the end of subtitle B of title V, insert the following
new section:

SEC. 5__. AMENDMENT TO EXTEND TIME PERIOD FOR TRANSFER OR
DISCHARGE OF CERTAIN ARMY AND AIR FORCE RESERVE
COMPONENT GENERAL OFFICERS.

Section 14314 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) as
subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D), respectively;
(B) by striking ``Within'' and inserting ``(1) Except as
provided in paragraph (2), within''; and
(C) by inserting at the end the following new paragraph
(2):
``(2) For any general officer covered by paragraph (1) who
is released from a joint duty assignment or other non-joint
active-duty assignment, the Secretary concerned shall
complete the transfer or discharge required by paragraph (1)
not later than 60 days after the officer's release.''; and
(2) in subsection (c), by striking ``subsection (a)(3)''
and inserting ``subsection (a)(1)(C)''.

Amendment No. 297 Offered by Ms. Perez of Washington

At the appropriate place in subtitle E of title VIII,
insert the following:

SEC. 8__. REPORT ON COMPETITION AND EQUIPMENT REPAIR.

(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that it
is integral that the military be able to fix its own
equipment, and that efforts deliberately designed to prevent
the military end user from fixing equipment in the field harm
our nation's military readiness.
(b) Report and Plan.--The Secretary of Defense shall submit
to the Chair of the White House Competition Council the
report required under clause (iii) of section 5(s) of
Executive Order 14036 titled ``Executive Order on Promoting
Competition in the American Economy''.

Amendment No. 298 Offered by Mr. Mills of Florida

Page 288, insert after line 10 the following:

SEC. 597. DEFENSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON DIVERSITY AND
INCLUSION; REPORT.

Not later than October 1, 2024, the Secretary of Defense
shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the
Senate and House of Representatives a report regarding the
Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion
(DACODAI). The report shall contain the following items:
(1) An overview of the appointment process used to select
individuals currently serving as members of the DACODAI,
including the nominating source for each individual currently
serving as a DACODAI member.
(2) An explanation of how the Department ensures
individuals selected to serve as members of DACODAI comprise
points of view that are ``fairly balanced'' as required by
the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
(3) A complete listing of all recommendations made by the
DACODAI since September 23, 2022.
(4) A complete listing of all studies initiated by the
DACODAI since September 23, 2022.
(5) The cost associated with operating the DACODAI since
September 23, 2022.

Amendment No. 299 Offered by Mr. Mills of Florida

At the end of subtitle G of title VIII, insert the
following new section:

SEC. 8__. REPORT ON SMALL PURCHASES OF CRITICAL MINERALS AND
MAGNETS.

(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the
enactment of this section, the Director of the Defense
Contract Management Agency shall submit to the congressional
defense committees a report detailing the dollar amount of
covered materials manufactured in China and Russia and
acquired by the Department of Defense through contracts
valued at or below the simplified acquisition threshold
during the period beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending on
the date of the submission of such report to the
congressional defense committees.
(b) Contents.--The report required by subsection (a) shall
include--
(1) the total value of contracts under which covered
materials were acquired by the Department of Defense during
the period covered by the report;
(2) the total value of contracts under which covered
materials manufactured in China or Russia were acquired by
the Department of Defense during the period covered by the
report;
(3) the total value of contracts under which covered
materials were acquired by the Department of Defense during
the period covered by the report for which the Director could
not determine whether the covered materials were manufactured
in China or Russia;
(4) for each covered material, the value of the covered
material acquired by the Department of Defense during the
period covered by the report that was manufactured in China
or Russia; and
(5) any recommendations from the Director for improving the
ability of the Department of Defense to track the
manufacturer of covered materials.
(c) Acquisitions by the Defense Logistics Agency.--Each
value described in subsection (b) contained in the report
required by subsection (a) shall be disaggregated by
acquisitions made by the Defense Logistics Agency and
acquisitions made by other elements of the Department of
Defense.
(d) Rule of Construction.--For the purposes of this
section, the Director shall regard ``manufacturing'' as being
the main value-add step in the supply chain in which raw
minerals are initially combined into a metallic, alloyed, or
magnetic form and shall not count late-stage cutting and
finishing processes or distribution as the critical
manufacturing step.
(e) Covered Material Defined.--In this section, the term
``covered material'' means--
(1) samarium-cobalt magnets;
(2) neodymium-iron-boron magnets;
(3) tungsten metal powder;
(4) tungsten heavy alloy;
(5) tantalum metals and alloys;
(6) aluminum-nickel-cobalt magnets; or
(7) any other metals listed in section 4863(l) of title 10,
United States Code.

Amendment No. 300 Offered by Mr. Norman of South Carolina

At the end of subtitle F of title X, add the following new
section:

SEC. 10__. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY ON DREDGING CAPACITY AND
PORT READINESS.

(a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study to assess the capability and capacity
of Department of Defense to complete harbor and channel
dredging at seaports that require such dredging.
(b) Elements.--The study under subsection (a) shall
include--
(1) identification of any dredging work required by the
Department of Defense to ensure deep water access at
seaports, set forth separately by seaport;
(2) a review of the capacity of the domestic dredging
industry to complete the dredging work identified under
paragraph (1);

[[Page H4080]]

(3) an assessment of time required to complete outstanding
dredging work at seaports in the Strategic Seaport Program;
and
(4) development of recommendations for Federal policies,
including contracting policies, that may be implemented to
support domestic manufacturers of critical components used in
the manufacturing of United States dredging vessels,
including critical components such as cranes, spring
couplings, torque limiters, diesel engine clutches, clutch
couplings, wet brakes, and combination gearboxes.
(c) Consultation.--In conducting the study under subsection
(a), the Comptroller General shall consult with--
(1) the National Port Readiness Network;
(2) entities in the United States dredging industry;
(3) domestic critical component manufacturers; and
(4) such other individuals and entities as the Comptroller
General determines appropriate.
(d) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit
to the congressional defense committees a report on the
results of the study conducted under subsection (a).

Amendment No. 301 Offered by Ms. Schrier of Washington

At the end of subtitle B of title XVII, insert the
following:

SEC. 17__. REPORT ON SYSTEM DEPENDENCIES, UPTIME, AND KEY
FACTORS OF ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD SYSTEM.

(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
on the electronic health record system and other system
dependencies, uptime, and key factors that affect the
Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(b) Report.--The report required under subsection (a) shall
include each of the following:
(1) A list of the information technology systems,
infrastructure, and entities of the Department of Defense
pertaining to the electronic health record system of the
Department with which the Department of Veterans Affairs has
an operational or technical dependency.
(2) A list of instances of electronic health record system
and associated system downtime, performance degradations,
outages, or incidents of the Department of Defense during
fiscal year 2024, including, for each such instance each of
the following:
(A) The duration.
(B) The results of a root cause analysis.
(C) Any after action reporting.
(D) The accountable office within the Department.
(E) An indication of whether the Department of Veterans
Affairs was also affected.
(3) Any steps taken by, or plan of, the Secretary of
Defense to address, mitigate, or resolve the instances
identified in paragraph (2), as well as the an identification
of any uptime goals for any system affected by an instance
identified in paragraph (2).
(4) Any steps taken by the Secretary of Defense to improve
governance, coordination, and policy decisions conducted with
or affecting the Secretary of Veterans Affairs related to
electronic health record systems and associated systems of
the Department of Defense with which the Department of
Veterans Affairs has an operational or technical dependency.
(5) A plan or schedule, if any, to modernize or replace
systems of the Department of Defense pertaining to identity
management or patient registration, including the Defense
Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, with which the
Department of Veterans Affairs has an operational or
technical dependency.
(c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives.

Amendment No. 302 Offered by Ms. Wexton of Virginia

At the end of subtitle E of title I, add the following new
section:

SEC. 1__. STUDY TO IDENTIFY SOURCES OF SECURE PARTS FOR
UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS.

(a) Study.--The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition
and Sustainment shall conduct a study to identify sources of
secure parts for unmanned aircraft systems. For purposes of
the study, a part shall be considered secure if it--
(1) is not produced or sold by a Chinese military company
(as defined in section 1260H of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283;
10 U.S.C. 113 note));
(2) will not be used for a sensitive platform, such as the
F-35 aircraft;
(3) does not connect to wireless or other data networks;
and
(4) meets such other criteria as may be established by the
Under Secretary.
(b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for
Acquisition and Sustainment shall submit to the congressional
defense committees a report on the results of the study
conducted under subsection (a).

Amendment No. 303 Offered by Mr. Donalds of Florida

At the end of subtitle B of title XVII, add the following
new section:

SEC. 17__. REPORT ON USE OF NUCLEAR POWER FOR MILITARY AND
SOFT POWER PURPOSES.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State
shall jointly submit a report to Congress on Russian and
Chinese efforts relating to transportable nuclear power that
specifically evaluates the manner and extent to which both
Russia and China are using transportable nuclear power for
direct military purposes and as a soft power tool globally.

Amendment No. 304 Offered by Mr. Arrington of Texas

At the end of subtitle E of title XXVIII, insert the
following new section:

SEC. __. BRIEFING ON INSTANCES OF ATTEMPTED BREACHES OF
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MILITARY INSTALLATIONS
REQUIRED.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall provide to
Congress a briefing on any instance of an attempted breach of
a military installation under the jurisdiction of the
Department of Defense during the period beginning on January
1, 2021, and ending on the date of the provision of such
briefing.
(b) Elements.--Each briefing under subsection shall
include, with respect to each perpetrator of an attempted
breach described in such subsection, a statement of the
applicable immigration status and citizenship status.

Amendment No. 305 Offered by Mr. Moulton of Massachusetts

At the end of subtitle E of title III, insert the
following:

SEC. 3__. AVAILABILITY OF OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
APPROPRIATIONS FOR SOFTWARE.

Section 2241(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(8) Acquisition, development, modification, and
sustainment of software.''.

Amendment No. 306 Offered by Mr. Moylan of Guam

At the end of subtitle I of title 5, insert the following
new section:

SEC. 5__. AUTHORIZATION OF AWARD OF MEDAL OF HONOR TO JOSEPH
M. PEREZ FOR ACTS OF VALOR AS A MEMBER OF THE
ARMY DURING THE VIETNAM WAR.

(a) Recognition of Acts of Valor.--Congress recognizes the
following acts of valor by Joseph M. Perez:
(1) Joseph M. Perez distinguished himself by valorous
actions against overwhelming odds while serving as a Sergeant
in the Army, with Company C, 3rd Battalion, 8th Infantry
Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, in South Vietnam.
(2) On May 26, 1967, during the Vietnam War, Sergeant Perez
acted as the fire team leader with the Commanding Officer of
Company C and led an infantry unit conducting a search and
destroy task near the Cambodian border. When the unit reached
the top of a hill, they were suddenly under attack from a
concealed sniper.
(3) During the initial phase of battle, Sergeant Perez and
the unit took cover to assess and decide the strength of the
enemy and determine the direction of where the attack was
coming from. When the enemy launched a hand-grenade, the fire
team returned fire. Without hesitation or concern for his
personal safety, Sergeant Perez absorbed the full lethal
explosion of the grenade and shielded his fellow soldiers
from the blast. The explosion caused Sergeant Perez to lose
his right eye and severed his right hand.
(4) The fire team moved to relocate to a safer area,
leaving Sergeant Perez alone. Once Sergeant Perez regained
consciousness, he crawled twenty meters to safe ground to be
treated by medics.
(5) Sergeant Perez's personal leadership in intense close
combat resulted in a major win for his battalion against
overwhelming odds, though he lost his eye and hand and nearly
lost his life, he saved the lives of three of his fire team
members from death and serious injuries from the explosion.
(6) Sergeant Perez's selfless devotion to duty, his
extraordinary heroism, conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity,
and numerous risks of his life above and beyond the call of
duty are all in keeping with the highest traditions of the
Army, and reflect great credit on himself, the Armed Forces,
and the United States.
(b) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) When awarding him the distinguished-service cross,
Sergeant Perez's chain of command was unaware of the full
extent of his valorous actions and the numerous risks he took
for his soldiers, all above and beyond the call of duty.
(2) Although Sergeant Perez absorbed the lethal explosion
of a hand grenade, once he regained consciousness, he
continued to move with his battalion against devastating and
overwhelming enemy fire.
(c) Authorization.--Notwithstanding the time limitations
specified in section 7274 of title 10, United States Code, or
any other time limitation with respect to the awarding of
certain medals to persons who served in the Armed Forces, the
President is authorized to award the Medal of Honor, under
section 7271 of such title, to Joseph M. Perez for the acts
of valor described in subsection (d).

[[Page H4081]]

(d) Acts of Valor Described.--The acts of valor described
in this subsection are the actions of Joseph M. Perez on May
26, 1967, while serving as a member of the Army during the
Vietnam War, for which he was previously awarded the
distinguished-service cross.

Amendment No. 307 Offered by Ms. Porter of California

At the end of subtitle C of title XXVIII, insert the
following:

SEC. 28__. STUDY ON CONSTRUCTION OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT
CENTERS.

The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional
defense committees a recommendation for a strategy for
military construction projects for a sufficient number of
child development centers (as defined in section 2871 of
title 10, United States Code) as necessary to eliminate wait
lists for members of the Armed Forces seeking childcare at
such child development centers.

Amendment No. 308 Offered by Mr. Garamendi of California

Page 949, beginning on line 19, strike ``means'' and all
that follows through the second period on line 21 and insert
``means--''.
Page 949, after line 19, insert the following:
``(1) a government owned vessel disposed of in accordance
with this part and section 548 of title 40;
``(2) a vessel seized or forfeited pursuant to any law, and
auctioned by the Federal Government, including a vessel
seized or forfeited pursuant to section 7301 or 7302 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
``(3) a fishing vessel seized or forfeited pursuant to
section 310 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1860).''.

Amendment No. 309 Offered by Mr. Rose of Tennessee

At the end of subtitle F of title X, insert the following
new section:

SEC. 10__. REPORT ON RED FLAGS MISSED IN JANET YAMANAKA MELLO
FRAUD SCHEME.

(a) Report Required.--Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense
shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the
Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the fraud
scheme perpetrated by Janet Yamanaka Mello, a civilian
employee of the Department of the Army, who was indicted and
pleaded guilty to stealing over $100 million in Army funds.
(b) Contents of Report.--The report required under
subsection (a) shall include a detailed examination of the
following:
(1) Breakdown in supervision of Mello, including any
failures of management or oversight that contributed to the
ability of Mello to carry out the fraud scheme undetected.
(2) Breakdown in accountability, including any failures to
ensure that funds were actually being spent for their
intended purposes.
(3) Failure to ensure that financial program managers, such
as Mello, cannot funnel money to themselves or their own
entities.
(4) Any other red flags or warning signs that were missed
or ignored, including any instances of whistleblower
retaliation or suppression of concerns.
(5) An assessment of the current policies and procedures in
place to prevent similar fraud schemes from occurring in the
future.
(6) Recommendations for improvements to policies,
procedures, and oversight to prevent similar fraud schemes
from occurring in the future.
(7) A description of any disciplinary or administrative
actions taken against any individuals or entities found to
have contributed to the ability of Mello to carry out the
fraud scheme.
(8) A description of any changes made or planned to be made
to the Army's financial management and oversight processes as
a result of this incident.
(9) An assessment of the impact of the fraud scheme on the
Army's programs and operations.
(10) Any other information the Secretary of Defense
determines relevant to understanding the fraud scheme and
preventing similar incidents in the future.
(c) Public Availability.--The report required under
subsection (a) shall be posted publicly on the website of the
Department of Defense

Amendment No. 310 Offered by Mr. Issa of California

At the end of subtitle B of title XIII, add the following:

SEC. 13_. REPORT ON SUPPORT FOR TAIWAN'S MILITARY
PREPAREDNESS.

(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of
Defense, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Director of
National Intelligence, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on deterrence in the Taiwan
Strait.
(b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall
include the following:
(1) An assessment on the feasibility of economic tools to
deter the People's Republic of China from conducting covered
contingencies.
(2) An assessment by the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, on
how covered countries would likely respond to various covered
contingencies.
(3) A description of the policy changes the Secretary of
State would recommend in response to covered contingencies.
(4) A description of the messaging the Secretary of State
would employ to in response to covered contingencies.
(c) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be
submitted in classified form with an unclassified summary.
(d) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on
Armed Services, and the Committee on Financial Services of
the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on
Armed Services, and the Committee on Banking of the Senate;
(2) the term ``covered contingencies'' include--
(A) a military strike or invasion of one or more of
Taiwan's off-shore islands, including Kinmen, Matsu, Wuciou,
and Taiping Island;
(B) a military strike against the Island of Taiwan or
Penghu;
(C) a commercial blockade of Taiwan in which international
vessels are subjected to search or seizure by the People's
Liberation Army;
(D) a major cyber-attack against the critical
infrastructure of Taiwan; and
(E) a seizure of one or several of Taiwan's outlining
islands or territorial claims; and
(3) the term ``covered countries'' means Japan, the
Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and any
other country the Secretary of State determines to be
relevant.

Amendment No. 311 Offered by Mr. Dunn of Florida

Add at the end of subtitle E of title XXVIII the following:

SEC. 28__. REPORT ON LAND USE PRACTICES AROUND MILITARY
INSTALLATIONS IN THE FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy,
Installations, and Environment shall submit to the
congressional defense committees a report that includes the
following:
(1) An assessment of land use policies and encroachment
risks near military installations (as defined in section 2801
of title 10, United States Code) located in the Freely
Associated States, real property located in the Freely
Associated States used to support the Armed Forces, and real
property located in the Freely Associated States that may be
used to support the Armed Forces during the five-year period
following the date of submission of the report.
(2) An assessment of the feasibility and advisability of
establishing a coalition to include representatives from
Federal agencies, the governments of the Freely Associated
States, nongovernmental organizations, and landowners and
land managers in the Freely Associated States to advance
sustainable land use practices around military installations
that would assist in efforts to prevent encroachment and
promote conservation.

Amendment No. 312 Offered by Mr. Dunn of Florida

At the end of subtitle B of title XVII, add the following:

SEC. 17__. UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR POLICY STUDY AND
REPORT ON EXPANSION OF NATIONAL GUARD STATE
PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

(a) Study.--The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, in
consultation with the Secretary of State and the Chief of the
National Guard Bureau, shall conduct a study to assess the
feasibility and benefits of expanding the National Guard
State Partnership Program to additional countries in the
First Island Chain and the Second Island Chain, including--
(1) Brunei Darussalam;
(2) the Federated States of Micronesia;
(3) the Republic of Kiribati;
(4) the Republic of the Marshall Islands;
(5) the Republic of Nauru; and
(6) the Republic of Vanuatu.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall submit to
the congressional defense committees a report on the results
of the study conducted under subsection (a).

Amendment No. 313 Offered by Mr. Larsen of Washington

At the end of subtitle B of title II, add the following new
section:

SEC. 2__. EXPANSION OF PARTICIPATION IN THE DIGITAL ON-DEMAND
PROGRAM.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall take such
steps as may be necessary--
(1) to expand participation in the Digital On-Demand
Program to--
(A) all organizations and elements of the Department of
Defense; and
(B) all members of the Armed Forces and civilian employees
of the Department; and
(2) to actively promote the Program throughout the
Department.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and on an annual basis thereafter
through 2029, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the
Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of
Representatives a report on the progress of the Secretary in
expanding and promoting the Digital On-Demand Program as
described in subsection (a).
(c) Digital on Demand Program Defined.--In this section,
the term ``Digital

[[Page H4082]]

On-Demand Program'' means the program overseen by the Chief
Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer pursuant to which
educational resources on artificial intelligence, emerging
technologies, data literacy, and related topics are made
available to personnel of the Department of Defense through a
digital platform on an on-demand basis.

Amendment No. 314 Offered by Mr. LaLota of New York

At the end of subtitle G of title X, insert the following:

SEC. 10__. ESTABLISHMENT OF MULTILATERAL ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE WORKING GROUP.

(a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
establish a working group, which shall be known as the
``Multilateral Artificial Intelligence Working Group'', to
develop and coordinate an artificial intelligence initiative
among the allies and partners of the United States.
(b) Organization.--
(1) Designation of head.--The Secretary shall designate a
senior civilian officer of the Department of Defense or
senior military officer with experience leading relevant
efforts, as determined by the Secretary, to serve as the head
of the Working Group.
(2) Participation by other member countries.--The Secretary
shall determine which allies and partners of the United
States shall be asked to participate as member countries in
the Working Group.
(c) Responsibilities.--The responsibilities of the Working
Group shall be to develop and coordinate efforts to implement
an artificial intelligence initiative between the Department
of Defense and allies and partners of the United States,
including by--
(1) comparing--
(A) the various artificial intelligence systems and the
elements thereof (including machine learning and generative
artificial intelligence such as large language models) used
for covered operational uses by members countries; and
(B) the respective practices associated with the employment
of such systems for covered operational uses by members
countries;
(2) identifying (including by experimenting, testing, and
evaluating) potential solutions to advance and accelerate the
interoperability of artificial intelligence systems used for
intelligence sharing, battlespace awareness, and other
covered operational uses;
(3) testing and evaluating the effects of artificial
intelligence model redundancy, including the risks and safety
measures associated with operating multiple artificial
intelligence systems, including in tandem with one another;
(4) developing a shared strategy for the research,
development, test, evaluation, and employment of artificial
intelligence systems for covered operational uses carried out
jointly by the member countries;
(5) developing a shared strategy for--
(A) managing data-informed artificial intelligence systems;
and
(B) testing and evaluating artificial intelligence systems
with combined data sets at the unclassified and classified
levels;
(6) testing and evaluating the capabilities of the defense
industrial base of the member countries to incorporate
artificial intelligence systems into systems used for covered
operational uses;
(7) comparing and using ethical frameworks to accelerate
technological advancements with respect to artificial
intelligence systems;
(8) expanding innovation efforts by the member countries
and share among such countries best practices for the
accelerated procurement and adoption of artificial
intelligence technologies for covered operational uses;
(9) leveraging commercially available artificial
intelligence technologies to advance near-term jointness
between the armed forces of the member countries;
(10) jointly identifying and sourcing artificial
intelligence systems, as practicable, and advising member
countries with respect to export controls applicable to such
systems; and
(11) carrying out such other activities as the Secretary
determines to be relevant to such responsibilities.
(d) Control of Knowledge and Technical Data.--The Secretary
shall seek to ensure that any knowledge or technical data
produced by a member country under any cooperative project
carried out by the Working Group shall be controlled by that
country under the export control laws and regulations of that
country and shall not be subject to the jurisdiction or
control of any other member country.
(e) Plan and Reports.--
(1) Plan.--
(A) Submission.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the
congressional defense committees a plan for the establishment
and activities of the Working Group.
(B) Elements.--The plan under subparagraph (A) shall
include--
(i) a plan for the establishment of the Working Group;
(ii) a description of any funding requirements or
administrative support necessary to carry out this section;
(iii) a description of any additional statutory authorities
necessary to carry out this section;
(iv) a plan for the fulfilment of responsibilities under
subsection (c) by the Working Group;
(v) an evaluation of existing multilateral artificial
intelligence efforts;
(vi) a plan for the integration of the artificial
intelligence initiative developed and coordinated by the
Working Group with other programs and initiatives of the
elements of the Department of Defense with responsibilities
relating to mutual security and artificial intelligence
efforts among the member countries;
(vii) performance indicators by which the activities of the
Working Group will be assessed; and
(viii) a description of how efforts of the commanders of
the combatant commands relating to military interoperability
and test and evaluation of artificial intelligence systems
will be tasked and executed by and through the Working Group.
(2) Semiannual report.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and on a semiannual basis
thereafter until the date of termination under subsection
(f), the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense
committees a report on the activities and milestones of the
Working Group. Each such report shall include, with respect
to the period covered by the report--
(A) an assessment of the activities of the Working Group
based on the performance indicators set forth in the plan
under paragraph (1)(B)(vii); and
(B) a description of any efforts of the commanders of the
combatant commands taken in support of the responsibilities
of the Working Group.
(f) Termination.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
Working Group shall terminate on September 30, 2028.
(2) Authority to extend.--The Secretary may extend the
termination date under paragraph (1) if the Secretary
determines such extension to be in the national security
interests of the United States.
(g) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``battlespace awareness'' has the meaning
given that term in the Joint Publication 1-02 of the
Department of Defense, titled ``Department of Defense
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms'', or successor
publication.
(2) The term ``covered operational use'' means use by a
government for operations in a defense context.
(3) The term ``member country'' means a member country of
the Working Group.

Amendment No. 315 Offered by Mr. LaLota of New York

At the end of subtitle F of title VIII, add the following
new section:

SEC. 8__. REPORT ON BUNDLED CONTRACTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the
congressional defense committees a report on--
(1) the effects of awarding bundled contracts (as defined
in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)) on
the Department of Defense and small business concerns (as
defined under such section); and
(2) the potential effects of reducing the number of bundled
contracts awarded.

Amendment No. 316 Offered by Mr. Edwards of North Carolina

At the end of subtitle E of title X, insert the following
new section:

SEC. 10___ SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF CERTAIN PERMISSIONS TO
ACCESS CLASSIFIED INFORMATION.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall suspend or
revoke a security clearance held by a covered individual if
such individual has expressed support for a terrorist
organization or engaged in a demonstration supporting a
terrorist organization.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``covered individual'' means any--
(A) retired or active member of the Armed Forces; or
(B) employee of the Department of Defense.
(2) The term ``terrorist organization'' means any foreign
terrorist organization designated by the Secretary of State
in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189), as amended, or those
designated by Executive Order 13224.

Amendment No. 317 Offered by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez of New York

At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following new
section:

SEC. 10__. DECLASSIFICATION REVIEW OF DOCUMENTS RELATING TO
INVOLVEMENT OF UNITED STATES IN 1973 COUP IN
CHILE.

The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the
Secretary of State and the Director of the Central
Intelligence Agency, shall conduct a declassification review
of documents relating to the involvement of the United States
in the 1973 coup in Chile, including--
(1) any record of financial support provided by the United
States Government to any organization or other entity,
whether private or public, that supported the coup;
(2) any record of communication between an officer or
employee of the United States Government and a senior
military or intelligence officer of the Government of Chile
during the period beginning on September 11, 1972, and ending
on September 11, 1974; and

[[Page H4083]]

(3) any other document containing information relating to
the involvement of the United States Government in the coup.

Amendment No. 318 Offered by Mr. Connolly of Virginia

At the end of subtitle D of title XV, insert the following
new section:

SEC. 15__. REPORT ON USER ACTIVITY MONITORING PROGRAMS OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the
congressional defense committees a report on user activity
monitoring programs of the Department of Defense. The report
shall include--
(1) a description of the implementation and enforcement of
the requirements of section 1537 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (10 U.S.C. 2224 note;
Public Law 118-31; 137 Stat. 570);
(2) a detailed description of the status of user activity
monitoring on the Non-classified Internet Protocol Router
Network;
(3) a comprehensive accounting of the funds made available
funds made available for user activity monitoring on the Non-
classified Internet Protocol Router Network in fiscal years
2022, 2023, and 2024; and
(4) information on how any such user activity monitoring
programs might deviate from the minimum standards outlined
in--
(A) the National Insider Threat Policy and Minimum
Standards for Executive Branch Insider Threat Programs;
(B) the Committee on National Security Systems Directive
504 (issued on February 4, 2014, relating to the protection
of national security systems from insider threats); or
(C) the Department of Defense Directive 5205.16 (issued on
September 30, 2014, relating to the insider threat program of
the Department of Defense).

Amendment No. 319 Offered by Mrs. Radewagen of American Samoa

At the end of subtitle J of title V, add the following new
section:

SEC. 5__. REPORT ON INTEGRATION OF CHAPLAINS INTO ACTIVITIES
IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the
congressional defense committees a report assessing the use
of chaplains and the Chaplain Corps during campaigning
efforts in the Indo-Pacific, that also includes the
following:
(1) A summary of the manner and extent to which chaplains
are deliberately integrated into campaigning events in the
Indo-Pacific to build relationships and partnerships with
partners and host countries.
(2) A description of the deployment and exercise events
chaplains are integrated into.
(3) A list of host country or partner outreach events that
chaplains hosted or supported.
(4) An assessment of future integration planned for
chaplains in the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility.

Amendment No. 320 Offered by Mr. Rose of Tennessee

At the end of subtitle C of title XVII, add the following
new section:

SEC. 17__. BRIEFING ON INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING OF
COUNTRIES WITHIN UNITED STATES AFRICA COMMAND
AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY.

(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) Africa is a theater of strategic competition where the
People's Republic of China and Russia continue to increase
their presence through economic and military relations;
(2) stability in the region has suffered, resulting in 8
military coups in the Sahel region of Africa in just the last
4 years;
(3) this region serves as an important training ground for
violent extremist organizations whose attacks spread across
the African continent and the globe; and
(4) United States Africa Command faces challenges in
building strategic partnerships with African countries and
bolstering stability on the continent.
(b) Briefing Required.--Not later than March 1, 2025, the
Secretary of Defense shall offer to all members of Congress a
briefing on the adequacy of institutional capacity building
in countries within the area of responsibility of the United
States Africa Command to strengthen governance in the defense
sectors of such countries. Such briefing shall also include,
at a minimum, an analysis of programs and efforts of the
Department of Defense focused on--
(1) strategy and policy development;
(2) budget development and execution;
(3) human resource management systems;
(4) logistics processes; and
(5) recommendations to counter the influence of the
People's Republic of China, Russia, and non-state violent
extremist organizations through additional institutional
capacity building in such countries by the Department.

Amendment No. 321 Offered by Mr. Mills of Florida

At the end of subtitle C of title II, add the following new
section:

SEC. 2__. FUNDING FOR ALTERNATIVE DOMESTIC SOURCE C-130J
IRSS.

(a) Increase.--Notwithstanding the amounts set forth in the
funding tables in division D, the amount authorized to be
appropriated in section 201 for research, development, test,
and evaluation, Defense-wide, as specified in the
corresponding funding table in section 4201, for operational
system development, Aviation Systems, line 281 (PE 1160403BB)
is hereby increased by $6,000,000 (with the amount of such
increase to be made available for Alternative Domestic Source
C-130J IRSS).
(b) Offset.--Notwithstanding the amounts set forth in the
funding tables in division D, the amount authorized to be
appropriated in section 201 for research, development, test,
and evaluation, Defense-wide, as specified in the
corresponding funding table in section 4201, for operational
system development, industrial base analysis and sustainment
support, line 214 (PE 0607210D8Z) is hereby reduced by
$6,000,000.

Amendment No. 322 Offered by Mrs. Luna of Florida

At the end of subtitle E of title V, insert the following:

SEC. 5__. DIVE SCHOOL REQUIRED ELEMENT OF QUALIFICATION AS A
COMBAT CONTROLLER OF THE AIR FORCE.

The Secretary of the Air Force shall require that training
to qualify as a combat controller of the Air Force includes
dive school.

Amendment No. 323 Offered by Mrs. Luna of Florida

At the end of subtitle C of title V, insert the following:

SEC. 5__. AUTHORIZATION OF MEMBERS AWARDED CERTAIN
DECORATIONS TO WEAR THE UNIFORM WHEN NOT ON
ACTIVE DUTY.

Section 772 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(k)(1) A member awarded a decoration specified in
paragraph (2) may wear the uniform prescribed by the
Secretary concerned on the same basis as a retired officer
under subsection (c) while such member attends a special
event (including a wedding).
``(2) The decorations specified in this paragraph are the
following:
``(A) The Purple Heart.
``(B) The Medal of Honor.
``(C) The Distinguished Service Cross.
``(D) The Navy Cross.
``(E) The Air Force Cross.
``(F) The Coast Guard Cross.
``(G) The Bronze Star.''.

Amendment No. 324 Offered by Mr. Neguse of Colorado

At the end of subtitle G of title V, add the following:

SEC. 5__. RECORDS OF A SEPARATING MEMBER: PROVISION OF
ELECTRONIC COPIES.

Section 1142 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (d)--
(A) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``In the case''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(2) The Secretary concerned shall provide to a member
described in subsection (a) an electronic copy of the
member's service medical record not later than 30 days before
the member separates, retires, or is discharged.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(f) Separation Documents.--The Secretary concerned shall
provide to a member described in subsection (a) an electronic
copy of the member's separation documents (including a
Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form
214)) not later than 15 days after such member separates,
retires, or is discharged.''.

Amendment No. 325 Offered by Mr. Huizenga of Michigan

At the end of subtitle D of title XII, insert the
following:

SEC. 12_. REPORT ON MILITARY ACTIVITIES OF THE RUSSIAN
FEDERATION AND THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
IN THE ARCTIC REGION.

(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the Secretary of State and the Director of
National Intelligence, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on the following:
(1) Any military activities of the Russian Federation in
the Arctic region.
(2) Any military activities of the People's Republic of
China in the Arctic region.
(b) Matters to Be Included.--The report under subsection
(a) shall include, with respect to the Russian Federation or
the People's Republic of China, as applicable, the following:
(1) A description of military activities of such country in
the Arctic region, including--
(A) the placement of military infrastructure, equipment, or
forces;
(B) any exercises or other military activities; and
(C) activities that are ostensibly non-military in nature
but are considered to have military or other strategic
implications.
(2) An assessment of--
(A) the intentions of such activities by each such country;
(B) the extent to which such activities affect or threaten
the interests of the United States and allies in the Arctic
region; and
(C) any response to such activities by the United States or
allies.
(3) A description of future plans and requirements with
respect to such activities.
(4) A detailed description of the Russian Federation and
the People's Republic of China's cooperation in the Arctic
region.
(5) A description of how the Russian Federation's full-
scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and the
resulting damage

[[Page H4084]]

to its military forces have impacted the Russian Federation's
posture, activities, and policy in the Arctic region.
(6) A description of how the Russian Federation's full-
scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has impacted
the People's Republic of China's posture, activity and policy
in the Arctic region.
(7) A description of how the United States and its allies
in the Arctic region have adjusted their posture in response
to any recent changes by the Russian Federation or the
People's Republic of China.
(8) A description of the activities of the Arctic Council
and other Arctic fora of which the United States is a member
over the preceding 3-year period, including--
(A) a description of how the U.S. Ambassador-at-large for
the Arctic region would engage with the Arctic Council and
other established Arctic fora;
(B) a description of the United States current role in the
Arctic Council and what steps are being taken to ensure that
the involvement of the Russian Federation does not detract
from continued engagement with regional partners;
(C) a detailing of all meetings, round tables, working
groups, and other official activities of the Arctic Council
and other Arctic fora, including a description of which such
events in which the Russian Federation did and did not
participate; and
(D) a description of how the United States is utilizing
current Arctic fora to develop and implement regional
security strategies.
(c) Form.--Each report under subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified
annex.
(d) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Appropriations, and the
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of
Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Relations, the Committee on Appropriations, and the
Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
(e) Arctic Region Defined.--In this section, the term
``Arctic region'' has the meaning given the term ``Arctic''
in the Arctic Research and Policy Act (ARPA) of 1984 (Public
Law 98-373).

Amendment No. 326 Offered by Mr. Molinaro of New York

At the end of subtitle C of title XVII, add the following
new section:

SEC. 17__. GAO STUDY ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE EDUCATION
ACTIVITY DISABILITY EMPHASIS PROGRAM.

(a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study on--
(1) the effectiveness of the Department of Defense
Education Activity Disability Emphasis Program; and
(2) how such program supports the employment, retention,
and career advancement of individuals with intellectual,
physical, and developmental disabilities.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit
to Congress a report containing the study conducted under
subsection (a).

Amendment No. 327 Offered by Ms. Barragan of California

At the end of subtitle D of title XXVIII, insert the
following new section:

SEC. __. LAND CONVEYANCE AND AUTHORIZATION FOR INTERIM LEASE,
DEFENSE FUEL SUPPORT POINT SAN PEDRO, LOS
ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

(a) Conveyance Authorized.--The Secretary of the Navy (in
this section referred to as the ``Secretary''), may convey to
the city of Los Angeles or the city of Lomita, at a cost less
than fair market value, all right, title, and interest of the
United States in and to parcels of real property, including
any improvements therein and thereon, known as the ballfields
and the firing range at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach,
Defense Fuel Support Point, San Pedro, California, as further
described in subsection (b), for the purposes of permitting
the city of Los Angeles or the city of Lomita (as
appropriate) to use such conveyed parcel of real property for
park and recreational activities or law enforcement
affiliated purposes. A conveyance under this subsection is
subject to valid existing rights.
(b) Description of Property.--The parcels of real property
that may be conveyed under subsection (a) consists of the
following:
(1) The City of Lomita Ballfield Parcel consisting of
approximately 5.7 acres.
(2) The City of Los Angeles Ballfield Parcels consisting of
approximately 15.3 acres.
(3) The firing range located at 2981 North Gaffey Street,
San Pedro, California, consisting of approximately 3.2 acres.
(c) Interim Lease.--Until such time as any parcel of real
property described in subsection (b) is conveyed to the city
of Los Angeles or the city of Lomita (as appropriate), the
Secretary of the Navy may lease such parcel or a portion of
such parcel to either the city of Los Angeles or the city of
Lomita at no cost for a term up to three years. If fee
conveyance described in subsection (a) is not completed
within the period of the lease term with respect to such
parcel, the Secretary shall have no further obligation to
make any part of such parcel available for use by the city of
Los Angeles or the city of Lomita.
(d) Consideration.--
(1) Consideration required.--As consideration for a
conveyance under subsection (a), the city of Los Angeles or
the city of Lomita (as appropriate) shall pay to the
Secretary of the Navy an amount determined by the Secretary,
which may consist of cash payment, in-kind consideration as
described under paragraph (2), or a combination thereof.
(2) In-kind consideration.--In-kind consideration provided
by the city of Los Angeles or the city of Lomita (as
appropriate) under this subsection may include--
(A) the acquisition, construction, provision, improvement,
maintenance, repair, or restoration (including environmental
restoration), or combination thereof, of any property,
facilities, or infrastructure with proximity to Naval Weapons
Station Seal Beach, that the Secretary considers acceptable;
or
(B) the delivery of services relating to the needs of Naval
Weapons Station Seal Beach that the Secretary considers
acceptable.
(3) Treatment of amounts received for conveyance.--Cash
payments received under paragraph (1) as reimbursement for
costs incurred by the Secretary to carry out a conveyance
under subsection (a) shall be credited to the fund or account
used to cover the costs incurred by the Secretary in carrying
out the conveyance or to an appropriate fund or account
currently available to the Secretary for the purposes for
which the costs were paid. Amounts so credited shall be
merged with amounts in such fund or account and shall be
available for the same purposes, and to the same conditions
and limitations, as amounts in such fund or account.
(4) Payment of costs of conveyance.--The Secretary shall
require the city of Los Angeles or the city of Lomita (as
appropriate) to cover costs (except costs for environmental
remediation of the property) to be incurred by the Secretary,
or to reimburse the Secretary for such costs incurred by the
Secretary, to carry out a conveyance under subsection (a),
including costs for environmental and real estate due
diligence and any other administrative costs related to the
conveyance and lease execution.
(5) Refund of excess amounts.--If amounts are collected
from the city of Los Angeles or the city of Lomita under
paragraph (4) in advance of the Secretary incurring the
actual costs, and the amount collected exceeds the costs
actually incurred by the Secretary to carry out a conveyance
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall refund the excess
amount to the city of Los Angeles or the city of Lomita (as
appropriate).
(e) Valuation.--The values of the property interests to be
conveyed by the Secretary described in subsection (a) shall
be determined by an independent appraiser selected by the
Secretary and in accordance with the Uniform Standards of
Professional Appraisal Practice.
(f) Condition of Conveyance.--A conveyance under subsection
(a) shall be subject to all existing easements, restrictions,
and covenants of record and conditioned upon the following:
(1) The parcels of real property described in paragraphs
(1) and (2) of subsection (b) shall be used solely for park
and recreational activities, which may include ancillary uses
such as vending and restrooms.
(2) The parcel of real property described in subsection
(b)(3) shall be used solely for law enforcement affiliated
purposes.
(3) The city of Los Angeles or the city of Lomita (as
appropriate) may not use Federal funds to cover any portion
of the amounts required by subsection (d) to be paid.
(g) Exclusion of Requirements for Prior Screening.--Section
2696(b) of title 10, United States Code, and the requirements
under title V of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
(Public Law 101-645; 41 U.S.C. 11411) relating to prior
screenings shall not apply to a conveyance under subsection
(a) or the grant of interim lease authorized under subsection
(c).
(h) Reversionary Interest.--If the Secretary determines at
any time that a parcel of real property conveyed under
subsection (a) is not being used in accordance with the
purpose of the conveyance specified in this section, all
right, title, and interest in and to the land, including the
improvements thereto, shall, at the option of the Secretary,
revert to and become the property of the United States, and
the United States shall have the right of immediate entry
onto such real property. A determination by the Secretary
under this subsection shall be made on the record after an
opportunity for a hearing.
(i) Conveyance Agreement.--A conveyance of land under
subsection (a) shall be accomplished using a quitclaim deed
or other legal instrument and upon terms and conditions
mutually satisfactory to the Secretary and the city of Los
Angeles or the city of Lomita (as appropriate), including
such additional terms and conditions as the Secretary
considers appropriate to protect the interests of the United
States.
(j) Additional Terms.--The Secretary may require such
additional terms and conditions in connection with a
conveyance under subsection (a) as the Secretary considers
appropriate to protect the interests of the United States.
(k) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this section affects the
application of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et
seq.).

[[Page H4085]]

Amendment No. 328 Offered by Mr. Gottheimer of New Jersey

At the end of subtitle D of title XII, add the following
new section:

SEC. 12__. REPORT ON COOPERATIVE EFFORTS TO STOP UNMANNED
AERIAL SYSTEMS.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall submit to
the appropriate congressional committees a report on the
status of cooperation between the United States and Israel on
efforts to counter threats by Iran in the form of unmanned
aerial systems, including loitering munitions otherwise known
as ``suicide'' or ``kamikaze'' drones.
(b) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the congressional defense committees;
(2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(3) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate

Amendment No. 329 Offered by Mr. Tony Gonzales of Texas

At the end of subtitle F of title XVIII, insert the
following:

SEC. 18__. BRIEFING ON IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS OF
QUALITY OF LIFE PANEL.

Not later than March 1, 2025, the Secretary of Defense, in
coordination with the Secretaries of the military
departments, shall provide, to the Committee on Armed
Services of the House of Representatives, a briefing on the
implementation of the recommendations in the report, dated
April, 2024, of the Quality of Life Panel of such Committee.
Such briefing shall include--
(1) updates to pay and compensation of members of the
uniformed services, including--
(A) the basic allowance for housing under section 403 of
title 37, United States Code; and
(B) implementation of any increase to the family separation
allowance under section 427 of such title, as authorized by
section 626 of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118-31);
(2) improvements to child care accessibility and
affordability;
(3) increased transparency on the condition and funding of
unaccompanied and privatized family housing;
(4) improvements in access to health care; and
(5) expansion of support programs for military spouses.

Amendment No. 330 Offered by Mr. Molinaro of New York

At the end of subtitle H of title V, add the following new
section:

SEC. 5__. REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EXCEPTIONAL FAMILY
MEMBER PROGRAM.

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall
submit to Congress a report that includes--
(1) the results of a study of the effectiveness of the
Exceptional Family Member program authorized under section
1781c(e) of title 10, United States Code, with respect to the
manner by which it currently supports individuals with
intellectual and developmental disabilities; and
(2) recommendations to improve the program.

Amendment No. 331 Offered by Mr. Molinaro of New York

At the end of subtitle C of title VII, add the following
new section:

SEC. 7__. ANNUAL REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF NALOXONE
DISTRIBUTION.

Section 706 of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2024 (10 U.S.C. 1090 note) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
``(d) Annual Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of the enactment of this subsection and annually thereafter,
the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on
the implementation and effectiveness of naloxone distribution
to members of the Armed Forces pursuant to this section to
reverse opioid overdoses.''.

AMENDMENT NO. 332 OFFERED BY MR. PFLUGER OF TEXAS

At the end of subtitle F of title X, insert the following:

SEC. 10__. REPORT ON NAVY USE OF IMMERSIVE LEARNING
CAPABILITIES .

Not later than December 1, 2024, the Secretary of the Navy
shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the House
of Representatives a report that includes--
(1) an identification of any immersive learning
capabilities, including augmented, virtual and mixed reality,
have been, or potentially could be, integrated into training
across the Navy;
(2) a description of any efforts of the Navy to coordinate
with the Air Force on lessons learned in the development of
the Headquarters Air Force HAF/A4L Air Force Maintenance and
Logistics Extended Reality (XR) Strategy and what elements of
that strategy might be applicable to the Navy;
(3) an identification of the status of any activities of
the Navy to build a comprehensive and executable strategy to
invest, deploy, and sustain immersive learning training
capabilities across the Navy; and
(4) a description of any limitations or barriers to
integrating immersive learning capabilities into the Navy,
including ensuring compliance with relevant cybersecurity
requirements.

AMENDMENT NO. 333 OFFERED BY MR. MAGAZINER OF RHODE ISLAND

At the end of subtitle G of title V, add the following new
section:

SEC. 5__. SKILLBRIDGE FOR THE SUBMARINE INDUSTRIAL BASE.

(a) In General.--Not later than September 30, 2025, the
Secretary concerned shall--
(1) conduct a survey to determine which such employers in
the submarine industrial base are experiencing workforce
shortages; and
(2) use the Skillbridge program to provide members training
under such program with such employers.
(b) Preference.--In selecting an employer under subsection
(a), the Secretary concerned shall give preference to smaller
employers.
(c) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit
to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House
of Representatives a report on implementation of this
section.

AMENDMENT NO. 334 OFFERED BY MR. SCHWEIKERT OF ARIZONA

At the end of subtitle A of title X, insert the following:

SEC. 10__. USE OF TECHNOLOGY USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO
FACILITATE AUDIT OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025.

(a) Use of Ai Technology for Audits.--The Secretary of
Defense and the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force
shall encourage, to the greatest extent practicable, the use
of technology that uses artificial intelligence or machine
learning for the purpose of facilitating audits of the
financial statements of the Department of Defense.
(b) Implementation of Ai Technology for Audits.--The
Director of the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence
Office of the Department, in coordination with the Under
Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and the
Inspector General of the Department, shall oversee the
adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning
technologies in support of financial management and
enterprise business operations.
(c) Briefing.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
provide to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and
House of Representatives a briefing that includes a
description of the use of artificial intelligence or machine
learning technologies as described in (a) and (b), including
an update on the implementation of the strategy titled ``2023
Data, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence Adoption
Strategy'' and dated June 27, 2023.

AMENDMENT NO. 335 OFFERED BY MS. SHERRILL OF NEW JERSEY

At the end of subtitle H of title V, add the following:

SEC. 5__. STUDY ON HIGH-IMPACT TUTORING IN DODEA SCHOOLS.

Not later than September 30, 2025, the Secretary of Defense
shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the
Senate and House of Representatives a report containing the
results of a study on--
(1) the current usage of tutoring programs in Department of
Defense Education Activity elementary and secondary schools;
(2) the extent to which current tutoring programs in
Department of Defense Education Activity elementary and
secondary schools incorporate elements of high-impact
tutoring, including tutoring that--
(A) is in math, reading, or both subjects for at least 30
minutes during the school day and for at least 3 days per
week during the school year;
(B) is taught by a licensed Department of Defense Education
Activity elementary or secondary school teacher or
paraprofessional with a student-to-tutor ratio of no more
than 3-to-1;
(C) is on a set schedule and with the same tutor each week;
(D) in the case of tutoring that takes place during a
regular class, occurs in a classroom or area that is separate
from such regular class; and
(E) with respect to a student, is related to and aligned
with the classwork in the student's regular classes;
(3) how to increase the participation of students enrolled
in Department of Defense Education Activity elementary and
secondary schools in tutoring programs, particularly those
tutoring programs with the elements described in paragraph
(2), while not reducing funds available for existing
Department of Defense Education Activity programs and teacher
and staff compensation; and
(4) how to develop a licensed tutoring workforce for
Department of Defense Education Activity elementary and
secondary schools.

AMENDMENT NO. 336 OFFERED BY MR. MOYLAN OF GUAM

At the end of subtitle I of title V, insert the following
new section:

SEC. 5__. AUTHORIZATION OF AWARD OF MEDAL OF HONOR TO JUAN
OGO BLAZ FOR ACTS OF VALOR WHILE SERVING AS A
MEMBER OF THE ARMY DURING THE VIETNAM WAR.

[[Page H4086]]

the Armed Forces, the President is authorized to award the
Medal of Honor, under section 7271 of such title, to Juan Ogo
Blaz for the acts of valor described in subsection (b).
(b) Acts of Valor Described.--The acts of valor described
in this subsection are the actions of Juan Ogo Blaz on
January 18, 1969, while serving as a member of the Army
during the Vietnam War, for which he was previously awarded
the Distinguished Service Cross.

AMENDMENT NO. 337 OFFERED BY MR. BURLISON OF MISSOURI

At the end of subtitle A of title VIII, insert the
following:

SEC. 8__. PROHIBITION AND REPORT ON CONTRACTS FOR ONLINE
TUTORING SERVICES.

(a) Prohibition.--The Secretary of Defense may not enter
into a contract for online tutoring services which could
result in personal data of citizens of the United States
being transferred to the control of the People's Republic of
China
(b) Report.--The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the
congressional defense committees a report on the risks of
personal data of citizens of the United States being
transferred to the control of the People's Republic of China
pursuant to any contracts for online tutoring services of the
Department of Defense in progress.

AMENDMENT NO. 338 OFFERED BY MR. WENSTRUP OF OHIO

Add at the end of subtitle C of title VII of division A the
following:

SEC. __. FUNDING FOR DEFENSE HEALTH PROGRAMS FOR EDUCATION
AND TRAINING.

(a) Increase.--Notwithstanding the amounts set forth in the
funding tables in division D, (1) the amount authorized to be
appropriated in section 1405 for Defense Health Program
specified in the corresponding funding table in section 4501,
for Education and Training is hereby increased by
$25,000,000.
(b) Offset.--Notwithstanding the amounts set forth in the
funding tables in division D, the amount authorized to be
appropriated in section 1405 for Defense Health Programs, as
specified in the corresponding funding table in section 4501,
for Base Operations/Communications is hereby reduced by
$25,000,000.

AMENDMENT NO. 339 OFFERED BY MR. POSEY OF FLORIDA

At the end of title XI, insert the following:

SEC. 11__. SUFFICIENT FIREFIGHTER PERSONNEL COVERED
INSTALLATIONS.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall ensure
that--
(1) a minimum number of firefighter personnel are on duty
at each covered installation to maintain optimum manning and
optimum level of service to safeguard life and property at
such covered installation; and
(2) a risk assessment may not be used to limit the number
of firefighter personnel at a covered installation.
(b) Covered Installation Defined.--The term ``covered
installation'' means a military installation under the
jurisdiction of the Chief of Space Operations of the United
States Space Force with a space launch facility.

AMENDMENT NO. 340 OFFERED BY MR. BERGMAN OF MICHIGAN

At the end of subtitle C of title II, insert the following:

SEC. 2__. FUNDING FOR VIRTUAL ENGINEERING FOR ARMY READINESS
AND SUSTAINMENT.

(a) Increase.--Notwithstanding the amounts set forth in the
funding tables in division D, the amount authorized to be
appropriated in section 201 for Research, Development, Test
and Evaluation, Next-Generation Combat Vehicle Advanced
Technology, line 43, as specified in the corresponding
funding table in section 4201, for Virtual Engineering for
Army Readiness and Sustainment, is hereby increased by
$7,000,000.
(b) Offset.--Notwithstanding the amounts set forth in the
funding tables in division D, the amount authorized to be
appropriated in section 301 for Operations and Maintenance,
Defense-Wide, for the office of the Secretary of Defense,
line 470, as specified in the corresponding funding table in
section 4301, is hereby reduced by $7,000,000.

AMENDMENT NO. 341 OFFERED BY MR. SELF OF TEXAS

At the end of subtitle C of title V, add the following:

SEC. 5__. REVIEW OF ADVERSE ACTION AGAINST A CHAPLAIN WHO
REQUESTED EXEMPTION FROM THE COVID-19
VACCINATION MANDATE.

(a) Review Required.--Not later than six months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned
shall establish a board under section 1552 or 1553 of title
10, United States Code, as applicable, to review the military
personnel record, or the characterization of a discharge or
dismissal, of a current or former chaplain in an Armed Force
who suffered an adverse personnel action as a result of,
arising from, or in conjunction with, requesting a religious
exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
(b) Scope of Review.--A review under this section shall
cover all adverse personnel actions against a chaplain on or
after August 24, 2021.
(d) Directed Determination.--A board established under this
section shall consider any adverse personnel action against a
chaplain to be the result of such request. unless there is
evidence such chaplain--
(1) was disciplined for a reason other than a request
described in subsection (a); or
(2) breached good order and discipline.
(e) Priority.--A board shall consider a request under this
section before any other request on the docket of such board.
(f) DODIG Report.--No later than one year after enactment
of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of
Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees
a report setting forth the results of an investigation by the
Inspector General during that one-year period regarding the
compliance of the Secretaries concerned with the terms of
this section.
(g) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``adverse personnel action'' includes--
(A) discrimination;
(B) a denial of promotion, schooling, training, or
assignment;
(C) discharge;
(D) dismissal;
(E) separation;
(F) a lowered or noncompetitive performance report;
(G) revocation of permanent change of station;
(H) revocation of temporary duty travel orders; and
(I) any other restriction or negative consequence.
(2) The term ``performance report'' means a report of an
Armed Force (including an officer efficiency report)--
(A) that measures the efficiency, leadership, and
effectiveness of an officer; and
(B) is used as a basis for promotion selections.

AMENDMENT NO. 342 OFFERED BY MR. AUSTIN SCOTT OF GEORGIA

At the end of subtitle C of title XVII, add the following:

SEC. 17_. COMMON COALITION KEY WITHIN THE BALTIC STATES.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall establish a
common coalition key within the Baltic states for purposes of
sharing ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems
(HIMARS) among such states for training and operational
purposes.
(b) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Baltic
states'' means--
(1) Estonia;
(2) Lithuania; and
(3) Latvia.

AMENDMENT NO. 343 OFFERED BY MR. BERGMAN OF MICHIGAN

At the end of subtitle C of title II, insert the following:

SEC. 2__. FUNDING FOR HUMANITARIAN AIRBORNE MOBILE
INFRASTRUCTURE CAPABILITY.

(a) Increase.--Notwithstanding the amounts set forth in the
funding tables in division D, the amount authorized to be
appropriated in section 201 for Research, Development, Test
and Evaluation, Army for Ground Advanced Technology, line 38,
as specified in the corresponding funding table in section
4201, for Humanitarian Airborne Mobile Infrastructure
Capability, is hereby increased by $4,200,000.
(b) Offset.--Notwithstanding the amounts set forth in the
funding tables in division D, the amount authorized to be
appropriated in section 301 for Operations and Maintenance,
Defense-Wide, for the office of the Secretary of Defense,
line 470, as specified in the corresponding funding table in
section 4301, is hereby reduced by $4,200,000.

AMENDMENT NO. 344 OFFERED BY MR. BERGMAN OF MICHIGAN

At the end of subtitle C of title II, insert the following:

SEC. 2__. FUNDING FOR FUEL CELL MULTI-MODULAR USE UTILIZING
HYDROGEN.

(a) Increase.--Notwithstanding the amounts set forth in the
funding tables in division D, the amount authorized to be
appropriated in section 201 for Research, Development, Test
and Evaluation, Army for Ground Advanced Technology, line 38,
as specified in the corresponding funding table in section
4201, for Fuel Cell Multi-Modular Use (FC-MMU) Utilizing
Hydrogen, is hereby increased by $10,000,000.
(b) Offset.--Notwithstanding the amounts set forth in the
funding tables in division D, the amount authorized to be
appropriated in section 301 for Operation and Maintenance,
Defense-Wide, for the office of the Secretary of Defense,
line 470, as specified in the corresponding funding table in
section 4301, is hereby reduced by $10,000,000.

AMENDMENT NO. 345 OFFERED BY MR. WILSON OF SOUTH CAROLINA

At the end of subtitle G of title VIII, add the following
new section:

SEC. 8__. LIMITATION ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR
INSTALLATION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES.

(a) In General.--None of the funds authorized to be
appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for
fiscal year 2025 for the Department of Defense may be used to
for a contract for the installation of photovoltaic modules
at any facility or real property of the Department of Defense
unless the contract contains a provision prohibiting the
procurement of such photovoltaic modules from a foreign
entity of concern (as defined in section 9901(8) of the
William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 4651(8))).
(b) Study.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit
to the congressional defense committees a report on

[[Page H4087]]

the expected amount to be obligated fiscal year 2025 to
install photovoltaic modules at Department of Defense
facilities.
(c) Limitation.--
(1) In general.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations and except as explicitly provided in a
provision of law enacted after the date of the enactment of
this section, the Secretary of Defense may not obligate or
expend from amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated
for fiscal year 2025 for the purpose of installing
photovoltaic modules at any facility or real property of the
Department of Defense more than the amount certified in the
report required under subsection (b) for such purpose during
fiscal year 2025.
(2) Limitation on transfer authority.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, amounts are not authorized to be
transferred or reprogrammed pursuant to any authority of the
Secretary of Defense for fiscal year 2025 to exceed the
amount certified in the report required under subsection (b).

AMENDMENT NO. 346 OFFERED BY MR. JOHNSON OF SOUTH DAKOTA

At the end of subtitle G of title VIII, insert the
following new section:

SEC. 8__. STUDY AND REPORT ON SHIPPING CONTAINERS AND
SPECIALTY SHIPPING CONTAINERS.

(a) Study and Report.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense,
in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation, shall
submit to the congressional defense committees, the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate, a report that contains the
results of a study on--
(1) the national security implications of reliance on
shipping containers and specialty shipping containers
produced by foreign adversary countries to meet national
defense requirements; and
(2) the feasibility and advisability of production of
shipping containers and specialty shipping containers by
covered countries for procurement by the Department of
Defense.
(b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall
include--
(1) an assessment of the ability of the Secretary of
Defense to procure shipping containers and specialty shipping
containers from sources other than foreign adversary
countries, including--
(A) any barriers faced by the Secretary for such
procurement, along with recommendations to mitigate such
barriers; and
(B) a timetable for such procurement;
(2) in coordination with entities in the domestic defense
industrial base, an assessment of requirements for shipping
containers and specialty shipping containers that could be
produced in a covered country or which could be acquired from
allied or partner countries, including an assessment of the
capabilities and capacities of the workforce of the domestic
defense industrial base, supply chain considerations, and the
impact on the economy of the United States;
(3) an assessment how an alternative source for procurement
of specialty shipping containers would affect defense systems
requiring specialty shipping containers, particularly in the
event of a crisis; and
(4) any other relevant considerations, as jointly
determined by the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of
Transportation.
(c) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``covered country'' means the United States or
an ally or partner country.
(2) The term ``foreign adversary country'' means a country
specified in section 4872(d)(2) of title 10, United States
Code.
(3) The term ``shipping container'' has the meaning given
the term ``container'' in section 80501 of title 46, United
States Code.
(4) The term ``specialty shipping container'' means a
shipping container that is uniquely configured to support and
protect items contained during handling, storage, unpacking,
and forward and return shipment, or to protect personnel and
equipment from hazardous contents.

AMENDMENT NO. 347 OFFERED BY MR. SCHWEIKERT OF ARIZONA

At the end of subtitle F of title X, add the following new
section:

SEC. 10__. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE REPORT ON POTENTIAL COST
SAVINGS FROM USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Not later than 90 days the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Undersecretary of Defense (Comptroller) shall
conduct a study and submit to Congress a report on the
potential cost-saving measures of incorporating artificial
intelligence and multi-domain, attributable autonomous, semi-
autonomous, unmanned systems, capabilities and processes into
military department and the civilian workforce of the
Department of Defense.

AMENDMENT NO. 348 OFFERED BY MR. STAUBER OF MINNESOTA

Page 625, insert after line 16 the following:

SEC. 1413. CONSULTATIONS WITH RESPECT TO ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
OF CERTAIN PROJECTS RELATING TO AVAILABILITY OF
STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MATERIALS FOR
ACQUISITION FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE STOCKPILE.

(a) In General.--In the case of a covered project that will
result in an increase in the availability of strategic and
critical materials for acquisition for the Stockpile, the
Secretary shall consult with the head of any cooperating
agency or participating agency responsible for the
environmental review for the project.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) FAST act terms.--The terms ``cooperating agencies'',
``covered project'', ``environmental review'', and
``participating agency'' have the meanings given those terms
section 41001 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m).
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Defense.
(3) Stockpile.--The term ``Stockpile'' means the National
Defense Stockpile established under section 3 of the
Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C.
98b).
(4) Strategic and critical materials.--The term ``strategic
and critical materials'' means materials, including rare
earth elements, that are necessary to meet national defense
and national security requirements, including requirements
relating to supply chain resiliency, and for the economic
security of the United States.

AMENDMENT NO. 350 OFFERED BY MR. MOYLAN OF GUAM

At the end of subtitle I of title V, insert the following
new section:

SEC. 5__. AUTHORIZATION OF AWARD OF MEDAL OF HONOR TO MARTIN
A. MAGLONA FOR ACTS OF VALOR WHILE SERVING AS A
MEMBER OF THE ARMY DURING THE VIETNAM WAR.

(a) Authorization.--Notwithstanding the time limitations
specified in section 7274 of title 10, United States Code, or
any other time limitation with respect to the awarding of
certain medals to persons who served in the Armed Forces, the
President is authorized to award the Medal of Honor, under
section 7271 of such title, toMartin A. Maglona for the acts
of valor described in subsection (b).
(b) Acts of Valor Described.--The acts of valor described
in this subsection are the actions of Martin A. Maglona on
February 23, 1969, while serving as a member of the Army
during the Vietnam War, for which he was previously awarded
the Distinguished Service Cross.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 1287, the gentleman
from Alabama (Mr. Rogers) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Smith)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alabama.
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Self).
Mr. SELF. Mr. Chair, today, I rise in support of my amendment, which
requires the Secretary of Defense to review and report on the personnel
records of military chaplains who suffered retaliation for seeking a
religious accommodation for the COVID-19 vaccine.
By way of background, the Department of Defense's COVID-19 vaccine
mandate violated servicemembers' and chaplains' religious liberty and
caused substantial harm to their careers.
The DOD's handling of the chaplains' religious accommodation requests
was an utter disgrace, involving blanket dismissals instead of
dismissals considered on an individual basis. My amendment seeks to
account for the injustices suffered by the military chaplains.
The primary duty of chaplains is to provide spiritual guidance to our
servicemembers. To do so, like every American, they must be free to
follow their conscience without facing retribution from the government
they swore to defend.
This amendment is an important first step to ensuring that those who
serve our country can do so without sacrificing their freedoms, to
quote the Declaration of Independence, ``endowed by their Creator.''
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment as part of
this en bloc package.
Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from New York (Mr. Molinaro), my colleague.
Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Rogers for his leadership
and steadfast support for the men and women of our armed services.
Yesterday, I was proud to see three of my amendments pass the House
and now appreciate the opportunity to speak about three more.
My first amendment requires critical oversight of the DOD's Education
Activity Disability Emphasis program to ensure it operates to support
the employment, retention, and career advancements of those living with
intellectual, physical, and developmental disabilities.

[[Page H4088]]

Employment opportunities offer those with disabilities the experience
to strengthen their soft skills and lead more independent lives.
Nearly 70 percent of working-aged people with disabilities are
unemployed. Another amendment I have offered, included in the en bloc,
will require a study on the effectiveness of the Exceptional Family
Member program and outline how it currently supports individuals with
disabilities.
Special needs families cannot be left in the dark and too often are
left on the sidelines, so we must ensure that they have the necessary
resources and programs to support their family members' special needs.
The third amendment I offer requires the DOD to provide consistent
reporting on the implementation and effectiveness of naloxone
distribution for our servicemembers. Opioid overdose and addiction
remain a real risk for our transitioning servicemen and -women. We must
together ensure they have access to effective reversal treatments in
the event of an overdose to help save lives.
Ensuring our servicemembers have the resources to support their
mental health, tackle substance use disorder, and support their
families, especially those with children with disabilities, is
essential to our mission of strengthening and enhancing their quality
of life.
Mr. Chair, I thank my colleagues for the support of my previous
amendments as well as their consideration of these three, and I urge
their adoption.
Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
Mr. Chair, I will take this opportunity on the last en bloc package
to give my closing remarks on the bill.
We do have a few more amendments to go, but this will be the last
opportunity to speak about the broad issues surrounding the bill.
The first thing I will do is thank Chairman Rogers, his staff, and
the entire team on the Armed Services Committee for the work that they
have done in pulling this bill together. As we often lay out from the
beginning of the process in committee, there were well over a thousand
amendments offered in committee, well over a thousand amendments
offered to the Rules Committee that we all had to sort through to try
to produce a piece of legislation.
Coming out of committee, we produced an outstanding piece of
legislation. I think even on the floor and even where we are at right
now, this is a very, very good bill. The chairman, Mr. Rogers, deserves
an immense amount of credit for getting us to the point where we have a
very good bill that deals with a lot of incredibly important issues.
Most notably, as we have mentioned, this is a piece of legislation
that does the most to help support the men and women who serve in the
military and their families out of any piece of legislation that I have
ever worked on.
I thank Don Bacon and Chrissy Houlahan and all of the members of
the Quality of Life Panel that really did a deep dive to figure out
what our servicemembers and their families need. They did a large
number of hearings. They brought in veterans. They brought in Active-
Duty members. They brought in family members to say what their life is
like and how we can make it work better.
They put together a series of proposals that are really quite
remarkable. Some of it is pay, certainly, but it also has to do with
support for spouses in finding employment. It has to do with childcare,
healthcare, education, housing. A wide range of issues are very
aggressively addressed in this bill, and I strongly support those
provisions.

I also have worked closely with the chairman on what I think is a
critical issue of modernizing our military, making sure that we can hit
the production numbers that we need to hit, to have an adequate
deterrent in light of the challenges we face in the world and then also
making sure that we modernize.
So much technology is crucial to warfare when it comes to drones,
counterdrones, missiles, missile defense, and having secure information
systems. There are a lot of provisions in this bill that put us in a
better place to get those technologies quickly and field them.
We have a long way to go. I understand that. We are not where we need
to be, but we have made a lot of progress and, again, that is a
testimony to everybody who worked on this bill.
I also thank my staff on the Democratic side. We have a real spirit
of bipartisanship in this committee that I think serves us well. They
have done an outstanding job of getting us to where we are.
The amendments that were adopted yesterday, unfortunately, mean that
I am going to oppose this bill and the bulk of the Caucus is going to
oppose this bill as well, and there are three main reasons for that.
Number one is the prohibition on the travel policy within the
military. This is something that we didn't need to address. We did not
address it in committee, but it is a crucial issue. It is a crucial
issue because so many States across the country have passed restrictive
laws when it comes to access to healthcare for women.
You may find yourself stationed in one of those States, and you may
not have access to that healthcare. The travel policy was meant as a
way to give people serving and, crucially, their family members, access
to the healthcare that they need.
Passing a piece of an amendment to this bill that basically
eliminates that access to healthcare is a readiness problem and is a
problem for the military.
Women serving, and even if you have a spouse and you are serving, you
will have concerns as to whether or not you are going to be able to
access the healthcare that you need. The stories have been documented
over and over again: A woman has a miscarriage and can't get the
healthcare that she needs because of some law that was passed.
This is a debate and a struggle that will be fought out State by
State across the country, sadly, for years to come, but our
servicemembers shouldn't be caught in that debate and denied healthcare
when they need it. That provision alone is extremely problematic.
Also, along the healthcare theme, we have two severe restrictions now
in this bill on trans people and their families receiving the
healthcare they need. I am not going to presume to say what the right
healthcare is. I am not a doctor. I am not a trans person. It should be
between them and their doctor.
We placed two restrictions in this bill that presumed that the United
States Congress is a better medical professional than a doctor. It is a
restriction on that access.
Again, it hurts the military because not only if you are a trans
person serving, but if you are someone who is serving who has a trans
child, you now have to wrestle with the fact that if you are in the
military, your child is not going to be able to get the healthcare that
he or she may need. That is a problem for our servicemembers. It has
got no business being in this bill. We had these discussions in
committee and decided that we weren't going to do it and didn't. The
fact that it is added undermines the credibility of this bill.
Lastly, we have the whole epic fight over diversity, equity, and
inclusion. My position is the Department of Defense ought to be able to
deal with that issue as is necessary and as they see fit. I understand
we are in a very, very difficult culture war right now, but the
restrictions in this bill that say you can't do DEI ever for anything
fundamentally misunderstands that culture war. I don't think anybody,
even on that side of the aisle, would disagree that this fight is going
on.
If you are running the Department of Defense or even a commander of a
local base, you have to deal with that. I don't like the extremes on
either the left or the right when it comes to this.
It is absolutely true that there are some people on the left that
interpret diversity, equity, inclusion to mean that basically our
country is nothing but a racist country, has never been anything but a
racist country, we ought to teach people that, and that all White
people are racist and we ought to teach people that as well. That is
wrong. That is not what the Democratic Party supports. It is certainly
not what the Department of Defense is doing right now.
On the other side, we have the approach that says racism isn't a
thing, let's pretend that it wasn't ever that big a deal, we don't have
to deal with

[[Page H4089]]

it, and let's just blind ourselves and not deal with it whatsoever,
which is equally ridiculous. As I have shown over and over again, there
is still a problem with racism.
When you are trying to lead a bunch of young men and women in the
military, they come to you with those issues. How do you deal with
them?
What the Department of Defense very sensibly has done is, they have
some people who are focused on how you deal with that. How do you make
sure that we are going to work together cohesively as a unit without
bias and prejudice?
This bill says nope, you have got to ignore it. You have got to act
like none of this has happened. If you are in the Department of
Defense, there is no culture war. There is nothing to be worried about.
We are not going to let you deal with it at all. That is a really,
really stupid approach.
Those three things got into this bill because the Rules Committee
ruled them in order, and then by a reasonably narrow vote they passed.
That is unfortunate because I believe it will undermine the ability of
the military to do its job.
For that reason, I do oppose the bill at this point, but as I have
told everybody I know, in the end, we will work it out.

For now, I think it is important to make that statement. I think
those areas are wrong.
Again, I applaud the chairman and all of the people who have worked
on this bill. Ninety-eight percent of the bill is really good,
outstanding work. I know in the end, we will get that 98 percent
through, but for now, I think it is really important to point out the
deep flaws contained in those three areas.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Chair, I will take a minute to thank the
ranking member for his leadership. He has been an outstanding partner
in this process as we have built what is an outstanding National
Defense Authorization Act.
I can't overstate how helpful the Democrat staff and the Republican
staff have been working together throughout this entire process. This
is truly a bipartisan committee and a model for the rest of this
institution.
Mr. Chair, I encourage Members to support the amendments en bloc, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Meuser). The question is on the amendments en
bloc offered by the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers).
The en bloc amendments were agreed to.

{time} 0945

Amendment No. 56 Offered by Mr. Perry

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 56
printed in part B of House Report 118-551.
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Add at the end of title XI of division A the following:

SEC. 11__. REPORT ON USE OF TAXPAYER-FUNDED OFFICIAL TIME.

(a) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 270 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
describing the use of taxpayer-funded official time, as
authorized by section 7131 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall
include the following:
(A) The total aggregate number of hours spent on official
time by Department of Defense employees for fiscal years
2021, 2022, and 2023, as well as the overall cost to the
Department of official time use during each of those periods.
(B) The total number of Department of Commerce employees
who used official time, in any amount, during fiscal years
2021, 2022, and 2023.
(C) For those Department of Defense employees who used
official time during fiscal years 2021, 2022, and 2023, the
total number who used 100 percent official time.
(D) A description of how many employees utilized official
time during fiscal years 2021, 2022, and 2023 in the
following amounts:
(i) 99-75 percent of total work hours.
(ii) 74-50 percent of total work hours.
(iii) 49-25 percent of total work hours.
(iv) Less than 25 percent of total work hours.
(E) The salaries and benefits of all Department of Defense
employees using 100 percent official time.
(F) The total value of free or discounted use of Department
of Defense government property by individuals on taxpayer-
funded official time.
(b) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be
submitted in an unclassified form and made available on a
public website hosted by the Department of Defense.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 1287, the gentleman
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chairman, let me start out by saying happy birthday to
the United States Army. I spent a fair amount of time in my life in
uniform in the Army. It is a defining thing in anybody's life who has
spent time in uniform, and it has been a wonderful institution for
many, many Americans over a long period of time.
I also thank the chairman for the work on this bill. I know that
while we are debating it here today and we are going to vote later
today, that the work for next year's bill will start tomorrow. I thank
him for his hard work.
This amendment is pretty straightforward. It just requires the
Secretary of Defense to report on the use of taxpayer-funded union time
by DOD employees. We are not saying it is bad. We are not saying it is
good. We are not saying it is too much. It is too little. We just want
to know what it is. We just want to know.
For those who may be unfamiliar, Congress granted certain employees
the ability to perform certain tasks for labor unions while on duty. To
be clear, that means that these employees are being paid by our
constituents to work for union activities instead of doing the job that
they were hired to perform.
I think maybe it would be fine if we said in the job description that
your job is to do organized labor activities, but that is not what is
in the job description. The job description is what is needed for the
country for the Department of Defense; but instead of doing that work,
you are doing other work. Unacceptably, the statistics on the use of
official time are very few and far between.
Take a GAO report from January of 2017, so we are a few years beyond
that now, which is telling in itself. According to the data from the
Department of Veterans Affairs, 346 employees spent 100 percent of
their time on official union activities instead of taking care of our
Nation's veterans.
Now, the Trump administration took some steps to improve
transparency, including actually reporting the use and the cost of
official time by agencies.
A VA press release dated November 8, 2018, cites a particularly
egregious example. A VA registered nurse, who was elected as a local
union official, spent 100 percent of her time doing organized labor
activities. That might be fine if the job description was organized
labor activities, but the job description is registered nurse. How much
time taking care of veterans as a nurse was this person spending? Well,
zero, that is how much time.
To use examples from the Department of Defense, the most recent
available data or estimates of the data from the Trump administration's
final report was that 3,235 DOD employees used official time in FY19
for a total of 526,990 hours at a cost of millions upon tens of
millions of dollars, not to mention the equipment.
We are here debating the National Defense Authorization Act.
There are very serious threats around the world. While we stand here,
while we sit here, while we watch, the Russians are moving a fleet into
Cuba about 100 miles off the coast of the United States of America.
Now, I don't know about you, but for me, I want every DOD employee
focused on keeping America safe.
All we are asking for, all this amendment asks for is a report so
that we don't go blindly searching around to try and figure out how
best to do that. If we have the information, we can make decisions. We
don't have the information. This amendment says give us the
information, track the information so we can make decisions.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the
amendment.

[[Page H4090]]

The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from New Jersey is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to amendment No. 56,
which would require a report that would be prejudicial to the rights
and interests of Federal employees by calling into question something
called official time.
Official time is a system that we, Congress, established in law
almost 40 years ago to ensure that all employees entitled to union
representation receive it, regardless if they are in the union or not.
Through official time, Federal employees who volunteer as union
representatives spend time on what they call representational
activities, working with employers and managers to resolve disputes, to
resolve disputes, improvements in the workplace that benefit all
employees, one of which--and many people consider it the highest--is
for safety issues, so they can walk around, they can do the very
inspections that save lives and save people from injury instead of
waiting for it to happen and reacting before somebody gets hurt or dies
on the job.
Simply put, let's call it what it is. This is an attack on official
time, and my colleagues want to gut public sector unions. Call it what
it is. The report that this amendment requires would only tally the
cost of official time, ignoring many benefits. That official time
provides for management as well as workers, their safety, and their
productivity.
Workers have the right to have a voice on the job. They have that
right. That is exactly what the official time provides for. I know that
workplaces are more productive and efficient when management and
workers come together. This amendment would lay the groundwork to take
us in the opposite direction.
As co-chair of the Labor Caucus, I continue to oppose these efforts
to take away rights from workers. When we look back at some of the
history on this, it has been incredible. This has been an enhancement
for the government.
There has been report after report on this already, but the bottom
line is, this is about protecting workers on the job who become more
protective of the people, the workers on the job.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chairman, there are many things that I agree with the
gentleman, my friend on the other side of the aisle. These are
important tasks that need to be done. Disputes need to be resolved. We
all care about the people who are working for the Federal Government,
but to think that after 40 years we have gotten it perfect, and we
can't take a look and we can't ask for a report I think is a little bit
shortsighted. This isn't an attack on anyone because those things do
need to be done.
However, I would say this: Yesterday I received an email from the
AFL-CIO from someone working on official time. This is yesterday. Today
is Friday. Yesterday was Thursday. The time stamp on it is 1:38, so
1338 if you are in the Army, is what time it came. That is in the
middle of the business day. That is in the middle of working hours.
That is not handling disputes. That is lobbying Members of Congress to
vote one way or the other. We want them to be able to handle disputes
and do the work to make sure employees are protected and the good work
of DOD is done, but I, for one, would like a report on how this is the
work that taxpayers should be paying for and how that is happening and
how much it is happening. That is all we are asking for, Mr. Chairman,
is a report.
Mr. Chairman, I include in the Record the email from the AFL-CIO.
AFL-CIO

Legislative Alert,

June 13, 2024.
Dear Representative: On behalf of the 12.5 million workers
and 60 affiliate unions represented by the AFL-CIO, I urge
you to oppose the following amendments to H.R. 8070, the
Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025. These
amendments threaten fair representation for federal workers
and attack thousands of workers' fundamental right to
collectively bargain.

Oppose Perry Amendment (Floor #56)

This amendment is part of an effort to undermine official
time. Official time permits federal union representatives to
fulfill their duties of fair representation regardless of an
employee's membership status. Official time also enables
federal managers and employee representatives to
collaboratively resolve workplace conflict, enhancing
government efficiency and productivity.

Oppose Scott Amendment (Floor #349)

This amendment would strip collective bargaining rights
from thousands of Dual Status Technicians (DST), a class of
DoD employees. The Supreme Court upheld these rights last
year in a 7-2 decision written by Justice Thomas in Ohio
Adjutant General's Department v. Federal Labor Relations
Authority. Collective bargaining rights, both in the federal
government and the private sector, are crucial for promoting
health, safety, and fairness in the workplace. Enacting this
amendment would reverse that Supreme Court decision and
eliminate collective bargaining rights for DSTs.
We strongly urge you to oppose these amendments to H.R.
8070, the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025.
Protecting collective bargaining rights and fair
representation by voting against these amendments will help
ensure that our federal employees continue to have the rights
and protections they deserve as they work to support our
nation's defense.
Sincerely,
Jody Calemine,
Director, Government Affairs.
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chairman, I urge support and yield back the balance of
my time.
Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Chair, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of
Federal employees, and he picks up one issue in one little area. My
God, we can just look to our Members of Congress to see where
violations happen.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms.
Hoyle).
Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this
unnecessary amendment that seeks to restrict the rights and interests
of Federal employees by calling into question the role of official
time.
Forty years ago, Congress established official time to ensure that
all employees entitled to union representation receive it regardless of
whether or not they choose to join the union. Official time ensures
Federal employees have a voice at the worksite to resolve disputes,
address issues of discrimination or retaliation, and propose
improvements to the workplace.
The Federal Government covers the cost of official time activities
because under Federal law, unions must provide fair representation to
all employees at the worksite, not just those who pay dues, but also
those who benefit from their unions bargaining for better wages, hours,
and working conditions, even though they aren't union members.
Opponents of public sector unions claim that official time is a waste
of taxpayer dollars. This is false. The cost of official time amounts
to just one-tenth of 1 percent of all the salaries and benefits paid to
Federal employees in a given year.
This amendment is an attack on official time and on public sector
unions, plain and simple. I urge my colleagues to oppose any and all
efforts to take rights away from workers and to oppose this antilabor
amendment.
Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Chair, to wrap up, let's be clear: This is an
attack on people's voices at the workplace. This is something that we
collectively have looked at for over 40 years, and we continue to have
a productive way of keeping people safe on the job and to understand
that there is no way that they can use this time to do any union
political activities, which has been suggested by the opposition.
Let's keep our workers safe. Let's continue to care about those who
make our country the best in the world.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania
will be postponed.

Amendment No. 134 Offered by Mr. Doggett

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 134
printed in part B of House Report 118-551.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.

[[Page H4091]]

The text of the amendment is as follows:

At the end of subtitle A of title VIII, insert the
following new section:

SEC. 8__. REVIEW PANEL ON FAIR AND REASONABLE PRICING AND
CONTRACT OVERSIGHT.

(a) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date
of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Defense shall
establish a review panel on fair and reasonable pricing and
contract oversight of sole-source contracts for munitions and
weapons systems contracts, including related contracts for
services and spare parts.
(b) Membership.--
(1) In general.--The review panel shall be composed of the
following six members:
(A) The Director Price, Cost, and Finance of the Office of
Defense Pricing and Contracting of the Department of Defense.
(B) The Director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency.
(C) The Director of the Defense Contract Management Agency.
(D) An individual from the Office of the Inspector General
of the Department of Defense.
(E) Two individuals appointed by the Secretary of Defense
with expertise in contract pricing, contract negotiations,
and contract oversight.
(2) Expert appointment criteria.--When appointing
individuals described in paragraph (1)(E) to the review
panel, the Secretary of Defense shall appoint only
individuals--
(A) that have extensive experience in both the public and
private (including defense and commercial experience)
sectors; and
(B) who, in the three-year period immediately preceding
such appointment--
(i) have not been employed by a contractor of the
Department of Defense; or
(ii) undertaken any actions on behalf of such a contractor
for which the individual was compensated in any way.
(3) Member employment restrictions.--In addition to any
other restriction imposed by law, during the period beginning
on the date an individual is appointed as a member of the
review panel and ending on the date that is 3 years after
such individual ceases to be a member of the review panel,
such individual may not be employed by a contractor of the
Department of Defense or undertake any actions on behalf of
such a contractor for which the individual is compensated in
any way.
(c) Duties.--The review panel shall do the following:
(1) Identify an extensive and representative sample of all
fixed price contracts and subcontracts, including delivery
and task orders, in excess of $10,000,000 awarded during a
period determined by the review panel, except that--
(A) the period determined by the review panel shall include
the 15-year period immediately preceding the date of the
enactment of this Act; and
(B) the sample shall include contracts the performance of
which is at least 75 percent complete.
(2) Provide to the Secretary of Defense and the Committees
on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of
Representatives a comparison between negotiated contract
prices and actual cost outcomes on the contracts and
subcontracts included in the sample identified under
paragraph (1).
(3) Provide to the Secretary of Defense and the Committees
on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of
Representatives an analysis of the sample identified under
paragraph (1) to determine if the pricing for the contracting
in such sample exceeded fair and reasonable prices and, if
so, whether excessive pricing is widespread or unique to
certain weapons systems, sectors, or companies.
(4) Provide to the Secretary of Defense and the Committees
on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of
Representatives an analysis of the sample identified under
paragraph (1) that compares initial price submitted by the
contractor and subcontractor in the proposal to actual cost
outcomes in order to determine the accuracy of contractor
estimating systems.
(5) Provide to the Secretary of Defense and the Committees
on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of
Representatives an analysis of the degree of competition on
spare parts contracts determined to be a commercial product
(as defined in section 103 of title 41, United States Code).
(6) Conduct a review and provide an analysis to the
Secretary of Defense and the Committees on Armed Services of
the Senate and the House of Representatives that determines
the degree to which contract prices for contracts and
subcontracts for spare parts that are subject to the
submission of certified cost and pricing data exceed fair and
reasonable prices in comparison to contracts and subcontracts
for spare parts that do not require the submission of
certified cost and pricing data.
(7) Provide to the Secretary of Defense and the Committees
on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of
Representatives an analysis of the adequacy and degree of
contractor oversight by the Department of Defense, including
the sufficiency of post-contract award audits for compliance
with chapter 271 of title 10, United States Code.
(d) Administrative Matters.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense shall provide the
review panel with timely access to appropriate information,
data, resources, and analysis so that the review panel may
conduct a thorough and independent assessment as required by
this section.
(2) Subpoena powers.--To the degree that any company who
has entered into a contract or subcontract subject to the
chapter 271 of title 10, United States Code, and refuses to
provide actual cost information to include all internal
estimates to complete for unfinished work, the Inspector
General shall use its subpoena powers to compel the delivery
of the requested information.
(3) Inapplicability of faca.--Chapter 10 of title 5, United
States Code, shall not apply to the review panel.
(e) Report.--
(1) Review panel report.--Not later than one year after the
date on which the Secretary of Defense establishes the review
panel, the panel shall transmit a final report to the
Secretary.
(2) Elements.--The final report shall contain a detailed
statement of the findings and conclusions of the review
panel, including all analyses required by this section as
well as recommendations regarding the adherence to fair and
reasonable pricing for contracts and subcontracts and
improvements related to contractor oversight.
(3) Interim reports.--(A) Not later than 8 months and 12
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Defense shall submit a report to, or brief, the
congressional defense committees on the interim findings of
the review panel with respect to the elements set forth in
paragraph (2).
(B) Not later than 4 months after the Secretary submits a
report to or briefs the congressional defense committees
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Defense shall submit
a second report to, or provided a second briefing to, the
congressional defense committees on the interim findings of
the review panel with respect to the elements set forth in
paragraph (2).
(C) The panel shall provide regular updates to the
Secretary of Defense for purposes of providing the interim
reports required under this paragraph.
(4) Final report.--Not later than 30 days after receiving
the final report of the review panel under paragraph (1), the
Secretary of Defense shall transmit such final report,
together with such comments as the Secretary determines
appropriate, to the congressional defense committees.
(f) Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund
Support.--The Secretary of Defense may use amounts available
in the Department of Defense Acquisition Workforce
Development Account established under section 1705 of title
10, United States Code, to support activities of the review
panel under this section.
(g) Review Panel Defined.--In this section, the term
``review panel'' means the review panel established under
subsection (a).

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 1287, the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Doggett) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 3 minutes.
This is a bipartisan amendment that I offer together with the
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Norman). We may appear as the odd
couple politically, but we share a common interest in trying to ensure
that taxpayers get their money's worth, and that is true on military
contracts as with every other aspect of government. When it comes to
those contracts, we are concerned that that is not happening on too
many of them.
We don't ask you to just take our word for it, but we have turned to
a fellow named Shay Assad, sometimes referred to as the most disliked
person in the Pentagon. He had four decades of experience in
negotiating government contracts, served as the top director for
procurement for both George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
He was central to an illuminating ``60 Minutes'' report last year
about price gouging, which he described as unconscionable and
widespread. He has returned to the Pentagon now as the director of
procurement at the Air Force.

{time} 1000

I know that Chairman Rogers and Mr. Smith have been concerned about
this problem. Their committee has given it some attention, but I think
we can supplement their efforts. Military contractors deserve to get a
fair profit, but American taxpayers deserve to be treated fairly also.
We have seen a consolidation in the defense industry where 50 firms
have been reduced to about 5 primary contractors. This is a very modest
amendment. It requires essentially a one-time type of audit by a review
panel that will conduct oversight on the reasonableness of prices on
sole-sourced munitions and weapons systems, a 1-year investigation to
determine whether the Department has achieved fair

[[Page H4092]]

prices in surveyed contracts and make recommendations made to the Armed
Services Committee and the Pentagon to be sure that taxpayers are
getting the best bang for their buck.
Just as one example that was cited, we have had inflation. All of us
are concerned about it, but the cost of a Stinger missile of the type
we have been shipping to Ukraine rose from $25,000 in 1991 to $400,000
to replace it. That is a little more than the increase in inflation and
the improvements that may have occurred to the missile.
The Patriot, the PAC-3 missile, is very important in defense.
Hundreds of millions of dollars were saved after a review, and it was
found that the contractor was earning a 40 percent profit.
Our amendment would not change the procurement process or add new
requirements of contractors. It would simply look at what has occurred
in the past and determine if there is a way to improve it. It has the
support of bipartisan groups across the ideological spectrum, including
the R Street Institute, the Project on Government Oversight, the
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, Public Citizen, and
American Economic Liberties Project.
There have been hundreds of amendments offered to the bill that we
are considering. This is the only bipartisan amendment made in order
for addressing reasonable prices.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this modest step forward.
It is a very modest step, but I think it can be helpful to the
committee and to all of us in ensuring that we get our money's worth.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the
amendment.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Alabama is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I wholeheartedly agree with the gentleman's desire to ensure the
Department obtains fair and reasonable prices. The committee has done a
lot to reform that process and crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse
over the last few years.
However, I believe I speak for both sides when I say we have some
concerns that this amendment may be redundant to ongoing efforts as
well as efforts we required the inspector general to undertake in last
year's NDAA. We also have some questions about how the amendment would
be executed.
However, if the gentleman would agree to work with us to address
these concerns as the bill moves forward, I would be prepared to accept
this amendment at this time.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman, and I know he shares
my concern about this. I am eager to work with him on it. I appreciate
his comments and will be delighted to work with him.
Sometimes this offer to work ends and begins at once. So long as this
is not going to turn into mush in the conference committee or be
totally dropped, I am ready to work with the gentleman and cooperate. I
appreciate it.
We so often hear about waste, fraud, and abuse as being able to
finance essentially the whole government. I know there are many
contractors that are doing their job. They are vital to our security. I
hope we can work together and find a way to get at the core of this
problem and save taxpayers money at the same time we keep our military
second to none.
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for agreeing
to work with us. We will work with him.
Mr. Chair, I agree to accept the amendment, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).
The amendment was agreed to.
The Chair understands that amendment No. 190 will not be offered.

Amendment No. 228 Offered by Mr. James

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 228
printed in part B of House Report 118-551.
Mr. JAMES. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Amend section 1725 to read as follows:

SEC. 1725. CERTIFICATION AND REPORTS ON SOUTH AFRICA.

(a) Presidential Certification.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President, in consultation
with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense,
shall certify to the appropriate congressional committees and
release publicly an unclassified determination explicitly
stating whether South Africa has engaged in activities that
undermine United States national security or foreign policy
interests.
(2) Report.--The certification required under paragraph (1)
shall be accompanied by an unclassified report, with a
classified annex if the President considers such as
necessary, providing a justification for the determination
made pursuant to such paragraph.
(b) Review of Bilateral Relationship.--
(1) Full review.--The President, in consultation with the
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, the United States Ambassador to South Africa,
and the heads of such other Federal departments and agencies
that play a substantial role in United States relations with
South Africa, shall conduct a review of the bilateral
relationship between the United States and South Africa.
(2) Report.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that includes
the findings of the review required by paragraph (1).
(c) Supplemental Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
on United States defense cooperation with the Government of
South Africa.
(2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1)
shall also include the following:
(A) An overview of United States defense cooperation with
the Government of South Africa, including military exercises,
arms sales, and international military education and
training.
(B) An assessment of defense cooperation between the
Government of South Africa and the Government of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, the Government of the People's Republic of
China, and the Government of the Russian Federation.
(3) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall be
transmitted in an unclassified form and may contain a
classified annex.
(d) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means the congressional defense committees, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 1287, the gentleman
from Michigan (Mr. James) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
Mr. JAMES. Mr. Chair, this amendment revises section 1725 of the base
text to strengthen the current reporting language regarding South
Africa by including my legislation, H.R. 7256, the U.S.-South Africa
Bilateral Relations Review Act, that passed a House Foreign Affairs
Committee markup with strong bipartisan support back in March.
This legislation would simply require the Biden administration to
make a determination on whether South Africa's actions are undermining
the United States' national security or foreign policy interests and
conduct a full review of the bilateral relationship between the U.S.
and South Africa.
The only way that this would be threatening is if the ANC is actually
undermining the United States and our partnership with the South
African people. It is important to show the South African people that
the United States is aware of its plight, and it is important to show
the American people that we will no longer be played for fools.
Mr. Chair, on March 20, 2024, the ranking member of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee reminded us that a year and a half ago, the Biden
administration put out a U.S. strategy toward sub-Saharan Africa. How
is that going? In the last year and a half, in Sudan, there have been
10 million displaced, 15,000 fatalities, and 5 million on the brink of
starvation.
The world's largest humanitarian crisis rages while external actors
fuel the fight without repercussion.

[[Page H4093]]

In the last year and a half, across the Sahel, the epidemic of coups
has resulted in severe democratic retreating with the forced withdrawal
of U.S. military personnel from Niger being the latest example.
In the last year and a half, in Central Africa, the conflict in
eastern DRC threatens to escalate and destabilize the entire region.
In the last year and a half, in Ethiopia, 15,000 to 30,000 have
already died; 8 million have fled their homes; and 25 million people,
including 14 million children, are in desperate need of food, water,
and medicine.
Mr. Chair, in the past year and a half, the situation on the
Continent of Africa has gotten even more bleak. Are we so naive to
believe that the same U.S. strategy that got it so wrong throughout the
rest of sub-Saharan Africa somehow got it right in South Africa?
As the chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, I am acutely aware of
South Africa's important role on the African Continent, and I am proud
that the United States has held cordial relationships with South Africa
for nearly my entire life--over $8 billion in the very important PEPFAR
assistance program since 2003, and growth in trade from $13.9 billion
to $21 billion in 2021.
In fact, South Africa has been the United States' largest trading
partner in Africa since 2014 and is home to over 600 American
businesses. However, it is clear to me that the ANC of today is no
longer the party of Mandela.
The ANC continuously moves away from its traditional stance of
nonalignment in international affairs and has displayed consistent and
overt anti-Israel sentiment in the wake of the devastating October 7
attacks against our number one ally in the Middle East.
These include then-South Africa Foreign Minister Pandor accepting a
call from the Hamas leader on October 17 and visiting Tehran to meet
with former President Raisi on October 22, South Africa filing a
politically motivated and unfounded case against Israel at the
International Court of Justice, and then-Foreign Minister Pandor
stating back in March of this year that South Africa will arrest
Israeli South Africans who are fighting in the Israeli Defense Forces
upon their return and could even strip them of their citizenship.
In addition to this overt anti-Israel sentiment, the ANC has
increased its alignment with the People's Republic of China and the
Russian Federation, as well.
In February 2023, on the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine,
the ANC hosted joint military exercises with Russia and China off the
coast of South Africa. Excuse me? I am a military veteran. These drills
and exercises are practicing killing American sailors and soldiers.
Additionally, the ANC hosted the BRICS Conference in Johannesburg in
August 2023.
I am also concerned about recent allegations of illicit financing
flowing to the ANC from Russia and other malign actors.
In December, the ANC allegedly accepted 10 million rand from a
Kremlin-backed holding company called the Chancellor House Trust. Prior
to this donation, the ANC was all but bankrupt, and law enforcement had
begun to seize assets at the ANC campaign headquarters in Johannesburg.
Similar allegations exist relating to Iran. I am concerned that Russia
and Iran are seeking to buy official influence in South Africa.
It is the fundamental right of every sovereign nation to chart its
own direction, hear me clearly, but actions have consequences and
repercussions. American people have choices, too.
I believe in the potential of a U.S.-South Africa relationship, but
it is only fair if South Africa desires to remain a close partner to
the U.S. and meets us halfway.
The current uncertainty in South Africa following last month's
elections makes the determinations required by this amendment all the
more timely. In order to strategically engage with South Africa, it is
necessary to ensure the United States Government has a contemporary
review of the bilateral relationship.
That is what this amendment does. It requires a certification and
review that will ensure that the entirety of the U.S. Government is
aligned to the realities of the current U.S.-South Africa bilateral
relationship.
The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the James
amendment.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from California is recognized for 5
minutes.
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Chair, I opposed this bill when it was
considered in the Foreign Affairs Committee, and I oppose this
amendment today.
South Africa is a key partner of the United States and has been
critical to driving innovation and investment on the Continent of
Africa.
It is also true that South Africa has taken a number of policy
stances I do not agree with and don't believe are helpful to advancing
further peace and prosperity, including an all-too-forgiving stance on
Russia.
If our goal as the United States is to achieve an open and
cooperative partnership with South Africa that advances both our
countries' interests, this amendment will not accomplish that.
Almost 2 years ago, the Biden administration put out a U.S. strategy
toward sub-Saharan Africa, noting it is impossible to meet today's
defining challenges without African contributions in leadership.
Underpinning that strategy is the concept that the United States can
offer positive choices to Africans, for instance, as they determine
their own future.
In other words, we have the opportunity and responsibility to present
options to our African partners that they can judge to be worthwhile
and in their best interest. We don't get to impose our ideas, and we
should be making a compelling case for why it makes sense to partner
with the United States and work together to achieve shared interests.
Any past disagreements with South Africa are reasons for us to double
down through diplomacy to find productive pathways for U.S.-South
Africa cooperation.
This amendment unnecessarily duplicates a review process already laid
out in law under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA. As an
AGOA country, South Africa already receives a yearly review that takes
into consideration any activities that undermine U.S. national security
or foreign policy interests. This review is a requirement for any
country to be deemed eligible to participate in AGOA.
The administration already has the power and responsibility to review
whether South Africa has participated in any such activities as part of
the country's AGOA eligibility review. It seems like a core purpose of
this legislation is to undermine the AGOA eligibility of Africa's
largest economy. Instead of doing this, my Republican colleagues should
be trying to reauthorize AGOA.
Moreover, this amendment was made in order despite the original bill
having no defense nexus, which was allegedly the criteria decided by
the majority. Both myself and the ranking member submitted Africa
amendments that could have attracted bipartisan support, yet those
amendments were not made in order.
Finally, this amendment suffers from a bad case of timing. South
Africans recently made their voices heard through a democratic
election, and South Africa is in the process of forming a new
government as we speak.
We need to give the parties in South Africa time to establish a
government and pursue the course laid out for them by South African
voters. To conduct a review at this point in the process would be
premature and potentially damaging to our interest of being a partner
of choice for South Africa.
This is a strange, counterproductive, and condescending amendment,
and this is exactly what African countries accuse us of doing. They
say: Why do you wag your finger at us and tell us what we can't do, but
then you don't do that to any other country?
They are right. They are not colonies. They are countries,
independent, and this tired approach is what they are asking us to stop
doing.
We would not do this to any country in Europe or Asia, so why are we
doing this to an African country, especially South Africa, a democratic
country that just held free and fair elections and is one of the most
strategic partners that we have on the continent?

[[Page H4094]]

We need to show up, and we need to show up in a different kind of
way. This amendment is not how we should show up for Africa.

{time} 1015

Mr. Chair, in closing I want to say what I already said. This is
condescending, it is counterproductive, and it is not the way that we
should be engaging with our our democratic African partners on the
continent.
The best way to counteract Russia and China is to show up with a
different approach that is dignified, that is respectful, and that
recognizes that these countries are independent so that they see that
we are serious and that we are using all of the tools in our toolbox:
diplomatic, defense, and development; not finger wagging.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. James).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Michigan
will be postponed.
The Chair understands that amendment 349 will not be offered.

Announcement by the Acting Chair

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, proceedings
will now resume on those amendments printed in part B of House Report
118-551 on which further proceedings were postponed, in the following
order:
Amendment No. 56 by Mr. Perry of Pennsylvania.
Amendment No. 228 by Mr. James of Michigan.
The Chair will reduce to 2 minutes the time for any electronic vote
after the first vote in this series.

Amendment No. 56 Offered by Mr. Perry

The Acting CHAIR. The unfinished business is the demand for a
recorded vote on amendment No. 56, printed in part B of House Report
118-551, offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry), on
which further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes
prevailed by voice vote.
The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
The Clerk redesignated the amendment.

Recorded Vote

The Acting CHAIR. A recorded vote has been demanded.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 188,
noes 228, not voting 21, as follows:

[Roll No. 276]

AYES--188

Aderholt
Alford
Allen
Amodei
Armstrong
Arrington
Babin
Baird
Balderson
Banks
Barr
Bean (FL)
Bentz
Bice
Biggs
Bilirakis
Boebert
Brecheen
Buchanan
Bucshon
Burchett
Burgess
Burlison
Calvert
Cammack
Carey
Carl
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Ciscomani
Cline
Cloud
Clyde
Cole
Collins
Crane
Crawford
Curtis
Davidson
De La Cruz
DesJarlais
Donalds
Duarte
Duncan
Dunn (FL)
Edwards
Ellzey
Emmer
Estes
Ezell
Fallon
Feenstra
Ferguson
Finstad
Fischbach
Fitzgerald
Fleischmann
Flood
Fong
Foxx
Franklin, Scott
Fry
Fulcher
Gaetz
Garcia, Mike
Gimenez
Gonzales, Tony
Gonzalez-Colon
Good (VA)
Gooden (TX)
Gosar
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Green (TN)
Greene (GA)
Griffith
Grothman
Guest
Guthrie
Hageman
Harris
Harshbarger
Hern
Higgins (LA)
Hill
Hinson
Houchin
Hudson
Huizenga
Issa
Jackson (TX)
James
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (SD)
Jordan
Joyce (PA)
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
Kiggans (VA)
Kiley
Kim (CA)
Kustoff
LaHood
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Langworthy
Latta
LaTurner
Lee (FL)
Lesko
Letlow
Loudermilk
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Luna
Luttrell
Mace
Maloy
Mann
Massie
Mast
McCaul
McClain
McClintock
McCormick
McHenry
Meuser
Miller (WV)
Mills
Moolenaar
Mooney
Moore (AL)
Moore (UT)
Moran
Nehls
Norman
Nunn (IA)
Obernolte
Ogles
Owens
Palmer
Pence
Perry
Pfluger
Posey
Reschenthaler
Rodgers (WA)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rose
Rosendale
Rouzer
Roy
Rutherford
Scalise
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Self
Sessions
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smucker
Spartz
Steel
Stefanik
Steil
Steube
Strong
Tenney
Thompson (PA)
Tiffany
Timmons
Valadao
Van Duyne
Van Orden
Wagner
Walberg
Waltz
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Williams (TX)
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Yakym
Zinke

NOES--228

Adams
Aguilar
Allred
Amo
Auchincloss
Bacon
Balint
Barragan
Beatty
Bera
Bergman
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Bost
Boyle (PA)
Brown
Brownley
Budzinski
Bush
Caraveo
Carbajal
Cardenas
Carson
Carter (LA)
Cartwright
Casar
Case
Casten
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chavez-DeRemer
Cherfilus-McCormick
Chu
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Correa
Costa
Courtney
Craig
Crockett
Crow
Cuellar
D'Esposito
Davids (KS)
Davis (IL)
Davis (NC)
Dean (PA)
DeGette
DeLauro
DelBene
Deluzio
DeSaulnier
Diaz-Balart
Doggett
Eshoo
Espaillat
Fitzpatrick
Fletcher
Foster
Foushee
Frankel, Lois
Frost
Gallego
Garbarino
Garcia (IL)
Garcia (TX)
Garcia, Robert
Golden (ME)
Goldman (NY)
Gomez
Gonzalez, Vicente
Gottheimer
Green, Al (TX)
Harder (CA)
Hayes
Himes
Horsford
Houlahan
Hoyer
Hoyle (OR)
Huffman
Ivey
Jackson (IL)
Jackson (NC)
Jacobs
Jayapal
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Joyce (OH)
Kamlager-Dove
Kaptur
Kean (NJ)
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Khanna
Kildee
Kilmer
Kim (NJ)
Krishnamoorthi
Kuster
LaLota
Landsman
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lawler
Lee (CA)
Lee (PA)
Leger Fernandez
Levin
Lieu
Lofgren
Lynch
Magaziner
Malliotakis
Manning
Matsui
McBath
McClellan
McCollum
McGarvey
McGovern
Meeks
Menendez
Meng
Mfume
Miller (OH)
Molinaro
Moore (WI)
Morelle
Moskowitz
Mrvan
Mullin
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Neguse
Newhouse
Nickel
Norcross
Norton
Ocasio-Cortez
Omar
Pallone
Panetta
Pappas
Pascrell
Pelosi
Peltola
Perez
Peters
Pettersen
Phillips
Pingree
Plaskett
Pocan
Porter
Pressley
Quigley
Ramirez
Raskin
Ross
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Ryan
Sablan
Salazar
Salinas
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Scanlon
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Scholten
Schrier
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Sewell
Sherman
Sherrill
Simpson
Slotkin
Smith (NJ)
Smith (WA)
Sorensen
Soto
Spanberger
Stansbury
Stanton
Stauber
Stevens
Strickland
Suozzi
Swalwell
Sykes
Takano
Thanedar
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tlaib
Tokuda
Tonko
Torres (CA)
Torres (NY)
Trahan
Trone
Turner
Underwood
Van Drew
Vargas
Vasquez
Veasey
Velazquez
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Wild
Williams (GA)
Williams (NY)
Wilson (FL)

NOT VOTING--21

Bishop (NC)
Bowman
Comer
Crenshaw
Dingell
Escobar
Evans
Garamendi
Granger
Grijalva
Hunt
Jackson Lee
Lee (NV)
Miller (IL)
Miller-Meeks
Moulton
Moylan
Murphy
Radewagen
Watson Coleman
Wexton

{time} 1046

Mses. HOULAHAN and CROCKETT, Messrs. JOHNSON of Georgia and GALLEGO
changed their vote from ``aye'' to ``no.''
So the amendment was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Stated for:
Mrs. Miller of Illinois. Mr. Chair, had I been present, I would have
voted AYE on Roll Call No. 276.

Amendment No. 228 Offered by Mr. James

The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Carter of Georgia). The unfinished business is
the demand for a recorded vote on amendment No. 228, printed in part B
of House Report 118-551, offered by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
James), on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the
ayes prevailed by voice vote.
The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
The Clerk redesignated the amendment.

Recorded Vote

The Acting CHAIR. A recorded vote has been demanded.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The Acting CHAIR. This will be a 2-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 272,
noes 144, not voting 20, as follows:

[[Page H4095]]

[Roll No. 277]

AYES--272

Aderholt
Alford
Allen
Amodei
Armstrong
Arrington
Bacon
Baird
Balderson
Banks
Barr
Bean (FL)
Bentz
Bergman
Bice
Biggs
Bilirakis
Boebert
Bost
Brecheen
Buchanan
Bucshon
Burchett
Burgess
Burlison
Calvert
Cammack
Caraveo
Carey
Carl
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Cartwright
Chavez-DeRemer
Ciscomani
Cline
Cloud
Clyde
Cole
Collins
Connolly
Costa
Courtney
Craig
Crane
Crawford
Crenshaw
Cuellar
Curtis
D'Esposito
Davidson
Davis (NC)
De La Cruz
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Donalds
Duarte
Duncan
Dunn (FL)
Edwards
Ellzey
Emmer
Estes
Ezell
Fallon
Feenstra
Ferguson
Finstad
Fischbach
Fitzgerald
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flood
Fong
Foxx
Frankel, Lois
Franklin, Scott
Fry
Fulcher
Gaetz
Gallego
Garbarino
Garcia, Mike
Gimenez
Golden (ME)
Goldman (NY)
Gonzales, Tony
Gonzalez, Vicente
Gonzalez-Colon
Good (VA)
Gooden (TX)
Gosar
Gottheimer
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Green (TN)
Greene (GA)
Griffith
Grothman
Guest
Guthrie
Hageman
Harder (CA)
Harris
Harshbarger
Hern
Higgins (LA)
Hill
Himes
Hinson
Houchin
Hoyle (OR)
Hudson
Huizenga
Hunt
Issa
Jackson (NC)
Jackson (TX)
James
Johnson (SD)
Jordan
Joyce (OH)
Joyce (PA)
Kean (NJ)
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
Kennedy
Kiggans (VA)
Kiley
Kim (CA)
Krishnamoorthi
Kustoff
LaHood
LaLota
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Landsman
Langworthy
Latta
LaTurner
Lawler
Lee (FL)
Lesko
Letlow
Levin
Lieu
Loudermilk
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Luna
Luttrell
Lynch
Mace
Malliotakis
Maloy
Mann
Manning
McCaul
McClain
McClintock
McCormick
McHenry
Meng
Meuser
Miller (IL)
Miller (OH)
Miller (WV)
Miller-Meeks
Mills
Molinaro
Moolenaar
Mooney
Moore (AL)
Moore (UT)
Moran
Morelle
Moskowitz
Mrvan
Nehls
Newhouse
Nickel
Norcross
Norman
Nunn (IA)
Obernolte
Ogles
Owens
Palmer
Panetta
Pappas
Peltola
Pence
Perez
Perry
Pettersen
Pfluger
Phillips
Posey
Reschenthaler
Rodgers (WA)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rose
Rosendale
Rouzer
Roy
Ruiz
Rutherford
Ryan
Salazar
Salinas
Scalise
Schiff
Schneider
Scholten
Schrier
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Scott, David
Self
Sessions
Sherrill
Simpson
Slotkin
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smucker
Sorensen
Soto
Spanberger
Spartz
Stanton
Stauber
Steel
Stefanik
Steil
Steube
Stevens
Strong
Suozzi
Sykes
Tenney
Thanedar
Thompson (PA)
Tiffany
Timmons
Torres (NY)
Trone
Turner
Valadao
Van Drew
Van Duyne
Van Orden
Vargas
Vasquez
Wagner
Walberg
Waltz
Wasserman Schultz
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Wild
Williams (NY)
Williams (TX)
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Yakym
Zinke

NOES--144

Adams
Aguilar
Allred
Amo
Auchincloss
Balint
Barragan
Beatty
Bera
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Boyle (PA)
Brown
Brownley
Budzinski
Bush
Carbajal
Cardenas
Carson
Carter (LA)
Casar
Case
Casten
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Cherfilus-McCormick
Chu
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Correa
Crockett
Crow
Davids (KS)
Davis (IL)
Dean (PA)
DeGette
DeLauro
DelBene
Deluzio
DeSaulnier
Doggett
Eshoo
Espaillat
Fletcher
Foster
Foushee
Frost
Garcia (IL)
Garcia (TX)
Garcia, Robert
Gomez
Green, Al (TX)
Hayes
Horsford
Houlahan
Huffman
Ivey
Jackson (IL)
Jacobs
Jayapal
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Kamlager-Dove
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Khanna
Kildee
Kilmer
Kim (NJ)
Kuster
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lee (CA)
Lee (PA)
Leger Fernandez
Lofgren
Magaziner
Massie
Matsui
McBath
McClellan
McCollum
McGarvey
McGovern
Meeks
Menendez
Mfume
Moore (WI)
Mullin
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Neguse
Norton
Ocasio-Cortez
Omar
Pallone
Pascrell
Pelosi
Peters
Pingree
Plaskett
Pocan
Porter
Pressley
Quigley
Ramirez
Raskin
Ross
Ruppersberger
Sablan
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Scanlon
Schakowsky
Scott (VA)
Sewell
Sherman
Smith (WA)
Stansbury
Strickland
Swalwell
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tlaib
Tokuda
Tonko
Torres (CA)
Trahan
Underwood
Veasey
Velazquez
Waters
Williams (GA)
Wilson (FL)

NOT VOTING--20

Babin
Bishop (NC)
Bowman
Comer
Dingell
Escobar
Evans
Garamendi
Granger
Grijalva
Hoyer
Jackson Lee
Lee (NV)
Mast
Moulton
Moylan
Murphy
Radewagen
Watson Coleman
Wexton

Announcement by the Acting Chair

The Acting CHAIR (during the vote). There is 1 minute remaining.

{time} 1051

Messrs. MRVAN and THANEDAR changed their vote from ``no'' to ``aye.''
So the amendment was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Newhouse). There being no further amendments,
under the rule, the Committee rises.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr.
Carter of Georgia) having assumed the chair, Mr. Newhouse, Acting Chair
of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported
that that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R.
8070) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 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, and, pursuant to House Resolution 1287, he reported the bill,
as amended by that resolution, and by the House on June 13, 2024, back
to the House with sundry further amendments adopted in the Committee of
the Whole.

=========================== NOTE ===========================

On June 14, 2024, page H4095, in the second column, the
following appeared: resolution, back to the House with sundry
further amendments adopted in the Committee of the Whole.

The online version has been corrected to read: resolution, and
by the House on June 13, 2024, back to the House with sundry
further amendments adopted in the Committee of the Whole.

========================= END NOTE =========================

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is
ordered.
Is a separate vote demanded on any further amendment reported from
the Committee of the Whole? If not, the Chair will put them en gros.
The amendments were agreed to.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third
reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.

Motion to Recommit

Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to
recommit.
The Clerk read as follows:

Ms. Sherrill of New Jersey moves to recommit the bill H.R.
8070 to the Committee on Armed Services.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XIX, the
previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit.
The question is on the motion to recommit.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the noes appeared to have it.
Ms. SHERRILL. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, this 5-
minute vote on the motion to recommit will be followed by a 5-minute
vote on passage of the bill, if ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 202,
nays 214, not voting 15, as follows:

[Roll No. 278]

YEAS--202

[[Page H4096]]

McGovern
Meeks
Menendez
Meng
Mfume
Moore (WI)
Morelle
Moskowitz
Mrvan
Mullin
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Neguse
Nickel
Norcross
Ocasio-Cortez
Omar
Pallone
Panetta
Pappas
Pascrell
Pelosi
Peltola
Perez
Peters
Pettersen
Phillips
Pingree
Pocan
Porter
Pressley
Quigley
Ramirez
Raskin
Ross
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Ryan
Salinas
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Scanlon
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Scholten
Schrier
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Sewell
Sherman
Sherrill
Slotkin
Smith (WA)
Sorensen
Soto
Spanberger
Stansbury
Stanton
Stevens
Strickland
Suozzi
Swalwell
Sykes
Takano
Thanedar
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tlaib
Tokuda
Tonko
Torres (CA)
Torres (NY)
Trahan
Trone
Underwood
Vargas
Vasquez
Veasey
Velazquez
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Wild
Williams (GA)
Wilson (FL)

NAYS--214

Aderholt
Alford
Allen
Amodei
Armstrong
Arrington
Babin
Bacon
Baird
Balderson
Banks
Barr
Bean (FL)
Bentz
Bergman
Bice
Biggs
Bilirakis
Boebert
Bost
Brecheen
Buchanan
Bucshon
Burchett
Burgess
Burlison
Calvert
Cammack
Carey
Carl
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chavez-DeRemer
Ciscomani
Cline
Cloud
Clyde
Cole
Collins
Crane
Crawford
Crenshaw
Curtis
D'Esposito
Davidson
De La Cruz
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Donalds
Duarte
Duncan
Dunn (FL)
Edwards
Ellzey
Emmer
Estes
Ezell
Fallon
Feenstra
Ferguson
Finstad
Fischbach
Fitzgerald
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flood
Fong
Foxx
Franklin, Scott
Fry
Fulcher
Gaetz
Garbarino
Garcia, Mike
Gimenez
Gonzales, Tony
Good (VA)
Gooden (TX)
Gosar
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Green (TN)
Greene (GA)
Griffith
Grothman
Guest
Guthrie
Hageman
Harris
Harshbarger
Hern
Higgins (LA)
Hill
Hinson
Houchin
Hudson
Huizenga
Hunt
Issa
Jackson (TX)
James
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (SD)
Jordan
Joyce (OH)
Joyce (PA)
Kean (NJ)
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
Kiggans (VA)
Kiley
Kim (CA)
Kustoff
LaHood
LaLota
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Langworthy
Latta
LaTurner
Lawler
Lee (FL)
Lesko
Letlow
Loudermilk
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Luna
Luttrell
Mace
Malliotakis
Maloy
Mann
Massie
Mast
McCaul
McClain
McClintock
McCormick
McHenry
Meuser
Miller (IL)
Miller (OH)
Miller (WV)
Miller-Meeks
Mills
Molinaro
Moolenaar
Mooney
Moore (AL)
Moore (UT)
Moran
Nehls
Newhouse
Norman
Nunn (IA)
Obernolte
Ogles
Owens
Palmer
Pence
Perry
Pfluger
Posey
Reschenthaler
Rodgers (WA)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rose
Rosendale
Rouzer
Roy
Rutherford
Salazar
Scalise
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Self
Sessions
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smucker
Spartz
Stauber
Steel
Stefanik
Steil
Steube
Strong
Tenney
Thompson (PA)
Tiffany
Timmons
Turner
Valadao
Van Drew
Van Duyne
Van Orden
Wagner
Walberg
Waltz
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Williams (NY)
Williams (TX)
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Yakym
Zinke

NOT VOTING--15

Bishop (NC)
Bowman
Comer
Dingell
Escobar
Evans
Garamendi
Granger
Grijalva
Jackson Lee
Lee (NV)
Moulton
Murphy
Watson Coleman
Wexton

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). There are 2 minutes
remaining.

{time} 1101

Mr. GROTHMAN changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Mrs. TORRES of California changed her vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the motion to recommit was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.

Recorded Vote

Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 217,
noes 199, not voting 15, as follows:

[Roll No. 279]

AYES--217

Aderholt
Alford
Allen
Amodei
Armstrong
Arrington
Babin
Bacon
Baird
Balderson
Banks
Barr
Bean (FL)
Bentz
Bergman
Bice
Biggs
Bilirakis
Boebert
Bost
Brecheen
Buchanan
Bucshon
Burchett
Burgess
Burlison
Calvert
Cammack
Carey
Carl
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chavez-DeRemer
Ciscomani
Cline
Cloud
Clyde
Cole
Collins
Crane
Crawford
Crenshaw
Cuellar
Curtis
D'Esposito
Davidson
Davis (NC)
De La Cruz
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Donalds
Duarte
Duncan
Dunn (FL)
Edwards
Ellzey
Emmer
Estes
Ezell
Fallon
Feenstra
Ferguson
Finstad
Fischbach
Fitzgerald
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flood
Fong
Foxx
Franklin, Scott
Fry
Fulcher
Gaetz
Garbarino
Garcia, Mike
Gimenez
Golden (ME)
Gonzales, Tony
Gonzalez, Vicente
Good (VA)
Gooden (TX)
Gosar
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Green (TN)
Griffith
Grothman
Guest
Guthrie
Hageman
Harris
Harshbarger
Hern
Higgins (LA)
Hill
Hinson
Houchin
Hudson
Huizenga
Hunt
Issa
Jackson (TX)
James
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (SD)
Jordan
Joyce (OH)
Joyce (PA)
Kean (NJ)
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
Kiggans (VA)
Kiley
Kim (CA)
Kustoff
LaHood
LaLota
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Langworthy
Latta
LaTurner
Lawler
Lee (FL)
Lesko
Letlow
Loudermilk
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Luna
Luttrell
Mace
Malliotakis
Maloy
Mann
Mast
McCaul
McClain
McClintock
McCormick
McHenry
Meuser
Miller (IL)
Miller (OH)
Miller (WV)
Miller-Meeks
Mills
Molinaro
Moolenaar
Mooney
Moore (AL)
Moore (UT)
Moran
Nehls
Newhouse
Norman
Nunn (IA)
Obernolte
Ogles
Owens
Palmer
Peltola
Pence
Perez
Perry
Pfluger
Posey
Reschenthaler
Rodgers (WA)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rose
Rouzer
Roy
Rutherford
Salazar
Scalise
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Self
Sessions
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smucker
Spartz
Stauber
Steel
Stefanik
Steil
Steube
Strong
Tenney
Thompson (PA)
Tiffany
Timmons
Turner
Valadao
Van Drew
Van Duyne
Van Orden
Wagner
Walberg
Waltz
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Williams (NY)
Williams (TX)
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Yakym
Zinke

NOES--199

Adams
Aguilar
Allred
Amo
Auchincloss
Balint
Barragan
Beatty
Bera
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Boyle (PA)
Brown
Brownley
Budzinski
Bush
Caraveo
Carbajal
Cardenas
Carson
Carter (LA)
Cartwright
Casar
Case
Casten
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Cherfilus-McCormick
Chu
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Correa
Costa
Courtney
Craig
Crockett
Crow
Davids (KS)
Davis (IL)
Dean (PA)
DeGette
DeLauro
DelBene
Deluzio
DeSaulnier
Doggett
Eshoo
Espaillat
Fletcher
Foster
Foushee
Frankel, Lois
Frost
Gallego
Garcia (IL)
Garcia (TX)
Garcia, Robert
Goldman (NY)
Gomez
Gottheimer
Green, Al (TX)
Greene (GA)
Harder (CA)
Hayes
Himes
Horsford
Houlahan
Hoyer
Hoyle (OR)
Huffman
Ivey
Jackson (IL)
Jackson (NC)
Jacobs
Jayapal
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Kamlager-Dove
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Khanna
Kildee
Kilmer
Kim (NJ)
Krishnamoorthi
Kuster
Landsman
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lee (CA)
Lee (PA)
Leger Fernandez
Levin
Lieu
Lofgren
Lynch
Magaziner
Manning
Massie
Matsui
McBath
McClellan
McCollum
McGarvey
McGovern
Meeks
Menendez
Meng
Mfume
Moore (WI)
Morelle
Moskowitz
Mrvan
Mullin
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Neguse
Nickel
Norcross
Ocasio-Cortez
Omar
Pallone
Panetta
Pappas
Pascrell
Pelosi
Peters
Pettersen
Phillips
Pingree
Pocan
Porter
Pressley
Quigley
Ramirez
Raskin
Rosendale
Ross
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Ryan
Salinas
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Scanlon
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Scholten
Schrier
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Sewell
Sherman
Sherrill
Slotkin
Smith (WA)
Sorensen
Soto
Spanberger
Stansbury
Stanton
Stevens
Strickland
Suozzi
Swalwell
Sykes
Takano
Thanedar
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tlaib
Tokuda
Tonko
Torres (CA)
Torres (NY)
Trahan
Trone
Underwood
Vargas
Vasquez
Veasey
Velazquez
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Wild
Williams (GA)
Wilson (FL)

NOT VOTING--15

Bishop (NC)
Bowman
Comer
Dingell
Escobar
Evans

[[Page H4097]]

Garamendi
Granger
Grijalva
Jackson Lee
Lee (NV)
Moulton
Murphy
Watson Coleman
Wexton

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). There are 2 minutes
remaining.

{time} 1107

So the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

PERSONAL EXPLANATION

Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I regrettably could not be present today to
vote on the Floor proceedings before the House. Had I been present, I
would have voted: NO on Roll Call No. 276, NO on Roll Call No. 277, YEA
on Roll Call 278, and NO on Roll Call No. 279.

PERSONAL EXPLANATION

Ms. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, my vote was not recorded today. Had
it been recorded, I would have voted NO on Roll Call No. 276, AYE on
Roll Call No. 277, YEA on Roll Call No. 278, and NO on Roll Call No.
279.

PERSONAL EXPLANATION

Ms. WEXTON. Mr. Speaker, I regret that I was not able to be present
to vote today. Had I been present, I would have voted NO on Roll Call
No. 276, NO on Roll Call No. 277, YEA on Roll Call No. 278, and NO on
Roll Call No. 279.

____________________