[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S4759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2436. Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Grassley, and Ms. Duckworth) 
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 
4638, 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; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

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

     SEC. 336. PILOT PROGRAM ON ARSENAL WORKLOAD SUSTAINMENT.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) The United States has a long and proud history of 
     manufacturing defense products.
       (2) Factories and arsenals of the Department of the Army 
     that are owned and operated by the United States Government 
     are a critical component of the organic industrial base.
       (3) The 2023 National Defense Industrial Strategy 
     recognizes the need of the Department of Defense to more 
     strategically utilize the organic industrial base in order to 
     maintain a competitive military advantage.
       (4) Sufficient workload at arsenals of the Department of 
     the Army that are owned and operated by the United States 
     Government ensure cost efficiency and technical competence in 
     peacetime, while preserving the ability to provide an 
     effective and timely response to mobilizations, national 
     defense contingency situations, and other emergency 
     requirements.
       (b) Establishment of Pilot Program.--Not later than 90 days 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
     Defense shall establish a pilot program to be known as the 
     ``Arsenal Workload Sustainment Pilot Program'' (in this 
     section referred to as the ``pilot program'').
       (c) Duration.--The pilot program shall be conducted for a 
     period of five years.
       (d) Preferences for Procurement Actions or Solicitations.--
       (1) In general.--In carrying out the pilot program, the 
     Secretary of Defense shall give a preference described in 
     paragraph (2) for any procurement action or solicitation by a 
     non-public partner who has entered into a public-private 
     partnership with the Secretary in the source selection 
     process if such non-public partner uses an arsenal of the 
     Department of the Army that is owned and operated by the 
     United States Government as a partner in any type of 
     contractual agreement with the United States Government.
       (2) Preference described.--A preference described in this 
     paragraph is the addition of 20 percent to the price of any 
     offer by a non-public partner that does not use an arsenal of 
     the Department of the Army that is owned and operated by the 
     United States Government as a partner in its bid for the same 
     procurement action or solicitation described in paragraph 
     (1).
       (3) Further preference.--In selecting non-public partners 
     under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense shall give 
     preference to non-public partners that--
       (A) utilize the Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence 
     of the Army; and
       (B) ensure not less than 25 percent of the activities under 
     the partnership are performed by employees of the Department 
     of Defense.
       (e) Report Required.--
       (1) In general.--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 a report 
     on the activities carried out under pilot program, including 
     a description of any operational challenges identified.
       (2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
     shall include the following:
       (A) A breakout, by relevant budget accounts, of workload at 
     an arsenal of the Department of the Army that is owned and 
     operated by the United States Government that was achieved in 
     the prior fiscal year, whether directly or through public-
     private partnerships under the pilot program.
       (B) An assessment of relevant budget accounts where such an 
     arsenal can be utilized to meet future procurement needs of 
     the Department of Defense, irrespective of cost.
       (C) An outlook of expected workload at each such arsenal 
     during the period covered by the future-years defense program 
     submitted to Congress under section 221 of title 10, United 
     States Code.
       (D) The capital investments required to be made at each 
     such arsenal in order to ensure compliance and operational 
     capacity.
       (f) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Armed Services and the Subcommittee on 
     Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Armed Services and the Subcommittee on 
     Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (2) Non-public partner.--The term ``non-public partner'' 
     means a corporation, individual, university, or nonprofit 
     organization that is not part of the United States 
     Government.
                                 ______