[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 103 (Thursday, June 18, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S2973]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 5885. Mr. YOUNG submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

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

     SEC. ____. PILOT PROGRAM ON USE OF SUBSCRIPTION-BASED FUNDING 
                   MODEL AT MAJOR RANGE AND TEST FACILITY BASE.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 270 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary of Defense for 
     Research and Engineering shall, acting through the Director 
     of the Test Resource Management Center, commence carrying out 
     a pilot program to determine the feasibility, effectiveness, 
     and operational impacts of implementing a subscription-based 
     funding model for test and evaluation facilities.
       (b) Requirements.--The pilot program required by subsection 
     (a) shall--
       (1) be conducted during the two-year period beginning on 
     the date of the commencement of the pilot program;
       (2) include not fewer than two cyber-physical test and 
     training ranges designated by the Director of the Test 
     Resource Management Center;
       (3) include at least one cyber-physical test and training 
     range operated by, or under the authority of, the National 
     Guard of a State;
       (4) provide for participation by military departments, 
     defense agencies, combat support agencies, federally funded 
     research and development centers, and such other Department 
     of Defense entities as the Director considers appropriate; 
     and
       (5) evaluate the applicability of subscription-based 
     funding to cyber, cyber-physical, electronic warfare, 
     modeling and simulation, and integrated test environments 
     associated with the participating ranges.
       (c) Subscription-based Funding Model.--For purposes of the 
     pilot program required by subsection (a), the Under Secretary 
     shall establish a funding structure under which participating 
     organizations pay recurring subscription fees in exchange for 
     access to specified range capabilities, infrastructure, 
     services, test environments, cybersecurity resources, data 
     management capabilities, and related support functions, in 
     lieu of or in combination with traditional reimbursable or 
     direct-user funding mechanisms.
       (d) Elements.--In carrying out the pilot program required 
     by subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall--
       (1) establish subscription tiers or other recurring funding 
     arrangements designed to support baseline operational, 
     sustainment, modernization, and cybersecurity costs of 
     participating ranges;
       (2) assess the extent to which a subscription-based model 
     improves funding predictability, resource utilization, 
     infrastructure availability, and mission readiness;
       (3) evaluate impacts on range scheduling, access, 
     interoperability, and support for developmental testing, 
     operational testing, training, experimentation, and rapid 
     prototyping activities;
       (4) identify authority constraints or other challenges 
     associated with broader implementation of such a model;
       (5) measure effects on cost recovery, user demand, and 
     long-term sustainment of cyber-physical range capabilities; 
     and
       (6) develop recommendations regarding whether and how a 
     subscription-based funding model could be expanded to 
     additional test and evaluation facilities.
       (e) Selection of Participating Ranges.--In selecting ranges 
     for participation in the pilot program required by subsection 
     (a), the Under Secretary shall prioritize cyber-physical 
     ranges that--
       (1) support joint testing, training, or experimentation 
     activities;
       (2) integrate operational technology, cyber, 
     communications, electronic warfare, or weapon-system testing 
     capabilities; and
       (3) can provide representative data regarding the 
     scalability of subscription-based funding approaches across 
     test and evaluation facilities.
       (f) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall submit to 
     the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the 
     Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a 
     report describing the following:
       (1) The actions taken under subsection (a).
       (2) The status of implementation of integration required by 
     such subsection.
       (3) Any exceptions to full integration under subsection 
     (b)(2).
       (4) The reasons for the exceptions described in paragraph 
     (3).
       (g) Briefing.--Not later than 30 days after the date on 
     which the Under Secretary submits the report required by 
     subsection (f), the Under Secretary shall provide the 
     Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee 
     on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a briefing 
     on the matters covered by the report.
                                 ______