[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S3312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6104. Mr. CRUZ (for himself and Mr. Kaine) 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 end of subtitle C of title II, add the following:
SEC. 235. PILOT PROGRAM ON SAFETY AND QUALIFICATION OF
PRINTABLE ENERGETIC FEEDSTOCKS FOR ADDITIVE
MANUFACTURING.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Defense shall
establish a pilot program, to be carried out by the Under
Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, in
coordination with the Capability Program Executive,
Ammunition and Energetics (or successor organization) and
appropriate service acquisition executives, to evaluate the
safety, quality, and qualification pathways of printable
energetic feedstocks for controlled additive manufacturing
applications.
(b) Purpose.--The purposes of the pilot program are--
(1) to determine whether the use of printable energetic
feedstocks can improve handling safety, process stability,
lot-to-lot consistency, and supply chain resilience relative
to traditional energetics manufacturing and handling methods;
(2) to analyze logistics impact on throughput, waste,
defect rate, and constituent material availability versus
state-of-the-art legacy processes;
(3) to develop and validate new test and evaluation
methods, if necessary, including metrology and digital
quality assurance, suitable for assessing printable energetic
feedstocks for Department of Defense use;
(4) to assess applicability of printable energetic
feedstocks to existing or planned munition and energetics
modernization efforts, consistent with explosive safety,
security, and environmental requirements, that provide an
advantage in performance or logistics; and
(5) to identify barriers to adoption, including
infrastructure, standards, certification, and workforce
requirements.
(c) Activities.--Activities under the pilot program may
include--
(1) identification, assessment, and characterization of
representative printable energetic feedstocks and their
performance consistency under controlled conditions;
(2) development of qualification criteria and data packages
to inform safety releases, waivers, or certifications as
appropriate;
(3) limited demonstrations at Government facilities or
contractor facilities that meet all applicable explosive
safety and security requirements;
(4) development of nonproprietary standards, metrology
approaches, and digital thread quality controls for printable
energetic feedstocks; and
(5) analysis of operational impacts via wargaming or
mission/campaign modeling and experimental performance data.
(d) Comparative Safety Assessment Required.--As a core
element of the pilot program, the Secretary of Defense shall
conduct a comparative assessment of the safety of the use of
printable energetic feedstocks relative to traditional
energetics manufacturing and handling, including, at a
minimum--
(1) hazards and risks associated with storage, transport,
handling, and processing;
(2) sensitivity and response to credible stimuli (including
thermal and mechanical stimuli) using appropriate test
standards;
(3) process safety considerations, including potential
failure modes and mitigations for controlled additive
manufacturing workflows;
(4) accident and incident risk modeling (including
qualitative and quantitative risk assessment where feasible);
and
(5) recommended safety controls, facility requirements, and
operational constraints for any future operational use.
(e) Safety and Security Requirements.--The Secretary of
Defense shall ensure that activities under the pilot
program--
(1) are conducted only at facilities compliant with
applicable explosive safety siting, storage, handling, and
operating requirements;
(2) incorporate counter-diversion safeguards, inventory
accountability, and chain-of-custody controls;
(3) apply cybersecurity and access controls for any digital
manufacturing files, process parameters, and quality records;
and
(4) do not authorize dissemination of restricted
manufacturing parameters outside approved Government and
cleared-industry channels.
(f) Reporting.--Not later than 180 days after initiation of
the pilot program, and annually thereafter for the duration
of the pilot program, the Secretary shall submit to the
congressional defense committees a report that includes--
(1) pilot objectives, participants, test locations, and
safety governance structure;
(2) test methodologies, standards used, and key safety and
quality metrics;
(3) results of activities conducted under subsection (c),
including identification, assessment, and characterization of
representative printable energetic feedstocks,
demonstrations, qualification criteria, data packages, and
standard development;
(4) results of the comparative safety assessment required
under subsection (d), including identified hazards,
mitigations, and residual risk;
(5) an assessment of cost, schedule, and scalability
relative to traditional energetics manufacturing and
handling;
(6) recommended qualification and certification pathways,
including any standards gaps; and
(7) any recommended legislative, regulatory, or resourcing
actions required to enable safe adoption.
(g) Duration.--The pilot program shall be carried out for
not more than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this
section.
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