Sec. 846. Support for defense manufacturing communities to support the defense industrial base
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The Secretary of Defense may, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce and working in coordination with the defense manufacturing institutes, establish within the Department of Defense a program to make long-term investments in critical skills, facilities, research and development, and small business support in order to strengthen the national security innovation base by designating and supporting consortiums as defense manufacturing communities. The program authorized by this section shall be known as the Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program (in this section referred to as the Program ).
The Secretary of Defense may designate eligible consortiums as defense manufacturing communities through a competitive process, and in coordination with the defense manufacturing institutes. The Secretary may establish eligibility criteria for a consortium to participate in the Program. In developing such criteria, the Secretary may consider the merits of— including members from academia, defense industry, commercial industry, and State and local government organizations; supporting efforts in geographical regions that have capabilities in key technologies or industrial base supply chains that are determined critical to national security; optimal consortium composition and size to promote effectiveness, collaboration, and efficiency; and complementarity with defense manufacturing institutes.
Each designation under paragraph
(1)shall be for a period of five years. The Secretary may renew a designation made under paragraph
(1)for up to two additional two-year periods. Any designation as a defense manufacturing community or renewal of such designation that is in effect before the date of the enactment of this Act shall count toward the limit set forth in this subparagraph. The Secretary shall establish criteria for the renewal of a consortium. In establishing such criteria, the Secretary may consider— the performance of the consortium in meeting the established goals of the Program; the progress the consortium has made with respect to project-specific metrics, particularly with respect to those metrics that were designed to help communities track their own progress; whether any changes to the composition of the eligible consortium or revisions of the plan for the consortium would improve the capabilities of the defense industrial base; the effectiveness of coordination with defense manufacturing institutes; and such other criteria as the Secretary considers appropriate. An eligible consortium seeking a designation under paragraph
(1)shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require. In developing such procedures, the Secretary may consider the inclusion of— a description of the regional boundaries of the consortium, and the defense manufacturing capacity of the region; an evidence-based plan for enhancing the defense industrial base through the efforts of the consortium; the investments the consortium proposes and the strategy of the consortium to address gaps in the defense industrial base; a description of the outcome-based metrics, benchmarks, and milestones that will track and the evaluation methods that will be used to gauge performance of the consortium; how the initiatives will complement defense manufacturing institutes; and such other matters as the Secretary considers appropriate. Under the Program, the Secretary of Defense may award financial or technical assistance to a member of a consortium designated as a defense manufacturing community under the Program as appropriate for purposes of the Program. A recipient of financial or technical assistance under the Program may use such financial or technical assistance to support an investment that will improve the defense industrial base. Investments supported under this subsection may include activities not already provided for by defense manufacturing institutes on— equipment or facility upgrades; workforce training, retraining, or recruitment and retention, including that of women and underrepresented minorities; business incubators; advanced research and commercialization, including with Federal laboratories and depots; supply chain development; and small business assistance. The Secretary of Defense may accept amounts transferred to the Secretary from the head of another agency or a State or local governmental organization to carry out this section.