Sec. 119. Study of the future of the United States Army Corps of Engineers
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The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to convene a committee of experts to carry out a comprehensive study on— the ability of the Corps of Engineers to carry out its statutory missions and responsibilities, and the potential effects of transferring the functions (including regulatory obligations), personnel, assets, and civilian staff responsibilities of the Secretary relating to civil works from the Department of Defense to a new or existing agency or subagency of the Federal Government, including how such a transfer might affect the Federal Government’s ability to meet the current statutory missions and responsibilities of the Corps of Engineers; and improving the Corps of Engineers’ project delivery processes, including recommendations for such improvements, taking into account factors including— the effect of the annual appropriations process on the ability of the Corps of Engineers to efficiently secure and carry out contracts for water resources projects and perform regulatory obligations; the effect that the current Corps of Engineers leadership and geographic structure at the division and district levels has on its ability to carry out its missions in a cost-effective manner; and the effect of the frequency of rotations of senior leaders of the Corps of Engineers and how such frequency affects the function of the district.
The study carried out under subsection
(a)shall include consideration of— effects on the national security of the United States; the ability of the Corps of Engineers to maintain sufficient engineering capability and capacity to assist ongoing and future operations of the United States armed services; and emergency and natural disaster response obligations of the Federal Government that are carried out by the Corps of Engineers. The agreement entered into under subsection
(a)shall require the National Academy to, in carrying out the study, consult with— the Department of Defense, including the Secretary of the Army and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works; the Department of Transportation; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Department of Homeland Security; the Office of Management and Budget; other appropriate Federal agencies; professional and nongovernmental organizations; and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate. The Secretary shall submit the final report of the National Academy containing the findings of the study carried out under subsection
(a)to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.