Sec. 1099. National tabletop exercise
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Not later than 365 days of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct a tabletop exercise designed to test the resiliency of the United States across all aspects of national power in the event of an invasion of a covered defense partner. The Secretary may conduct subsequent similar exercises on a biennial basis. A tabletop exercise under this section shall be prepared by Department of Defense personnel. In accordance with applicable laws and regulations regarding the protection of national security information, the Secretary may invite non-Government individuals or entities to participate in a tabletop exercise under this section.
The Secretary may invite allies and partners of the United States to participate in a tabletop exercise under this section. The Secretary may invite representatives from the executive and legislative branches of the Federal Government to observe a tabletop exercise under this section. The Secretary shall plan and execute a tabletop exercise under this section in consultation with the heads of the Federal departments and agencies who participate in the exercise, as determined by the Secretary.
A tabletop exercise under this section shall be designed to evaluate the following elements: The Federal Government response across all elements of national power to an invasion of a covered defense partner. The ability of the United States covered Armed Forces, alongside allied and partner militaries, to defeat an invasion of a covered defense partner. The resilience of domestic critical infrastructure and logistical chokepoints that may inhibit the mobility of the United States covered Armed Forces in responding to an invasion of a covered defense partner.
The ability of the United States to coordinate an effective international public and private sector response. Not later than 180 days after the date on which at tabletop exercise is conducted under this section, the Secretary shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees a briefing on the exercise. A briefing under paragraph
(1)shall include— an assessment of the decision-making, capability, and response gaps observed in the tabletop exercise; recommendations to improve the response of the United States across all elements of national power in the case of an invasion of a covered defense partner; recommendations to improve the domestic resiliency and vulnerability of critical infrastructure of the United States in the case of an invasion of a covered defense partner; and appropriate strategies to address the recommendations identified in subparagraphs
(B)and (C). In this section: The term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives; and the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs of the Senate. The term covered Armed Force means— The Army. The Navy. The Marine Corps. The Air Force. The Space Force. The term covered defense partner means a country that is— identified as a partner in the document entitled Department of Defense Indo-Pacific Strategy Report issued on June 1, 2019; and located within 100 miles of the coast of a strategic competitor. The term tabletop exercise means an activity— in which key personnel assigned high-level roles and responsibilities are gathered to deliberate various simulated emergency or rapid response situations; and that is designed to be used to assess the adequacy of plans, policies, procedures, training, resources, and relationships or agreements that guide prevention of, response to, and recovery from a defined event.