Sec. 531. Improvements to use of commercial software products
858 words·~4 min read·
/bill/117/hr/8367/rh/section-531A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress that— systems integration is a critical part of incorporating emerging technologies into the intelligence community; unfortunately, Congress understands that there remains an uneven approach across the intelligence community for contracting and executing system integration; such disparate policies lead to added administrative costs for both the intelligence community and commercial vendors, and inhibit integration and operationalization in a coordinated, efficient way; further, as a result of a lack of a cohesive policy, some contracts do not always adhere to the best practices of commercial software as a service product, or are executed by legacy contractors who create added expenses and sustainment costs, among other issues; and including standardized terms across intelligence community contracts can help reduce administrative and technical barriers to systems integration, make such integration more efficient and effective, and ensure that each contract comports with best practices and standard commercial software as a service feature.
Not later than January 1, 2024, the Director of Science and Technology of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the heads of the elements of the intelligence community, shall recommend to the Director of National Intelligence an intelligence community-wide policy to ensure that the procurement of commercial software products by the intelligence community is carried out in accordance with best practices. The policy under paragraph
(1)shall include the following: Guidelines for the heads of the elements of the intelligence community to determine which contracts for commercial software products are covered by the policy, including with respect to agreements, authorizations to operate, and other acquisition activities. Guidelines for using standardized terms in such contracts, modeled after commercial best practices, including common procedures and language regarding— terms for who is responsible for system integration under the contract; a timeline required for system integration; a mechanism included in each contract to ensure the ability of the vendor to provide continuous updates and version control for the software; a mechanism included in each contract that allows the United States Government to receive and use the latest updates for the software and receive such updates in near real-time; automatic technological mechanisms for security and data validation, including security protocols that are predicated on commercial best practices; and procedures to provide incentives, and a technical framework, for system integration for new commercial software solutions to fit within existing workflows and information technology infrastructure. Guidelines to ensure coordination of the policy throughout the intelligence community, including identifying the officials in each element of the intelligence who are responsible for enforcing the policy. Not later than January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the Director of National Intelligence shall submit to the congressional intelligence committees a report on the policy recommended under paragraph (1), including the following with respect to the period covered by the report: An evaluation of compliance with such policy by the elements of the intelligence community. An identification of the elements of such policy that achieve the goal referred to in paragraph (1), and the elements of such policy that fail to achieve such goal, including any concerns with system integration. Recommendations to better coordinate system integration throughout the intelligence community using best practices. For each element of the intelligence community— a description by the head of the element of specific successes and concerns in contracting for, and incorporating, system integration; and recommendations to improve the recommended policy. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Director of Science and Technology and the heads of the elements of the intelligence community that the Director of National Intelligence determines appropriate, shall implement a policy to promote the intelligence community-wide use of code-free artificial intelligence enablement tools. The policy under paragraph
(1)shall include the following: A detailed set of incentives for using code-free artificial intelligence enablement tools. A plan to ensure coordination throughout the intelligence community, including by designating an official of each element of the intelligence community to oversee implementation of the policy and such coordination. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National Intelligence shall submit to the congressional intelligence committees the proposed policy under paragraph (1), including a detailed plan and timeline for carrying out the incentives described in paragraph (2)(A). Not later than 1 year after commencing the implementation of the policy under paragraph (1), and annually thereafter for 3 years, the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Director of Science and Technology and the heads of the elements of the intelligence community that the Director of National Intelligence determines appropriate, shall submit to the congressional intelligence committees a report, or provide to such committees a briefing, that— details the success of the policy; includes statistics on the progress of the intelligence community in implementing code-free artificial intelligence enablement tools; and contains any recommendations for improvements or enhancements to the policy. In this section, the term code-free artificial intelligence enablement tools means software that provides an environment where visual drag-and-drop applications or similar tools allow 1 or more individuals to program applications without linear coding.