Sec. 1352. Authorization of sales of Virginia Class submarines to Australia

1,782 words·~8 min read·/bill/118/hr/2670/enr/section-1352·

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Effective beginning on the date that is one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President is authorized to transfer up to two Virginia Class submarines from the inventory of the Department of the Navy to the Government of Australia on a sale basis, and transfer not more than one additional Virginia Class submarine to the Government of Australia on a sale basis pursuant to section 21 of the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2761 ) during the 20-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, to implement the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (in this section referred to as the AUKUS partnership ).

The transfer of a vessel authorized under subsection

(a)shall not be subject to the requirements of— section 36 of the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2776 ); or section 8677 of title 10, United States Code. Any expense incurred by the United States in connection with a transfer of a vessel authorized under subsection

(a)shall be charged to the Government of Australia notwithstanding section 516(e) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2321j(e) ). Not later than 270 days prior to the transfer of a vessel authorized under subsection (a), the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and leadership a certification that— the transfer of such vessels— will not degrade the United States undersea capabilities; is consistent with United States foreign policy and national security interests; and is in furtherance of the AUKUS partnership; the United States is making sufficient submarine production and maintenance investments to meet the combination of United States military requirements and the requirements under subparagraph (A); the Government of Australia has provided the appropriate funds and support for the additional capacity required to meet the requirements identified in this section; and the Government Australia has the capability to host and fully operate the vessels authorized to be transferred. The requirement for the Chief of Naval Operations to make a certification under section 8678 of title 10, United States Code, shall not apply to the transfer of a vessel authorized under subsection (a). The President may not provide for the transfer of a vessel authorized under subsection

(a)unless the United States and Australia have entered into a mutual defense agreement that meets the requirements of subparagraph

(B)and such agreement is in effect. A mutual defense agreement meets the requirements described in this subparagraph if the agreement— provides a clear legal framework for the sole purpose of Australia’s acquisition of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines; and meets the highest nonproliferation standards for the exchange of nuclear materials, technology, equipment, and information between the United States and Australia. A transfer of vessel that is a Virginia class submarine on a sale basis other than a transfer described in subsection

(a)may occur only if such transfer is explicitly authorized pursuant to a law enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act. Notwithstanding any provision of law pertaining to the crediting of amounts received from a sale under the terms of section 21 of the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2761 ), any receipt of the United States as a result of a transfer of a vessel authorized under subsection

(a)shall— be credited, at the discretion of the President to— the appropriation, fund, or account used in incurring the original obligation; an appropriate appropriation, fund, or account currently available for the purposes for which the expenditures for the original acquisition of submarines transferred under this section were made; or any other appropriation, fund, or account available for the improvement of the United States submarine industrial base; and remain available for obligation until expended for the same purpose as the appropriation to which the receipt is credited. Not later than 30 days before the date of the delivery of the first vessel authorized to be transferred under subsection (a), the President shall notify the appropriate congressional committees and leadership of the following: The Government of Australia has achieved Submarine Rotational Forces-West full operational capability to support 4 rotationally deployed Virginia class submarines and one Astute class submarine, including having demonstrated the domestic capacity to fully perform all the associated activities necessary for the safe hosting and operation of nuclear-powered submarines. The Government of Australia has achieved sovereign-ready initial operational capability to support a Royal Australian Navy Virginia class submarine, including having demonstrated the domestic capacity to fully perform all the associated— activities necessary for the safe hosting and operation of nuclear-powered submarines; crewing; operations; regulatory and emergency procedures, including those specific to nuclear power plants; and detailed planning for enduring Virginia class submarine ownership, including each significant event leading up to and including nuclear defueling. Not later than 30 days after the date of a transfer of any vessel authorized under subsection (a), and upon any transfer or depositing of funds received pursuant to such a transfer, the President shall notify the appropriate congressional committees and leadership of— the amount of funds received pursuant to the transfer; and the specific account or fund into which the funds described in clause

(i)are deposited. Not later than 30 days after the receipt of funds as described in subparagraph (B), the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and leadership a report on the matters described in clauses

(i)and

(ii)of subparagraph (A). With respect to any special nuclear material for use in utilization facilities or any portion of a vessel transferred under the authority of subsection

(a)constituting utilization facilities for military applications under section 91 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 ( 42 U.S.C. 2121 ), the transfer of such material or such facilities shall only occur in accordance with such section 91. The President may use proceeds from a transfer described in subparagraph

(1)for the acquisition of submarine naval nuclear propulsion plants and the nuclear fuel to replace the propulsion plants and fuel transferred to the Government of Australia. Section 8680 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— by redesignating subsection

(c)as subsection (d); and by inserting after subsection

(b)the following new subsection: Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, and subject to paragraph (2), the President shall determine the appropriate public or private shipyard in the United States, Australia, or the United Kingdom to perform any repair or refurbishment of a United States submarine involved in submarine security activities between the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The President may determine under paragraph

(1)that repair or refurbishment described in such paragraph may be performed in Australia or the United Kingdom only if— such repair or refurbishment will facilitate the development of repair or refurbishment capabilities in the United Kingdom or Australia; such repair or refurbishment will be for a United States submarine that is operating forward outside of the United States; or the Secretary of Defense certifies to Congress that performing such repair or refurbishment at a shipyard in Australia or the United Kingdom is required due to an exigent threat to the national security interests of the United States. In making a determination under subparagraph (A), the President shall consider any effects of such determination on the capacity and capability of shipyards in the United States. Not later than 15 days after the date on which the Secretary of Defense makes a certification under subparagraph (A)(iii), the Secretary shall brief the congressional defense committees on— the threat that requires the use of a shipyard in Australia or the United Kingdom; and opportunities to mitigate the future potential need to leverage foreign shipyards. Repair or refurbishment described in paragraph

(1)may be carried out by personnel and contractors of the United States, the United Kingdom, or Australia in accordance with the international arrangements governing the submarine security activities described in such paragraph. . The President may transfer or authorize the export of defense services (as such term is defined in section 47 of the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2794 )) to the Government of Australia and the Government of the United Kingdom necessary or incidental to support the transfer and operation of vessels authorized under subsection (a). The transfer or export of defense services under this subsection may be directly exported to private and public-sector personnel of Australia or to private and public-sector personnel of the United Kingdom to support the development of the Australian submarine industrial base necessary for submarine security activities between members of the AUKUS partnership, including in the case in which such private and public-sector personnel are not officers, employees, or agents of the Government of Australia or the Government of the United Kingdom. Any person who receives any defense service transferred or exported under paragraph

(1)may retransfer or reexport such service to other persons only in accordance with the requirements of the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq. ). Any defense service transferred or exported under paragraph

(1)shall be subject to appropriate security controls to ensure that any sensitive information conveyed by such transfer or export is protected from disclosure to persons unauthorized by the United States to receive such information. Not later than 30 days before the first transfer or export of a defense service under paragraph (1), and annually thereafter, the President shall certify to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that the controls described in subparagraph

(A)will protect the information described in such subparagraph for the defense services so transferred or exported. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter for 15 years, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and leadership a report describing— the status of the transfer of vessels authorized under subsection (a); the implementation of submarine security cooperation under the AUKUS partnership and challenges towards its implementation; expansion of the public and private Virginia class submarine production and repair facilities, to include proposed work conducted in Australia and the United Kingdom to meet the additional work required by commitments under the AUKUS partnership; an annual procurement schedule for the total quantity of submarines the Department of Defense plans to procure over the 15 years following the date of the enactment of this Act; and a list of transfers or exports of defense services authorized under subsection

(h)and the private-sector personnel of Australia or the private-sector personnel of the United Kingdom to whom the defense services were exported. The report required by this subsection shall be submitted in classified form.

Connectionstraces to 6

Traces to 6 documents

U.S. Code

Citation graph

cites case law

Sec. 1352

Authorization of sales of Virginia Class submarines to Australia

Cites 6Cited by 0 across 0 sources