Sec. 1026. Expansion of shipbuilding infrastructure of the Navy
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/bill/118/s/4638/rs/section-1026·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 231 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— by redesignating subsection
(g)as subsection (h); and by inserting after subsection
(f)the following new subsection: The Commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command shall ensure that cost estimates developed for the construction of new classes or new block upgrades of vessels do not take into account any commercial or nongovernmental specifications unless— the senior technical authority determines in writing that such a commercial or nongovernmental specification is likely to be approved; or the contract solicitation expressly allows such a commercial or nongovernmental specification and excludes entirely any alternative specification issued by the Department of Defense. . Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition, in coordination with the Commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command (commonly known as NAVSEA ), shall submit to the congressional defense committees and the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering a report detailing— all references to external specifications regardless of source, including military specifications, NAVSEA instructions, American Bureau of Shipbuilding standards, and other standards, that were included on the Constellation -class frigate solicitation; which specifications described in subparagraph
(A)provided for alternative specifications conditional on NAVSEA approval; how many alternative specifications described in subparagraph
(B)were requested by the contractor awarded the Constellation -class frigate detail design and construction contract in comparison to how many alternative specifications were ultimately approved by NAVSEA; and an explanation for why such requests for alternative specifications described in subparagraph
(C)were not approved by NAVSEA. The Secretary of the Navy shall take such actions as are necessary for the Navy to adopt recommendations 1, 3, 4, and 6 in the report of the Government Accountability Office entitled, Navy Shipbuilding: Increased Use of Leading Design Practices Could Improve Timeliness of Deliveries , and dated May 2, 2024 (GAO–24–105503). Section 8669a of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: The Secretary of the Navy shall ensure that the process for source selection for new classes of vessels gives ample emphasis to the realism of the ability of offerors to deliver the program requirements on schedule by requiring the inclusion of factors, to the maximum extent practicable, that consider— strategic outsourcing for major components to be fabricated and outfitted across the United States, including in the noncontiguous states of Alaska and Hawaii, and later assembled at the contracted build yard; and the prime contractor’s yard-wide staffing information, such as allocation of workforce to the existing and likely backlog of work and rates of hiring and attrition, that support the realism of the staffing proposed staffing plans, and if the contractor requires additional staffing, local workforce statistics, such as demographics, pay bands, and recruiting pipelines. . Section 8669b of such title is amended— by redesignating subsection
(d)as subsection (e); and by inserting after subsection
(c)the following new subsection: The Naval Systems Engineering and Logistics Directorate (SEA 05) of Naval Sea Systems Command and the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Systems
(N9)shall collaborate with respect to the use of funds available for ship design, research, and development from the beginning of the requirements process till the award of a shipbuilding contract. . Section 231(b) of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: In developing an annual naval vessel construction plan for purposes of subsection (a)(1), the Secretary of the Navy shall minimize, to the maximum extent practicable, variations in procurement profiles from year-to-year across the period of the future-years defense program. The Secretary shall include in the annual naval vessel construction plan a detailed explanation for any change in procurement during the period of the future-years defense program that decreases the number of vessels to be procured by a class. .