Sec. 2877. REVIEW OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

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## SEC. 2877 REVIEW OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ###

(a)In General Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Defense shall seek to enter into a contract with a federally funded research and development center, or a team consisting of a federally funded research and development center with a private management consulting group, not sponsored by the Department of the Army or the Department of the Navy, to review the roles and responsibilities for executing construction projects for the Department of Defense, including military construction projects and facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization projects. ###

(b)Report Not later than February 1, 2026, the federally funded research and development center shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on such review. ###

(c)Elements The report required under subsection

(b)shall include the following: ####

(1)An assessment of the design and construction delivery processes of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, which shall— #####

(A)include the composition of the design delivery and construction delivery team for each entity; and #####

(B)identify whether specialized engineering or technical authority is required for a defense construction agent to recapitalize the public shipyards or specialized weapon systems, including a ground based strategic deterrent. ####

(2)An identification of the total number of members of the Armed Forces, civilian employees of the Federal Government, and contractors by specialty (such as job series or military occupation code) involved in executing construction projects for the Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, which shall— #####

(A)include individuals involving in the planing, design, award, and oversight of military construction projects and facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization projects for major repairs; and #####

(B)exclude all individuals serving in civil works positions unless those individuals directly support programs of the Department of Defense. ####

(3)An assessment of— #####

(A)whether the number of members of the Armed Forces, civilian employees of the Federal Government, and contractors identified pursuant to paragraph

(2)is adequate to support the functions and requirements of the respective entities that employ members, employees, and contractors; and #####

(B)whether additional members of the Armed Forces, civilian employees of the Federal Government, and contractors would be needed to support such functions and requirements; #####

(C)whether the current workforce of such entities has the skills and expertise to execute the recommendations of such report, if applicable. ####

(4)If applicable, a discussion of the skills and expertise required to execute the recommendations included in such report that such current workforce lacks as of the date of the submission of such report. ####

(5)An assessment of the internal controls of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command used to ensure funds associated with military construction projects and facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization projects, including overhead, supervision, and administration, are properly charged to the correct appropriation account (whether for military construction or defense) at all levels of each entity, which shall include an assessment of— #####

(A)an assessment of the similarities and differences with respect to the financial processes; #####

(B)an assessment of supervision and construction schedules; and #####

(C)the advantages and disadvantages to internal controls and cost and schedule adherence if a single construction agent for military construction were created. ####

(6)An assessment of the real estate functions performed by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, which shall include— #####

(A)an assessment of the similarities and differences between delivery methodologies and authorities; #####

(B)an assessment of the costs and funding sources of providing real estate services; and #####

(C)an identification of the advantages and disadvantages to real estate services if a single construction agent for military construction were created. ####

(7)An assessment of the global geographic regions that the Army Corps of Engineers, the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, and any other construction agent of the Department of Defense cover, which shall include— #####

(A)the geographic roles those entities support with respect to host-nation funded construction, non-military construction, and infrastructure support in connection with foreign military sales; and #####

(B)a recommendation for an optimal geographic regional layout if a single construction agent for military construction were created. ####

(8)An assessment of the construction performance measures of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Systems Command, which shall include— #####

(A)an assessment of industry engagement and best practices; #####

(B)an assessment of decision-making authorities, processes, and timelines; #####

(C)an assessment of fund sources and their uses; #####

(D)an assessment of military construction performance of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Systems Command, in comparison with global construction trends during fiscal years 2019 through 2024; #####

(E)an identification of business systems and processes that can be implemented jointly by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Systems Command to improve military construction performance; and #####

(F)the advantages and disadvantages to construction performance if a single construction agent for military construction were created. ####

(9)An assessment of the infrastructure requirement generation process and the cost estimation procedures used by the Army Corps of Engineers and Naval Facilities System Command and the efficacy of such procedures for providing an accurate cost estimate at the time such estimate is included in the submission to Congress of the budget of the President pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, for each fiscal year, which shall include an assessment of— #####

(A)guidance provided to the proponent for the project on how to define infrastructure requirements; #####

(B)guidance provided to the proponent for the project with respect to best practices for accurate cost estimation; #####

(C)the process by which the applicable construction agent— ######

(i)assesses the validity of a cost estimate; and ######

(ii)communicates concerns about the validity of such cost estimate to maximize the accuracy of such cost estimate before such cost estimate is included in such budget; and #####

(D)the degree to which the Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command have common definitions and common practices for evaluating the validity of such cost estimates. ####

(10)An assessment of the uses of the Army Corps of Engineers to provide capabilities not associated with the designation of such Corps as a Department of Defense design and construction agent, which shall include an assessment of— #####

(A)the capabilities and expertise of the Army Corps of Engineers provided to military installations of the Department of the Army; and #####

(B)the extent to which a consolidation of construction agents would affect— ######

(i)the ability of the Army Corps of Engineers to provide such capabilities and expertise; and ######

(ii)other functions and statutory missions of the Army Corps of Engineers. ####

(11)An assessment of the use by the Department of the Navy of the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command to perform other functions not associated with the designation of such Command as a Department of Defense design and construction agent, which shall include an assessment of— #####

(A)the public works functions and services provided by the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command to military installations of the Department of the Navy, including the advantages and disadvantages to such functions and services if a single construction agent for military construction were created; #####

(B)all other authorities of and functions provided by Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, including the advantages and disadvantages to such functions and services if a single construction agent for military construction were created; and #####

(C)an assessment of the effect of removing certain Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command functions from the Navy Working Capital Fund system. ####

(12)An assessment of the policy, procedures, organizations, and systems used by the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force for the design and construction of facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization projects, including an assessment of any modifications required if a single construction agent for military construction were to be created. ####

(13)An assessment of the data and software systems used by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, and any other entity of the Department of Defense for tracking the execution of planning, design, and construction of military construction projects and asset management of the completed project, including— #####

(A)an assessment of interoperability between such data and software systems and similar systems used by other entities of the Department of Defense; #####

(B)an assessment of the differences, weaknesses, currency, and transparency of data provided to the sponsors of such projects within the Department of Defense; and #####

(C)the advantages, disadvantages, and benefits of consolidating or standardizing such systems if a single construction agent for military construction were created. ####

(14)Documentation of the current organizational alignment of authorities from title 10, United States Code, with the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the military departments and the alignment of those authorities with the construction authorities within the Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, including authorities relating to acquisition, technical authority, finances, and real estate. ####

(15)An identification of the potential cost savings and performance improvements to the Department of the Army and the Department of the Navy if a single construction agent for military construction were created. ####

(16)An identification of existing efficiencies and operational benefits that the Department of the Army and the Department of the Navy gain from the designation of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command as Department of Defense design and construction agents. ####

(17)An identification of not less than two alternatives for how the authorities and organizations relating to construction for the Department of Defense could align if a single construction agent were to align under one principal staff assistant to the Secretary of Defense as a defense agency or field activity of the Department of Defense. ####

(18)An assessment of the costs of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command carrying out the functions of such entities, including any redundant costs, the potential efficiencies of consolidation into a single construction agent, an estimate for the number of required personnel, and required specialties. ###

(d)Briefings Required ####

(1)Initial briefing Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary of Defense enters into a contract pursuant to subsection (a), the federally funded research and development center shall provide to Congress a briefing on the review required under such contract. Such briefing shall include an estimated timeline for the completion of such review. ####

(2)Quarterly briefings On a quarterly basis after the date on which the federally funded research and development center provides the briefing under paragraph (1), the federally funded research and development center shall provide to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a briefing on the progress of such review.