Calendar No. 165

[Report No. 115–125]

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. Short title.

SEC. 2. Organization of Act into divisions; table of contents.

(a) Divisions.—This Act is organized into four divisions as follows:

(1) Division A—Department of Defense Authorizations.

(2) Division B—Military Construction Authorizations.

(3) Division C—Department of Energy National Security Authorizations and Other Authorizations.

(4) Division D—Funding Tables.

(b) Table of contents.—The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

SEC. 3. Congressional defense committees.

SEC. 4. Budgetary effects of this Act.

SEC. 101. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 111. Transfer of excess High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles to foreign countries.

(a) Transfers.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 153 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 2581 the following new section:

Ҥ 2581a. Transfer of excess High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) to foreign countries

“(a) Requirements.— (1) Before an excess High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) is transferred on a grant or sales basis to a foreign country for the purpose of operation by that country, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the HMMWV receives the same new, modernized powertrain and a modernized, armored or armor-capable crew compartment restored to like-new condition that the HMMWV would receive if it were to be modernized for operational use by the armed forces.

“(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘the same new, modernized powertrain’—

“(A) means a fully-functioning new powertrain system; and

“(B) does not mean an individual part, component, subassembly, assembly, or subsystem integral to the functioning of the powertrain system such as a new engine or transmission.

“(3) Any work performed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be performed in the United States and shall be covered by section 2460(b)(1) of this title.

“(b) Waiver.—Subject to the requirements of subsection (c), the Secretary may waive the requirements of subsection (a)(1) if the Secretary determines in writing that such an exception is required by the national security interests of the United States.

“(c) Notification.— (1) If the Secretary makes a written determination under subsection (b), the Secretary may not transfer excess HMMWVs until 30 days after the Secretary has provided notice of the proposed transfer to the congressional defense committees. The notification shall include—

“(A) the total quantity of HMMWVs, the serial and model numbers of each individual HMMWV, and the age, condition, and expected useful life of each individual HMMWV to be transferred;

“(B) the recipient of the HMMWVs, the intended use of the HMMWVs, and a description of the national security interests of the United States necessitating the transfer;

“(C) an explanation of why it is not in the national security interests of the United States to make the transfer in accordance with the requirements of subsection (a);

“(D) the impact on the national technology and industrial base and, particularly, any reduction of the opportunities of entities in the national technology and industrial base to sell new or used HMMWVs to the countries to which the proposed transfer of HMMWVs is to take place; and

“(E) the names of all entities in the national technology and industrial base consulted as part of the determination in subsection (D), as well as the dates when and the names, titles, and affiliations of all individuals with whom such consultations took place.

“(2) The Secretary shall make the notification required under this subsection in accordance with the procedures specified in section 060403 of volume 3, chapter 6, of the Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation.”.

(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 2581 the following new item:

(b) Effective date.—Section 2581a of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to transfers of High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles on and after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 112. Limitation on availability of funds for Army Air-Land Mobile Tactical Communications and Data Network, including Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T).

(a) Limitation.—No funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2018 for other procurement, Army, and available for the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T), Increment 2 (Inc 2) program may be obligated or expended until the Secretary of the Army submits the report required under subsection (b).

(b) Report.—The Secretary of the Army shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report describing how the Army intends to implement the recommendations related to air-land ad-hoc, mobile tactical communications and data networks provided by the Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) pursuant to section 237 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114–92; 129 Stat. 781).

SEC. 121. Multiyear procurement authority for Virginia class submarine program.

(a) Authority for multiyear procurement.—Subject to section 2306b of title 10, United States Code, the Secretary of the Navy may enter into one or more multiyear contracts, beginning with the fiscal year 2019 program year, for the procurement of up to 13 Virginia class submarines.

(b) Authority for advance procurement.—The Secretary of the Navy may enter into one or more contracts, beginning in fiscal year 2018, for advance procurement associated with the Virginia Class submarines for which authorization to enter into a multiyear procurement contract is provided under subsection (a), and for equipment or subsystems associated with the Virginia Class submarine program, including procurement of—

(1) long lead time material; or

(2) material or equipment in economic order quantities when cost savings are achievable.

(c) Condition for out-year contract payments.—A contract entered into under subsection (a) shall provide that any obligation of the United States to make a payment under the contract for a fiscal year after fiscal year 2019 is subject to the availability of appropriations or funds for that purpose for such fiscal year.

(d) Limitation on termination liability.—A contract for construction of Virginia Class submarines entered into in accordance with subsection (a) shall include a clause that limits the liability of the United States to the contractor for any termination of the contract. The maximum liability of the United States under the clause shall be the amount appropriated for the submarines covered by the contract regardless of the amount obligated under the contract.

SEC. 122. Arleigh Burke class destroyers.

(a) Authority for multiyear procurement.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 2306b of title 10, United States Code, the Secretary of the Navy may enter into one or more multiyear contracts, beginning not earlier than the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018, for the procurement of up to 15 Arleigh Burke class Flight III guided missile destroyers.

(2) AUTHORITY FOR ADVANCE PROCUREMENT.—The Secretary of the Navy may enter into one or more contracts, beginning in fiscal year 2018, for advance procurement associated with the destroyers for which authorization to enter into a multiyear procurement contract is provided under paragraph (1), and for systems and subsystems associated with such destroyers in economic order quantities when cost savings are achievable.

(3) CONDITION FOR OUT-YEAR CONTRACT PAYMENTS.—A contract entered into under paragraph (1) shall provide that any obligation of the United States to make a payment under the contract for a fiscal year after fiscal year 2018 is subject to the availability of appropriations or funds for that purpose for such fiscal year.

(b) Modification to procurement of additional arleigh burke class destroyer.—Section 125(a)(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114–92) is amended by striking “to be procured either” and inserting “to be procured using a fixed-price contract either”.

SEC. 123. Multiyear procurement authority for V–22 joint aircraft program.

(a) Authority for multiyear procurement.—Subject to section 2306b of title 10, United States Code, the Secretary of Defense may enter into one or more multiyear contracts, beginning with the fiscal year 2018 program year, for the procurement of V–22 aircraft. Notwithstanding subsection (k) of such section 2306b, the Secretary of Defense may enter into a multiyear contract under this section for up to five years.

(b) Condition for out-year contract payments.—A contract entered into under subsection (a) shall provide that any obligation of the United States to make a payment under the contract for a fiscal year after fiscal year 2018 is subject to the availability of appropriations for that purpose for such later fiscal year.

SEC. 124. Design and construction of amphibious ship replacement designated LX(R) or amphibious transport dock designated LPD–30.

(a) In general.—The Secretary of the Navy may enter into a contract, beginning with the fiscal year 2018 program year, for the design and construction of the amphibious ship replacement designated LX(R) or the amphibious transport dock designated LPD–30 using amounts authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Defense for Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy.

(b) Use of incremental funding.—With respect to the contract entered into under subsection (a), the Secretary may use incremental funding to make payments under the contract.

(c) Condition for out-year contract payments.—The contract entered into under subsection (a) shall provide that any obligation of the United States to make a payment under such contract for any fiscal year after fiscal year 2018 is subject to the availability of appropriations for that purpose for such fiscal year.

SEC. 125. Modification of cost limitation baseline for CVN–78 class aircraft carrier program.

“(2) CVN–79.—The total amount obligated from funds appropriated or otherwise made available for Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy, or for any other procurement account, for the aircraft carrier designated CVN–79 may not exceed $11,398,000,000 (as adjusted pursuant to subsection (b)).

“(3) FOLLOW-ON SHIPS.—The total amount obligated from funds appropriated or otherwise made available for Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy, or for any other procurement account, for any ship that is constructed in the CVN–78 class of aircraft carriers after CVN–79 may not exceed $12,000,000,000 (as adjusted pursuant to subsection (b)).”.

SEC. 126. Extension of limitation on use of sole-source shipbuilding contracts for certain vessels.

SEC. 131. Inventory requirement for Air Force fighter aircraft.

(a) Inventory requirement.—Section 8062 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(i) Inventory requirement.— (1) Effective October 1, 2017, the Secretary of the Air Force shall maintain a total aircraft inventory of fighter aircraft of not less than 1,970 aircraft, and a total primary mission aircraft inventory (combat-coded) of not less than 1,145 fighter aircraft.

“(2) In this subsection:

“(A) The term ‘fighter aircraft’ means an aircraft that—

“(i) is designated by a mission design series prefix of F– or A–;

“(ii) is manned by one or two crewmembers; and

“(iii) executes single-role or multi-role missions, including air-to-air combat, air-to-ground attack, air interdiction, suppression or destruction of enemy air defenses, close air support, strike control and reconnaissance, combat search and rescue support, or airborne forward air control.

“(B) The term ‘primary mission aircraft inventory’ means aircraft assigned to meet the primary aircraft authorization to a unit for the performance of its wartime mission.”.

(b) Limitation on retirement of Air Force fighter aircraft.—

(1) LIMITATION.—Except as provided under subsection (d), the Secretary of the Air Force may not proceed with a decision to retire fighter aircraft in any number that would reduce the total number of such aircraft in the Air Force total active inventory (TAI) below 1,970, and shall maintain a minimum of 1,145 fighter aircraft designated as primary mission aircraft inventory (PMAI).

(2) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS ON RETIREMENT OF FIGHTER AIRCRAFT.—Except as provided under subsection (d), the Secretary of the Air Force may not retire fighter aircraft from the total active inventory as of the date of the enactment of this Act until the later of the following:

(A) The date that is 30 days after the date on which the Secretary submits the report required under paragraph (3).

(B) The date that is 30 days after the date on which the Secretary certifies to the congressional defense committees that—

(i) the retirement of such fighter aircraft will not increase the operational risk of meeting the National Defense Strategy; and

(ii) the retirement of such aircraft will not reduce the total fighter force structure below 1,970 fighter aircraft or the primary mission aircraft inventory below 1,145.

(3) REPORT ON RETIREMENT OF AIRCRAFT.—The Secretary of the Air Force shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report setting forth the following:

(A) The rationale for the retirement of existing fighter aircraft and an operational analysis of replacement fighter aircraft that demonstrates performance of the designated mission at an equal or greater level of effectiveness as the retiring aircraft.

(B) An assessment of the implications for the Air Force, the Air National Guard, and the Air Force Reserve of the force mix ratio of fighter aircraft.

(C) Such other matters relating to the retirement of fighter aircraft as the Secretary considers appropriate.

(c) Reports on fighter aircraft.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under subsection (d), at least 90 days before the date on which a fighter aircraft is retired, the Secretary of the Air Force, in consultation with (where applicable) the Director of the Air National Guard or Chief of the Air Force Reserve, shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the proposed force structure and basing of fighter aircraft.

(2) ELEMENTS.—Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include the following elements:

(A) A list of each fighter aircraft proposed for retirement, including for each such aircraft—

(i) the mission design series type;

(ii) the variant; and

(iii) the assigned unit and military installation where such aircraft is based.

(B) A list of each unit affected by a proposed retirement listed under subparagraph (A) and a description of how such unit is affected.

(C) For each military installation and unit listed under subparagraph (A)(iii), a description of changes, if any, to the designed operational capability (DOC) statement of the unit as a result of a proposed retirement.

(D) A description of any anticipated changes in manpower authorizations as a result of a proposed retirement listed under subparagraph (A).

(d) Exception for certain aircraft.—The requirements of subsections (b) and (c) do not apply to individual fighter aircraft that the Secretary of the Air Force determines, on a case-by-case basis, to be non-operational because of mishaps, other damage, or being uneconomical to repair.

(e) Fighter aircraft defined.—In this section, the term “fighter aircraft” has the meaning given the term in subsection (i)(2)(A) of section 8062 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section.

SEC. 132. Comptroller General review of total force integration initiatives for reserve component rescue squadrons.

(a) Comptroller general review.—Not later than June 30, 2018, the Comptroller General of the United States shall review the Air Force fielding plan for the HH–60 replacement programs and submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the plan.

(b) Briefing.—Not later than March 1, 2018, the Comptroller General shall provide a briefing to the congressional defense committees on the plan.

(c) Elements.—The review received under subsection (a) shall include, with respect to the HH–60 replacement programs, the following elements:

(1) A description of the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force’s recommendations regarding the use of concurrent and proportional fielding and how the Air Force applied these principles in the fielding plan for the HH–60G replacement programs.

(2) An evaluation of the Air Force’s fielding plan for the HH–60G replacement programs, including an assessment of the Air Force’s rationale for the plan, as well as the alternative fielding plans considered by the Air Force.

(3) An evaluation of the potential readiness impact of the Air Force’s fielding plan on active duty, National Guard, and Reserve units, including the ability to meet training, maintenance, and deployment requirements, as well as the implications for total force integration initiatives should the fielding not be proportional.

(d) HH–60G replacement programs defined.—In this section, the term “HH–60G replacement programs” means the HH–60G Ops Loss Replacement and HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter programs.

SEC. 141. F–35 economic order quantity contracting authority.

(a) In general.—The Secretary of Defense may enter into one or more contracts during fiscal year 2018 for the procurement of economic order quantities of material and equipment that has completed formal hardware qualification testing for the F–35 aircraft for use in procurement contracts to be awarded during fiscal years 2019 and 2020. The total amount obligated under all contracts entered into under this section shall not exceed $661,000,000.

(b) Authority.—To the extent that funds are otherwise available for obligation, the Secretary may enter into economic order quantity contracts for purchases under this section whenever the Secretary finds each of the following:

(1) That the use of such a contract will result in significant savings of the total anticipated costs of carrying out the program through annual contracts.

(2) That the minimum need for the property to be purchased is expected to remain substantially unchanged during the contemplated contract period in terms of production rate, procurement rate, and total quantities.

(3) That there is a reasonable expectation that throughout the contemplated contract period the Secretary will request funding for the contract at the level required to avoid contract cancellation.

(4) That there is a stable design for the property to be acquired and that the technical risks associated with such property are not excessive.

(5) That the estimates of both the cost of the contract and the anticipated cost avoidance through the use of an economic order quantity contract are realistic.

(6) That the use of such a contract will promote the national security of the United States.

(c) Certification requirement.—A contract may not be entered into under this section unless the Secretary of Defense certifies in writing, not later than 30 days before entry into the contract, that each of the following conditions is satisfied:

(1) The Secretary has determined that each of the requirements in paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (b) will be met by such contract and has provided the basis for such determination to the congressional defense committees.

(2) Confirmation that the preliminary findings of the Secretary under paragraph (1) were made after the completion of a cost analysis performed by the Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation for the purpose of section 2334(e)(1) of title 10, United States Code, and that the analysis supports those preliminary findings.

(3) A sufficient number of end items of the system being acquired under such contract have been delivered at or within the most current estimates of the program acquisition unit cost or procurement unit cost for such system to determine that current estimates of such unit costs are realistic.

(4) During the fiscal year in which such contract is to be awarded, sufficient funds will be available to perform the contract in such fiscal year, and the future-years defense program for such fiscal year will include the funding required to execute the program without cancellation.

(5) The contract is a fixed price type contract.

(6) The proposed contract provides for production at not less than minimum economic rates given the existing tooling and facilities.

SEC. 142. Authority for Explosive Ordnance Disposal units to acquire new or emerging technologies and capabilities.

SEC. 201. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 211. Mechanisms for expedited access to technical talent and expertise at academic institutions to support Department of Defense missions.

(a) Arrangements authorized.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense may establish one or more multi-institution task order contracts, consortia, cooperative agreements, or other arrangements to facilitate expedited access to university technical expertise, including faculty, staff, and students, in support of Department of Defense missions in the areas specified in subsection (e).

(2) USE FOR TECHNICAL ANALYSES AND ENGINEERING SUPPORT.—The Secretary may use an arrangement under paragraph (1) to fund technical analyses and other engineering support as required to address acquisition and operational challenges, including support for classified programs and activities.

(3) PERFORMANCE BY DESIGNATED UNIVERSITY PERFORMER.—The Secretary shall ensure that work awarded through an arrangement under paragraph (1) is performed primarily by the designated university performer.

(b) Limitation.—An arrangement established under subsection (a)(1) may not be used to fund research programs that can be executed through other Department of Defense basic research activities.

(c) Consultation with other Department of Defense activities.—An arrangement established under subsection (a)(1) shall, to the degree practicable, be made in consultation with other Department of Defense activities, including federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), university affiliated research centers (UARCs), and Defense laboratories and test centers, for purposes of providing technical expertise and reducing costs and duplicative efforts.

(d) Policies and procedures.—If the Secretary establishes one or more arrangements under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall establish and implement policies and procedures to govern—

(1) selection of participants in the arrangement or arrangements;

(2) the awarding of task orders under the arrangement or arrangements;

(3) maximum award size for tasks under the arrangement or arrangements;

(4) the appropriate use of competitive awards and sole source awards under the arrangement or arrangements; and

(5) technical areas under the arrangement or arrangements.

(e) Mission areas.—The areas specified in this subsection are as follows:

(1) Cybersecurity.

(2) Air and ground vehicles.

(3) Shipbuilding.

(4) Explosives detection and defeat.

(5) Undersea warfare.

(6) Trusted electronics.

(7) Unmanned systems.

(8) Directed energy.

(9) Energy, power, and propulsion.

(10) Management science and operations research.

(11) Artificial intelligence.

(12) Data analytics.

(13) Business systems.

(14) Technology transfer and transition.

(15) Biological engineering and genetic enhancement.

(16) High performance computing.

(17) Materials science and engineering.

(18) Quantum information sciences.

(19) Special operations activities.

(20) Modeling and simulation.

(21) Autonomous systems.

(22) Model based engineering.

(23) Such other areas as the Secretary considers appropriate.

(f) Sunset.—The authorities under this section shall expire on September 30, 2020.

(g) Arrangements established under subsection (a)(1) defined.—In this section, the term “arrangement established under subsection (a)(1)” means a multi-institution task order contract, consortia, cooperative agreement, or other arrangement established under subsection (a)(1).

SEC. 212. Codification and enhancement of authorities to provide funds for defense laboratories for research and development of technologies for military missions.

(a) In general.—Chapter 139 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 2362 the following new section:

Ҥ 2363. Mechanisms to provide funds for defense laboratories for research and development of technologies for military missions

“(a) Mechanisms to provide funds.— (1) The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall establish mechanisms under which the director of a defense laboratory may use an amount of funds equal to not less than two percent and not more than four percent of all funds available to the defense laboratory for the following purposes:

“(A) To fund innovative basic and applied research that is conducted at the defense laboratory and supports military missions.

“(B) To fund development programs that support the transition of technologies developed by the defense laboratory into operational use.

“(C) To fund workforce development activities that improve the capacity of the defense laboratory to recruit and retain personnel with necessary scientific and engineering expertise that support military missions.

“(D) To fund the revitalization recapitalization, or minor military construction of the laboratory infrastructure and equipment, in accordance with subsection (b).

“(2) The mechanisms established under paragraph (1) shall provide that funding shall be used under paragraph (1) at the discretion of the director of a defense laboratory in consultation with the science and technology executive of the military department concerned.

“(3) After consultation with the science and technology executive of the military department concerned, the director of a defense laboratory may charge customer activities a fixed percentage fee, in addition to normal costs of performance, in order to obtain funds to carry out activities authorized by this subsection. The fixed fee may not exceed four percent of costs.

“(b) Availability of funds for infrastructure projects.— (1) Subject to the provisions of this subsection, funds available under a mechanism under subsection (a)(1)(D) that are solely intended to carry out a laboratory infrastructure project shall be available for such project until expended.

“(2) Funds shall be available in accordance with paragraph (1) for a project referred to in such paragraph only if the Secretary notifies the congressional defense committees of the total cost of the project before the date on which the Secretary uses a mechanism under subsection (a)(1)(D) for such project.

“(3) Funds may accumulate under a mechanism under subsection (a) for a project referred to in paragraph (1) for not more than five years.

“(4) The Secretary shall ensure that a project referred to in paragraph (1) for which funds are made available in accordance with such paragraph complies with the applicable cost limitations in the following provisions of law:

“(A) Section 2805(d) of this title, with respect to revitalization and recapitalization projects.

“(B) Section 2811 of this title, with respect to repair projects.

“(C) Section 2802 of this title, with respect to construction projects that exceed the cost specified in subsection (a)(2) of section 2805 of this title for certain unspecified minor military construction projects for laboratories.

“(c) Annual report on use of authority.—Not later than March 1 of each year, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the use of the authority under subsection (a) during the preceding year.”.

(b) Clerical amendment.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 139 of such title is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 2362 the following new item:

(c) Conforming amendments.— (1) Section 219 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110–417; 10 U.S.C. 2358 note), is hereby repealed.

(2) Section 2805(d)(1)(B) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking “under section 219(a) of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110–417; 10 U.S.C. 2358 note)” and inserting “section 2363(a) of this title”.

SEC. 213. Modification of laboratory quality enhancement program.

(a) In general.—Section 211 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)(1)—

(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;

(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the semicolon and inserting “; and”; and

(C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

“(C) new interpretations of existing statutes and regulations that would enhance the ability of a director of a science and technology reinvention laboratory to manage the facility and discharge the mission of the laboratory;”;

(2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(3) (A) Each panel described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (b) shall submit to the panel described in paragraph (4) of such subsection (relating to governance and oversight processes) the following:

“(i) The findings of the panel with respect to the review conducted by the panel under subsection (a)(1)(C).

“(ii) The recommendations made by the panel under such subsection.

“(iii) Such comments, findings, and recommendations as the panel may have received by a science and technology reinvention laboratory with respect to—

“(I) the review conducted by the panel under such subsection; or

“(II) recommendations made by the panel under such subsection.

“(B) (i) The panel described in subsection (b)(4) shall review and refashion such recommendations as the panel may receive under subparagraph (A).

“(ii) In reviewing and refashioning recommendations under clause (i), the panel may, as the panel considers appropriate, consult with the science and technology executive of the affected service.

“(C) The panel described in subsection (b)(4) shall submit to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering the recommendations made by the panel under subsection (a)(1)(C) and the recommendations refashioned by the panel under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.”;

(3) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsection (f) and (g), respectively; and

(4) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new subsection (e):

“(e) Interpretation of provisions of law.— (1) The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, acting under the guidance of the Secretary, shall issue regulations regarding the meaning, scope, implementation, and applicability of any provision of a statute relating to a science and technology reinvention laboratory.

“(2) In interpreting or defining under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall, to the degree practicable, emphasize providing the maximum operational flexibility to the directors of the science and technology reinvention laboratories to discharge the missions of their laboratories.

“(3) In interpreting or defining under paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall seek recommendations from the panel described in subsection (b)(4).”.

(b) Technical corrections.— (1) Subsections (a), (c)(1)(C), and (d)(2) of such section are amended by striking “Assistant Secretary” each place it appears and inserting “Under Secretary”.

(2) Subparagraph (C) of section 342(b)(3) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 (Public Law 103–337), as amended by section 211(f) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328), as redesignated by subsection (a)(3) of this section, is amended by striking “Assistant Secretary” and inserting “Under Secretary”.

SEC. 214. Prizes for advanced technology achievements.

(1) in subsection (a), by striking “in recognition of” and inserting “and other types of prizes that the Secretary determines are appropriate to recognize”;

(2) in subsection (c), by striking “cash” both places it appears;

(3) in subsection (e)—

(A) by striking “and from State and local governments” and inserting “, from State and local governments, and from the private sector”; and

(B) by adding at the end the following: “The Secretary may not give any special consideration to any private sector entity in return for a donation.”; and

(4) by amending subsection (f) to read as follows:

“(f) Use of prize authority.—Use of prize authority under this section shall be considered the use of competitive procedures for the purposes of section 2304 of this title.”.

SEC. 215. Expansion of definition of competitive procedures to include competitive selection for award of research and development proposals.

SEC. 216. Inclusion of modeling and simulation in test and evaluation activities for purposes of planning and budget certification.

(1) in subsection (d)(1), in the first sentence, by inserting “, including modeling and simulation capabilities” after “and resources”; and

(2) in subsection (e)(1), by inserting “, including modeling and simulation activities,” after “evaluation activities”.

SEC. 217. Differentiation of research and development activities from service activities.

(a) In general.—For the purposes of activities and programs carried out by the Department of Defense, research and development activities, including activities under the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) or the Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR), shall be considered as separate and distinct from contract service activities.

(b) Guidance.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall issue updated guidance to carry out this section.

(c) Definitions.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section:

(A) The term “advisory and assistance service” has the meaning given such term in section 1105(g)(2) of title 31, United States Code.

(B) The term “research and development activities”—

(i) means—

(I) creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including the knowledge of man, culture, and society; and

(II) the use of the stock of knowledge described in subparagraph (A) to devise new applications; and

(ii) includes activities described in section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638).

(C) The term “contract service activities” has the meaning given the term “contract services” in section 2330(c) of title 10, United States Code.

(D) The terms “Small Business Innovation Research Program” and “Small Business Technology Transfer Program” have the meanings given such terms in section 9(e) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(e)).

(2) DEFINITION OF SERVICES FOR PURPOSES OF REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO TRACKING OF PURCHASES OF SERVICES.—Section 2330a(h) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new paragraph:

“(5) SERVICES.—The term ‘services’ has the meaning given the term ‘contract services’ in section 2330(c) of this title.”.

SEC. 218. Designation of additional Department of Defense science and technology reinvention laboratories.

“(20) The Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

“(21) The 711th Human Performance Wing of the Air Force Research Laboratory.

“(22) The Air Vehicles Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory.

“(23) The Directed Energy Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory.

“(24) The Information Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory.

“(25) The Materials and Manufacturing Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory.

“(26) The Munitions Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory.

“(27) The Propulsion Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory.

“(28) The Sensors Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory.

“(29) The Space Vehicles Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory.

“(30) The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center.”.

SEC. 219. Department of Defense directed energy weapon system prototyping and demonstration program.

(a) Establishment.—The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary, shall establish a program on the prototyping and demonstration of directed energy weapon systems to build and maintain the military superiority of the United States by—

(1) accelerating the fielding of directed energy weapon systems that would help counter technological advantages of potential adversaries of the United States; and

(2) supporting the military departments, the combatant commanders, the United States Special Operations Command, and the Missile Defense Agency in developing prototypes and demonstrating operational utility of high energy lasers and high powered microwave weapon systems.

(b) Guidelines.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall issue guidelines for the operation of the program established under subsection (a), including—

(A) criteria for an application for funding by a military department, defense agency, or a combatant command;

(B) the priorities, if any, to be provided to field directed energy weapon system technologies developed by research funding of the Department or industry; and

(C) criteria for evaluation of an application for funding or changes to policies or acquisition and business practices by such a department, agency, or command for purposes of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the Program.

(2) LIMITATION.—Funding for a military department, defense agency, or combatant command under the program established under subsection (a) may only be available for advanced technology development, prototyping, and demonstrations in which the Department of Defense maintains management of the technical baseline and a primary emphasis on technology transition and evaluating military utility to enhance the likelihood that the particular directed energy weapon system will meet the Department end user’s need.

(c) Applications for funding.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than once each year, the Under Secretary shall solicit from the heads of the military departments, the defense agencies, and the combatant commands applications for funding under the program established under subsection (a) to be used to enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, or other transaction agreements entered into pursuant to section 2371b of title 10, United States Code, with appropriate entities for the fielding or commercialization of technologies.

(2) TREATMENT PURSUANT TO CERTAIN CONGRESSIONAL RULES.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any official of the Department of Defense to provide funding under the program to any congressional earmark as defined pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives or any congressionally directed spending item as defined pursuant to paragraph 5 of rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate.

(d) Funding.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2) and subject to the availability of appropriations for such purpose, of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2018 for research, development, test, and evaluation, defense-wide, $200,000,000 shall be available to the Under Secretary to allocate to the military departments, the defense agencies, and the combatant commands to carry out the program established under subsection (a).

(2) LIMITATION.—Not more than half of the amounts made available under paragraph (1) may be allocated as described in such paragraph until the Under Secretary—

(A) develops the strategic plan required by section 219(a)(2)(A) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328; 10 U.S.C. 2431 note); and

(B) submits such strategic plan to the congressional defense committees.

(e) Designation of Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering as the official with principal responsibility for development and demonstration of directed energy weapons.—Section 219(a)(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328; 10 U.S.C. 2431 note) is amended by striking “Not later” and all that follows through “of Defense” and inserting “The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering shall serve”.

(f) Under Secretary defined.—In this section, the term “Under Secretary” means the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in the Under Secretary's capacity as the official with principal responsibility for the development and demonstration of directed energy weapons pursuant to section 219(a)(1) of such Act (Public Law 114–328; 10 U.S.C. 2431 note), as amended by subsection (e).

SEC. 220. Authority for the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to promote innovation in the Department of Defense.

(1) Personnel and talent management.

(2) Financial management and budgeting.

(3) Infrastructure, installations, and military construction.

(4) Acquisition.

(5) Management.

(6) Such other areas as the Secretary may designate.

SEC. 221. Limitation on availability of funds for F–35 Joint Strike Fighter Follow-On Modernization.

SEC. 222. Improvement of update process for populating mission data files used in advanced combat aircraft.

(a) Improvements to update process.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall take such actions as may be necessary to improve the process used to update the mission data files used in advanced combat aircraft of the United States so that such updates can occur more quickly.

(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In improving the process under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure the following:

(A) That under such process, updates to the mission data files are developed, operationally tested, and loaded onto systems of advanced combat aircraft while in theaters of operation in a time-sensitive manner to allow for the distinguishing of threats, including distinguishing friends from foes, loading and delivery of weapon suites, and coordination with allied and coalition armed forces.

(B) When updates are made to the mission data files, all areas of responsibility (AoRs) are included.

(C) The process includes best practices relating to such mission data files that have been identified by industry and allies of the United States.

(D) The process improves the exchange of information between weapons systems of the United States and weapon systems of allies and partners of the United States, with respect to such mission data files.

(b) Consultation and pilot programs.—In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult the innovation organizations resident in the Department of Defense and may consider carrying out a pilot program under another provision of this Act.

(c) Report.—Not later than March 31, 2018, the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the actions taken by the Secretary under subsection (a)(1) and how the process described in such subsection has been improved.

SEC. 231. Competitive acquisition plan for low probability of detection data link networks.

(a) Plan required.—The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall jointly, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of the Air Force, develop a plan to procure a secure, low probability of detection data link network capability with the ability to effectively operate in hostile jamming environments while preserving the low observable characteristics of the relevant platforms, between existing and planned—

(1) fifth-generation combat aircraft;

(2) fifth-generation and fourth-generation combat aircraft;

(3) fifth-generation and fourth-generation combat aircraft and appropriate support aircraft and other network nodes for command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance purposes; and

(4) fifth-generation and fourth-generation combat aircraft and their associated network-enabled precision weapons.

(b) Additional plan requirements.—The plan required by subsection (a) shall include—

(1) nonproprietary and open systems approaches compatible with the Rapid Capabilities Office Open Mission Systems initiative of the Air Force and the Future Airborne Capability Environment initiative of the Navy;

(2) a competitive acquisition process, to include comparative flight demonstrations in realistic airborne environments; and

(3) low risk and affordable solutions with minimal impact or changes to existing host platforms, and minimal overall integration costs.

(c) Briefing.—Not later than February 15, 2018, the Under Secretary and the Vice Chairman shall provide to the congressional defense committees written documentation and briefing on the plan developed under subsection (a).

(d) Limitation.—Of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2018 for operations and maintenance for the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not more than 85 percent may be obligated or expended until a period of 15 days has elapsed following the date on which the Under Secretary and Vice Chairman submits to the congressional defense committees the plan required by subsection (a).

SEC. 232. Clarification of selection dates for pilot program for the enhancement of the research, development, test, and evaluation centers of the Department of Defense.

(1) in subsection (b)(2), by striking “the enactment of this Act” both places it appears and inserting “such submittal”; and

(2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking “propose and implement” and inserting “submit to the Assistant Secretary concerned a proposal on, and implement,”.

SEC. 233. Requirement for a plan to build a prototype for a new ground combat vehicle for the Army.

(a) In general.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall submit to the congressional defense committees a plan to build a prototype for a new ground combat vehicle for the Army.

(b) Contents.—The plan required by subsection (a) shall include the following:

(1) A description of how the Secretary intends to exploit the latest enabling component technologies that have the potential to dramatically change basic combat vehicle design and improve lethality, protection, mobility, range, and sustainment, including an analysis of capabilities of the most advanced foreign ground combat vehicles and whether any have characteristics that should inform the development of the Army's prototype vehicle, including whether any United States allies or partners have advanced capabilities that could be directly incorporated in the prototype.

(2) The schedule, cost, key milestones, and leadership plan to rapidly design and build the prototype ground combat vehicle.

SEC. 234. Plan for successfully fielding the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System.

(a) Plan required.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall submit to the congressional defense committees a plan to successfully field a suitable, survivable, and effective Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System program.

(b) Limitation.—None of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act for research, development, test, and evaluation may be obligated by the Secretary of the Army for the Army Integrated Air and Missile Defense and the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System until the date on which the plan is submitted under subsection (a).

SEC. 235. Sense of Congress on hypersonic weapons.

(a) Findings.—Congress makes the following findings:

(1) The United States has gained a thorough understanding of hypersonic technology over the course of seven decades of experimentation.

(2) The requirements for technological breakthroughs in hypersonics have largely been established, allowing pursuit of hypersonic glide weapons without a prohibitive budget effect.

(3) The Department of Defense has several hypersonic research and development efforts underway, including conventional prompt global strike (CPS) weapons system, the Hypersonic Air-Breathing Weapon Concept, and the Tactical Boost Glide program.

(4) In testimony before the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate on April 4, 2017, the Commander of United States Strategic Command, General John Hyten, identified the conventional prompt global strike weapons system as the “leading technology maturation effort in the realm of hypersonics” and stated that his command sees “an operational need for a CPS capabilities by the mid-2020s.”.

(5) Hypersonic weapons present a radical change in warfare, because they can circumvent many of the challenges associated with contested warfare and integrated air defenses.

(6) Hypersonic weapons may provide solutions to difficult problem sets, such as anti-access area denial schemes, deeply buried or hardened target sets, and mobile high value target sets.

(7) Other countries are aggressively pursuing hypersonic weapons at an alarming rate that threaten to outpace the United States if the United States does not more aggressively pursue development of hypersonic weapons.

(8) The Air Force has a $10,000,000 requirement on the Unfunded Priority List for hypersonic prototyping.

(b) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) the Department of Defense should expedite testing, evaluation, and acquisition of hypersonic weapon systems to meet the stated needs of the warfighter;

(2) testing of such weapon systems should include flight testing, ground based testing, and underwater launch testing;

(3) the Department of Defense should adhere to the requirement in section 1688 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328) to proceed to a Milestone A decision on the conventional prompt global strike weapons system not later than September 30, 2020, or the date that is 240 days after the successful completion of intermediate range flight 2 of such system;

(4) the United States cannot afford to lose its advantage over foreign countries in developing hypersonic weapons; and

(5) the Department of Defense should focus on the next generation of weapon systems, including third offset technologies, such as hypersonics.

SEC. 301. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 311. Sentinel Landscapes Partnership.

(a) Establishment.—The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, may establish and carry out a program to preserve sentinel landscapes. The program shall be known as the “Sentinel Landscapes Partnership”.

(b) Designation of sentinel landscapes.—The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, may, as the Secretary determines appropriate, collectively designate one or more sentinel landscapes.

(c) Coordination of activities.—The Secretaries may coordinate actions between their departments and with other agencies and private organizations to more efficiently work together for the mutual benefit of conservation, working lands, and national defense, and to encourage private landowners to engage in voluntary land management and conservation activities that contribute to the sustainment of military installations, ranges, and airspace.

(d) Priority consideration.—The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior may give to any eligible landowner or agricultural producer within a designated sentinel landscape priority consideration for participation in any easement, grant, or assistance programs administered by that Secretary’s department. Participation in any such program pursuant to this section shall be voluntary.

(e) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) MILITARY INSTALLATION.—The term “military installation” has the same meaning as provided in section 670(1) of title 16, United States Code.

(2) STATE-OWNED NATIONAL GUARD INSTALLATION.—The term “State-owned National Guard installation” has the same meaning as provided in section 670(3) of title 16, United States Code.

(3) SENTINEL LANDSCAPE.—The term “sentinel landscape” means a landscape-scale area encompassing—

(A) one or more military installations or state-owned National Guard installations and associated airspace; and

(B) the working or natural lands that serve to protect and support the rural economy, the natural environment, outdoor recreation, and the national defense test and training missions of the military- or State-owned National Guard installation or installations.

(f) Conforming amendment.—Section 312(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (Public Law 113–66; 127 Stat. 729; 10 U.S.C. 2684a note) is repealed.

SEC. 312. Increased percentage of sustainment funds authorized for realignment to restoration and modernization at each installation.

(a) In general.—The Secretary of Defense may authorize an installation commander to realign up to 7.5 percent of an installation’s sustainment funds to restoration and modernization.

(b) Sunset.—The authority under subsection (a) shall expire at the close of September 30, 2022.

(c) Definitions.—The terms “sustainment”, “restoration”, and “modernization” have the meanings given the terms in the Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation.

SEC. 321. Plan for modernized, dedicated Department of the Navy adversary air training enterprise.

(a) Plan required.—The Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the Marine Corps shall develop a plan—

(1) to establish a modernized, dedicated adversary air training enterprise for the Department of the Navy in order to—

(A) maximize warfighting effectiveness and synergies of the current and planned fourth and fifth generation combat air forces through optimized training and readiness; and

(B) harness intelligence analysis, emerging live-virtual-constructive training technologies, range infrastructure improvements, and results of experimentation and prototyping efforts in operational concept development;

(2) to explore all available opportunities to challenge the combat air forces of the Department of the Navy with threat representative adversary-to-friendly aircraft ratios, known and emerging adversary tactics, and high-fidelity replication of threat airborne and ground capabilities; and

(3) to execute all means available to achieve training and readiness goals and objectives of the Navy and Marine Corps with demonstrated institutional commitment to the adversary air training enterprise through the application of Department of the Navy policy and resources, partnering with the other Armed Forces, allies, and friends, and employing the use of industry contracted services.

(b) Plan elements.—The plan required under subsection (a) shall include enterprise goals, objectives, concepts of operations, phased implementation timelines, analysis of expected readiness improvements, prioritized resource requirements, and such other matters as the Chief of Naval Operations and Commandant of the Marine Corps consider appropriate.

(c) Submittal of plan and briefing.—Not later than March 1, 2018, the Chief of Naval Operations and Commandant of the Marine Corps shall provide to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a written plan and briefing on the plan required under subsection (a).

SEC. 331. Defense Siting Clearinghouse.

(a) Codification.—Chapter 7 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 183 the following new section:

Ҥ 183a. Defense Siting Clearinghouse for review of mission obstructions

“(a) Establishment.— (1) The Secretary of Defense shall establish a Defense Siting Clearinghouse (in this section referred to as the ‘Clearinghouse’).

“(2) The Clearinghouse shall be—

“(A) organized under the authority, direction, and control of an Assistant Secretary of Defense designated by the Secretary; and

“(B) assigned such personnel and resources as the Secretary considers appropriate to carry out this section.

“(b) Functions.— (1) The Clearinghouse shall coordinate Department of Defense review of applications for energy projects filed with the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of title 49 and received by the Department of Defense from the Secretary of Transportation.

“(2) The Clearinghouse shall accelerate the development of planning tools necessary to determine the acceptability to the Department of Defense of proposals included in an application for an energy project submitted pursuant to such section.

“(3) The Clearinghouse shall perform such other functions as the Secretary of Defense assigns.

“(c) Review of proposed actions.— (1) Not later than 30 days after receiving from the Secretary of Transportation a proper application for an energy project under section 44718 of title 49 that may have an adverse impact on military operations and readiness, the Clearinghouse shall conduct a preliminary review of such application. The review shall—

“(A) assess the likely scope, duration, and level of risk of any adverse impact of such energy project on military operations and readiness; and

“(B) identify any feasible and affordable actions that could be taken by the Department, the developer of such energy project, or others to mitigate the adverse impact and to minimize risks to national security while allowing the energy project to proceed with development.

“(2) If the Clearinghouse determines under paragraph (1) that an energy project will have an adverse impact on military operations and readiness, the Clearinghouse shall issue to the applicant a notice of presumed risk that describes the concerns identified by the Department in the preliminary review and requests a discussion of possible mitigation actions.

“(3) At the same time that the Clearinghouse issues to the applicant a notice of presumed risk under paragraph (2), the Clearinghouse shall provide the same notice to the governor of the State in which the project is located and request that the governor provide the Clearinghouse any comments the governor believes of relevance to the application. The Secretary of Defense shall consider the comments of the governor in the Secretary’s evaluation of whether the project presents an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and shall include the comments with the determination provided to the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718(f) of title 49.

“(4) The Clearinghouse shall develop, in coordination with other departments and agencies of the Federal Government, an integrated review process to ensure timely notification and consideration of energy projects filed with the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of title 49 that may have an adverse impact on military operations and readiness.

“(5) The Clearinghouse shall establish procedures for the Department of Defense for the coordinated consideration of and response to a request for a review received from another Federal agency, a State government, an Indian tribal government, a local government, a landowner, or the developer of an energy project, including guidance to personnel at each military installation in the United States on how to initiate such procedures and ensure a coordinated Department response.

“(6) The Clearinghouse shall develop procedures for conducting early outreach to parties carrying out energy projects that could have an adverse impact on military operations and readiness and to clearly communicate to such parties actions being taken by the Department of Defense under this section. The procedures shall provide for filing by such parties of a project area and preliminary project layout at least one year before expected construction of any project proposed within a military training route or within line-of-sight of any air route surveillance radar or airport surveillance radar operated or used by the Department of Defense in order to provide adequate time for analysis and negotiation of mitigation options. Material marked as proprietary or competition sensitive by a party filing for this preliminary review shall be protected from public release by the Department of Defense.

“(d) Comprehensive review.— (1) The Secretary of Defense shall develop a comprehensive strategy for addressing the military impacts of projects filed with the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of title 49.

“(2) In developing the strategy required by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

“(A) assess of the magnitude of interference posed by projects filed with the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of title 49;

“(B) for the purpose of informing preliminary reviews under subsection (c)(1) and early outreach efforts under subsection (c)(5), identify geographic areas selected as proposed locations for projects filed, or which may be filed in the future, with the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of title 49 where such projects could have an adverse impact on military operations and readiness and categorize the risk of adverse impact in such areas; and

“(C) specifically identify feasible and affordable long-term actions that may be taken to mitigate adverse impacts of projects filed, or which may be filed in the future, with the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of title 49, on military operations and readiness, including—

“(i) investment priorities of the Department of Defense with respect to research and development;

“(ii) modifications to military operations to accommodate applications for such projects;

“(iii) recommended upgrades or modifications to existing systems or procedures by the Department of Defense;

“(iv) acquisition of new systems by the Department and other departments and agencies of the Federal Government and timelines for fielding such new systems; and

“(v) modifications to the projects for which such applications are filed, including changes in size, location, or technology.

“(e) Department of defense determination of unacceptable risk.— (1) The Secretary of Defense may not object to an energy project filed with the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of title 49, except in a case in which the Secretary of Defense determines, after giving full consideration to mitigation actions identified pursuant to this section, that such project, in isolation or cumulatively with other projects, would result in an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States. Such a determination shall constitute a finding pursuant to section 44718(f) of title 49.

“(2) (A) Not later than 30 days after making a determination of unacceptable risk under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on such determination and the basis for such determination. Such report shall include an explanation of the operational impact that led to the determination, a discussion of the mitigation options considered, and an explanation of why the mitigation options were not feasible or did not resolve the conflict. The Secretary of Defense may provide public notice through the Federal Register of the determination.

“(B) The Secretary of Defense shall notify the appropriate State agency of a determination made under paragraph (1).

“(3) The Secretary of Defense may only delegate the responsibility for making a determination of unacceptable risk under paragraph (1) to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, an under secretary of defense, or a deputy under secretary of defense.

“(f) Authority to accept contributions of funds.—The Secretary of Defense is authorized to request and accept a voluntary contribution of funds from an applicant for a project filed with the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of title 49. Amounts so accepted shall remain available until expended for the purpose of offsetting the cost of measures undertaken by the Secretary of Defense to mitigate adverse impacts of such a project on military operations and readiness or to conduct studies of potential measures to mitigate such impacts.

“(g) Effect of Department of Defense hazard assessment.—An action taken pursuant to this section shall not be considered to be a substitute for any assessment or determination required of the Secretary of Transportation under section 44718 of title 49.

“(h) Savings clause.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect or limit the application of, or any obligation to comply with, any environmental law, including the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

“(i) Definitions.—In this section:

“(1) The term ‘adverse impact on military operations and readiness’ means any adverse impact upon military operations and readiness, including flight operations, research, development, testing, and evaluation, and training, that is demonstrable and is likely to impair or degrade the ability of the armed forces to perform their warfighting missions.

“(2) The term ‘energy project’ means a project that provides for the generation or transmission of electrical energy.

“(3) The term ‘landowner’ means a person that owns a fee interest in real property on which a proposed energy project is planned to be located.

“(4) The term ‘military installation’ has the meaning given that term in section 2801(c)(4) of this title.

“(5) The term ‘military readiness’ includes any training or operation that could be related to combat readiness, including testing and evaluation activities.

“(6) The term ‘military training route’ means a training route developed as part of the Military Training Route Program, carried out jointly by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Secretary of Defense, for use by the armed forces for the purpose of conducting low-altitude, high-speed military training.

“(7) The term ‘unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States’ means the construction, alteration, establishment, or expansion, or the proposed construction, alteration, establishment, or expansion, of a structure or sanitary landfill that would—

“(A) significantly endanger safety in air commerce, related to the activities of the Department of Defense;

“(B) significantly interfere with the efficient use and preservation of the navigable airspace and of airport traffic capacity at public-use airports, related to the activities of the Department of Defense; or

“(C) significantly impair or degrade the capability of the Department of Defense to conduct training, research, development, testing, and evaluation, and operations or to maintain military readiness.”.

(b) Conforming and clerical amendments.—

(1) REPEAL OF EXISTING PROVISION.—Section 358 of the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 (49 U.S.C. 44718 note) is repealed.

(2) CROSS-REFERENCE IN TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE.—Section 44718(f) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting “and in accordance with section 183a(e) of title 10” after “conducted under subsection (b)”.

(3) REFERENCE TO REGULATIONS.—Section 44718(g) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking “211.3 of title 32, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on January 6, 2014” both places it appears and inserting “183a(i) of title 10”.

(4) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 7 of title 10 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 183 the following new item:

(c) Applicability of existing rules and regulations.—Notwithstanding the amendments made by subsection (a), any rule or regulation promulgated to carry out section 358 of the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 (49 U.S.C. 44718 note), that is in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act shall continue in effect and apply to the extent such rule or regulation is consistent with the authority under section 183a of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), until such rule or regulation is otherwise amended or repealed.

SEC. 332. Temporary installation reutilization authority for arsenals, depots, and plants.

(a) Modified authority.—In the case of a military manufacturing arsenal, depot, or plant, the Secretary of the Army may authorize leases and contracts under section 2667 of title 10, United States Code, for a term of up to 25 years, notwithstanding subsection (b)(1) of such section, if the Secretary determines that a lease or contract of that duration will promote the national defense for the purpose of—

(1) helping to maintain the viability of the military manufacturing arsenal, depot, or plant and any military installations on which it is located;

(2) eliminating, or at least reducing, the cost of Government ownership of the military manufacturing arsenal, depot, or plant, including the costs of operations and maintenance, the costs of environmental remediation, and other costs; and

(3) leveraging private investment at the military manufacturing arsenal, depot, or plant through long-term facility use contracts, property management contracts, leases, or other agreements that support and advance the preceding purposes.

(b) Delegation and review process.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Army may delegate the authority provided by this section to the commander of the major subordinate command of the Army that has responsibility for the military manufacturing arsenal, depot, or plant or, if part of a larger military installation, the installation as a whole. The commander may approve a lease or contract under such authority on a case-by-case basis or a class basis.

(2) NOTICE OF APPROVAL.—Upon any approval of a lease or contract by a commander pursuant to a delegation of authority under paragraph (1), the commander shall notify the Army real property manager and Congress of the approval.

(3) REVIEW PERIOD.—Any lease or contract that is approved utilizing the delegation authority under paragraph (1) is subject to a 90-day hold period so that the Army real property manager may review the lease or contract pursuant to paragraph (4).

(4) DISPOSITION OF REVIEW.—If the Army real property manager disapproves of a contract or lease submitted for review under paragraph (3), the agreement shall be null and void upon transmittal by the real property manager to the delegating authority of a written disapproval, including a justification for such disapproval, within the 90-day hold period. If no such disapproval is transmitted within the 90-day hold period, the agreement shall be deemed approved.

(5) APPROVAL OF REVISED AGREEMENT.—If, not later than 60 days after receiving a disapproval under paragraph (4), the delegating authority submits to the Army real property manager a new contract or lease that addresses the concerns of the Army real property manager outlined in such disapproval, the new contract or lease shall be deemed approved unless the Army real property manager transmits to the delegating authority a disapproval of the new contract or lease within 30 days of such submission.

(c) Military manufacturing arsenal, depot, or plant defined.—In this section, the term “military manufacturing arsenal, depot, or plant” means a Government-owned, Government-operated defense plant of the Army that manufactures weapons, weapon components, or both.

(d) Sunset.—The authority under this section shall terminate at the close of September 30, 2020. Any contracts entered into on or before such date shall continue in effect according to their terms.

SEC. 333. Pilot program for operation and maintenance budget presentation.

(a) In general.—Along with the budget for fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021 submitted by the President pursuant to section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretaries of the military departments shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives an annex for the following Operation and Maintenance sub-activity groups (SAG):

(1) For the Army:

(A) SAG 111 – Maneuver Units.

(B) SAG 123 – Land Forces Depot Maintenance.

(C) SAG 131 – Base Operations Support.

(D) SAG 322 – Flight Training.

(2) For the Navy:

(A) SAG 1A5A – Aircraft Depot Maintenance.

(B) SAG 1B1B – Mission and Other Ship Operations.

(C) SAG 1B4B – Ship Depot Maintenance.

(D) SAG BSS1 – Base Operating Support.

(3) For the Marine Corps:

(A) SAG 1A1A – Operational Forces.

(B) SAG 1A3A – Depot Maintenance.

(C) SAG 1B1B – Field Logistics.

(D) SAG BSS1 – Base Operating Support.

(4) For the Air Force:

(A) SAG 011A – Primary Combat Forces.

(B) SAG 011Y – Flying Hour Program.

(C) SAG 011Z – Base Support.

(D) SAG 021M – Depot Maintenance.

(b) Elements.—The annex required under subsection (a) shall include the following elements:

(1) A summary by appropriation account with subtotals for Department of Defense components.

(2) A summary of each appropriation account by budget activity, activity group, and sub-activity group with budget activity and activity group subtotals and an appropriation total.

(3) A detailed sub-activity group by program element and expense aggregate listing in budget activity and activity group sequence.

(4) A rollup document by sub-activity group with accompanying program element funding with the PB-61 program element tags included.

(5) A summary of each depot maintenance facility with information on workload, work force, sources of funding, and expenses similar to the exhibit on Mission Funded Naval Shipyards included with the 2012 Navy Budget Justification.

(6) A summary of contractor logistics support for each program element, including a measure of workload and unit cost.

(c) Formatting.—The annex required under subsection (a) shall be formatted in accordance with relevant Department of Defense financial management regulations that provide guidance for budget submissions to Congress.

SEC. 334. Servicewomen's commemorative partnerships.

(a) In general.—The Secretary of Defense may provide not more than $5,000,000 in financial support for the acquisition, installation, and maintenance of exhibits, facilities, historical displays, and programs at military service memorials and museums that highlight the role of women in the military. The Secretary may enter into a contract, partnership, or grant with a non-profit organization for the purpose of performing such acquisition, installation, and maintenance.

(b) Purposes.—The contracts, partnerships, or grants shall be limited to serving the purposes of—

(1) preserving the history of the 3,000,000 women who have served in the United States Armed Forces;

(2) managing an archive of artifacts, historic memorabilia, and documents related to servicewomen;

(3) maintaining a women veterans’ oral history program; and

(4) conducting other educational programs related to women in service.

SEC. 335. Authority for agreements to reimburse States for costs of suppressing wildfires on State lands caused by Department of Defense activities under leases and other grants of access to State lands.

“(d) The Secretary of Defense may, in any lease, permit, license, or other grant of access for use of lands owned by a State, agree to reimburse the State for the reasonable costs of the State in suppressing wildland fires caused by the activities of the Department of Defense under such lease, permit, license, or other grant of access.”.

SEC. 336. Repurposing and reuse of surplus Army firearms.

(a) Required transfer.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and subject to subsection (c), the Secretary of the Army shall transfer to Rock Island Arsenal all excess firearms, related spare parts and components, small arms ammunition, and ammunition components currently stored at Defense Distribution Depot, Anniston, Alabama, that are no longer actively issued for military service and that are otherwise prohibited from commercial sale, or distribution, under Federal law.

(b) Repurposing and reuse.—The items specified for transfer under subsection (a) shall be melted and repurposed for military use as determined by the Secretary of the Army, including—

(1) the reforging of new firearms or their components; and

(2) force protection barriers and security bollards.

(c) Items exempt from transfer.—M–1 Garand, caliber .45 M1911/M1911A1 pistols, and caliber .22 rimfire rifles are not subject to the transfer requirement under subsection (a).

SEC. 337. Department of the Navy marksmanship awards.

“(i) Authorized navy transfers.— (1) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary of the Navy may transfer to the corporation, in accordance with the procedures prescribed in this subchapter, M–1 Garand and caliber .22 rimfire rifles held within the inventories of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps and stored at Defense Distribution Depot, Anniston, Alabama, or Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Indiana, as of the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018.

“(2) The items specified for transfer under paragraph (1) shall be used as awards for competitors in marksmanship competitions held by the United States Marine Corps or the United States Navy and may not be resold.”.

SEC. 341. Authority to carry out environmental restoration activities at National Guard and Reserve locations.

“(5) AUTHORITY TO CARRY OUT ACTIVITIES AT NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE LOCATIONS.—The Secretary may carry out activities under this section at National Guard and Reserve locations.”.

SEC. 342. Special considerations for energy performance goals.

(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting “and to reduce the future demand and the requirements for the use of energy” after “consumption of energy”;

(2) in paragraph (2), by striking “to reduce the future demand and the requirements for the use of energy” and inserting “to enhance energy resilience to ensure the Department of Defense has the ability to prepare for and recover from energy disruptions that impact mission assurance on military installations”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

SEC. 343. Centers for Disease Control study on health implications of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances contamination in drinking water.

(a) In general.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and in consultation with the Department of Defense, shall—

(1) commence a study on the human health implications of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in drinking water, ground water, and any other sources of water and relevant exposure vectors, including the cumulative human health implications of multiple types of PFAS contamination at levels above and below health advisory levels;

(2) not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act (or 7 years after such date of enactment after providing notice to the appropriate congressional committees of the need for the delay)—

(A) complete such study and make any appropriate recommendations; and

(B) submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees on the results of such study; and

(3) not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until submission of the report under paragraph (2)(B), submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the progress of the study.

(b) Authorization of appropriations.—

(1) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be appropriated $7,000,000 to carry out this section.

(2) OFFSET.—The amount authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2018 for the Department of Defense by section 301 for operation and maintenance is hereby reduced by $7,000,000, with the amount of such decrease to be allocated to operation and maintenance, Navy, SAG BSIT, as specified in the funding tables in section 4301.

(c) Appropriate congressional committees defined.—In this section, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means—

(1) the congressional defense committees;

(2) the Committee on Heath, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate; and

(3) the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 344. Environmental oversight and remediation at Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.

(a) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility located on Oahu, Hawaii is a national strategic asset that—

(A) supports combatant commander theater security requirements;

(B) supports contingency operations;

(C) provides essential and timely support to the United States and allies’ military mobilizations and disaster response efforts in the Indo-Asia-Pacific and around the world; and

(D) is routinely used to support normal transit of Navy and Air Force movements in the region;

(2) the facility in its current form cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world;

(3) moving the fuel to another storage facility in the Indo-Asia-Pacific would have implications for the United States military force structure in the State of Hawaii and put at risk billions of dollars in annual economic activity that the Armed Forces bring to the State of Hawaii;

(4) if the facility were closed, the United States Armed Forces would be unable to support the National Military Strategy, including the goals of the United States Pacific Commander, and national security interests would be significantly undermined;

(5) constant vigilance is required to ensure that facility degradation and fuel leaks do not pose a threat to the people of Hawaii, especially the drinking water on Oahu; and

(6) despite its importance, the facility continues to face long-term challenges without robust and consistent funding that provides the Navy and the Defense Logistics Agency with the resources needed to improve the tanks and associated infrastructure.

(b) Budget submissions.—

(1) ANNUAL BUDGET JUSTIFICATION.—The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, shall ensure that the budget justification materials submitted to Congress in support of the Department of Defense budget for any fiscal year (as submitted with the budget of the President under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code) includes a description of how the Department will use funds to support any deliverables that the parties of the Administrative Order on Consent/Statement of Work have identified as necessary to mitigate and prevent fuel leaks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oahu, Hawaii.

(2) FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE BUDGET.—The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, shall ensure that each future-years defense program submitted to Congress under section 221 of title 10, United States Code, describes how the Department will use funds to support any deliverables that the parties of the Administrative Order on Consent/Statement of Work have identified as necessary to mitigate and prevent fuel leaks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oahu, Hawaii, in the period covered by the future-years defense program.

(c) Administrative Order on Consent/Statement of Work defined.—In this section, the term “Administrative Order on Consent/Statement of Work” means a legally enforceable agreement between the United States Department of the Navy (Navy), the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 9, and the State of Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) that the parties voluntarily entered into on September 28, 2015 [EPA DKT NO. RCRA 7003–R9–2015–01/DOH DKT NO. 15–UST–EA–01].

SEC. 401. End strengths for active forces.

(1) The Army, 481,000.

(2) The Navy, 327,900.

(3) The Marine Corps, 186,000.

(4) The Air Force, 325,100.

SEC. 411. End strengths for Selected Reserve.

(a) In general.—The Armed Forces are authorized strengths for Selected Reserve personnel of the reserve components as of September 30, 2018, as follows:

(1) The Army National Guard of the United States, 343,500.

(2) The Army Reserve, 199,500.

(3) The Navy Reserve, 59,000.

(4) The Marine Corps Reserve, 38,500.

(5) The Air National Guard of the United States, 106,600.

(6) The Air Force Reserve, 69,800.

(7) The Coast Guard Reserve, 7,000.

(b) End strength reductions.—The end strengths prescribed by subsection (a) for the Selected Reserve of any reserve component shall be proportionately reduced by—

(1) the total authorized strength of units organized to serve as units of the Selected Reserve of such component which are on active duty (other than for training) at the end of the fiscal year; and

(2) the total number of individual members not in units organized to serve as units of the Selected Reserve of such component who are on active duty (other than for training or for unsatisfactory participation in training) without their consent at the end of the fiscal year.

(c) End strength increases.—Whenever units or individual members of the Selected Reserve of any reserve component are released from active duty during any fiscal year, the end strength prescribed for such fiscal year for the Selected Reserve of such reserve component shall be increased proportionately by the total authorized strengths of such units and by the total number of such individual members.

SEC. 412. End strengths for Reserves on active duty in support of the reserves.

(1) The Army National Guard of the United States, 30,155.

(2) The Army Reserve, 16,261.

(3) The Navy Reserve, 10,101.

(4) The Marine Corps Reserve, 2,261.

(5) The Air National Guard of the United States, 16,260.

(6) The Air Force Reserve, 3,588.

SEC. 413. End strengths for military technicians (dual status).

(1) For the Army National Guard of the United States, 22,294.

(2) For the Army Reserve, 6,492.

(3) For the Air National Guard of the United States, 19,135.

(4) For the Air Force Reserve, 8,880.

SEC. 414. Fiscal year 2018 limitation on number of non-dual status technicians.

(a) Limitations.—

(1) NATIONAL GUARD.—The number of non-dual status technicians employed by the National Guard as of September 30, 2018, may not exceed the following:

(A) For the Army National Guard of the United States, 0.

(B) For the Air National Guard of the United States, 0.

(2) ARMY RESERVE.—The number of non-dual status technicians employed by the Army Reserve as of September 30, 2018, may not exceed 0.

(3) AIR FORCE RESERVE.—The number of non-dual status technicians employed by the Air Force Reserve as of September 30, 2018, may not exceed 0.

(b) Non-dual status technicians defined.—In this section, the term “non-dual status technician” has the meaning given that term in section 10217(a) of title 10, United States Code.

SEC. 415. Maximum number of reserve personnel authorized to be on active duty for operational support.

(1) The Army National Guard of the United States, 17,000.

(2) The Army Reserve, 13,000.

(3) The Navy Reserve, 6,200.

(4) The Marine Corps Reserve, 3,000.

(5) The Air National Guard of the United States, 16,000.

(6) The Air Force Reserve, 14,000.

SEC. 416. Number of members of the National Guard on full-time duty in support of the reserves within the National Guard Bureau.

SEC. 421. Military personnel.

(a) Authorization of appropriations.—Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2018 for the use of the Armed Forces and other activities and agencies of the Department of Defense for expenses, not otherwise provided for, for military personnel, as specified in the funding table in section 4401.

(b) Construction of authorization.—The authorization of appropriations in subsection (a) supersedes any other authorization of appropriations (definite or indefinite) for such purpose for fiscal year 2018.

SEC. 501. Clarification of baselines for authorized numbers of general and flag officers on active duty and in joint duty assignments.

(a) Active-duty baseline.—Subsection (h)(2) of section 526 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking “the lower of” and all that follows and inserting “the statutory limit of general officers or flag officers of that armed force under subsection (a).”.

(b) Joint duty assignment baseline.—Subsection (i)(2) of such section is amended by striking “the lower of” and all that follows and inserting “the statutory limit on general officer and flag officer positions that are joint duty assignments under subsection (b)(1).”.

SEC. 502. Authority of promotion boards to recommend officers of particular merit be placed at the top of the promotion list.

(a) Authority of promotion boards To recommend officers of particular merit Be placed at top of promotion list.—Section 616 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(g) (1) In selecting the officers to be recommended for promotion, a selection board may, when authorized by the Secretary of the military department concerned, recommend officers of particular merit, from among those officers selected for promotion, to be placed at the top of the promotion list promulgated by the Secretary under section 624(a)(1) of this title.

“(2) The number of such officers placed at the top of the promotion list may not exceed the number equal to 20 percent of the maximum number of officers that the board is authorized to recommend for promotion in such competitive category. If the number determined under this subsection is less than one, the board may recommend one such officer.

“(3) No officer may be recommended to be placed at the top of the promotion list unless the officer receives the recommendation of at least a majority of the members of a board for such placement.

“(4) For the officers recommended to be placed at the top of the promotion list, the board shall recommend the order in which these officers should be promoted.”.

(b) Officers of particular merit appearing at top of promotion list.—Section 624(a)(1) of such title is amended by inserting “, except such officers of particular merit who were approved by the President and recommended by the board to be placed at the top of the promotion list under section 616(g) of this title as these officers shall be placed at the top of the promotion list in the order recommended by the board” after “officers on the active-duty list”.

SEC. 503. Clarification to exception for removal of officers from list of officers recommended for promotion after 18 months without appointment.

SEC. 504. Flexibility in promotion of officers to positions of Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the Marine Corps and Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Navy.

(a) Staff Judge Advocate to Commandant of the Marine Corps.—Section 5046(b) of title 10, United States Code, is amended—

(1) by inserting “(1)” after “(b)”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(2) If the Secretary of the Navy elects to convene a selection board under section 611(a) of this title to consider eligible officers for selection to appointment as Staff Judge Advocate, the Secretary may, in connection with such consideration for selection—

“(A) treat any section in chapter 36 of this title referring to promotion to the next higher grade as if such section referred to promotion to a higher grade; and

“(B) waive section 619(a)(2) of this title if the Secretary determines that the needs of the Marine Corps require the waiver.”.

(b) Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Navy.—Section 5149(a) of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(3) If the Secretary of the Navy elects to convene a selection board under section 611(a) of this title to consider eligible officers for selection to appointment as Deputy Judge Advocate General, the Secretary may, in connection with such consideration for selection—

“(A) treat any section in chapter 36 of this title referring to promotion to the next higher grade as if such section referred to promotion to a higher grade; and

“(B) waive section 619(a)(2) of this title if the Secretary determines that the needs of the Navy require the waiver.”.

SEC. 505. Repeal of requirement for specification of number of officers who may be recommended for early retirement by a Selective Early Retirement Board.

(1) in subsection (c)—

(A) by striking paragraph (1); and

(B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (4) as paragraphs (1) through (3), respectively; and

(2) in subsection (d)—

(A) by striking paragraph (2); and

(B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively.

SEC. 506. Extension of service-in-grade waiver authority for voluntary retirement of certain general and flag officers for purposes of enhanced flexibility in officer personnel management.

SEC. 507. Inclusion of Principal Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics among officers subject to repeal of statutory specification of general officer grade.

SEC. 508. Clarification of effect of repeal of statutory specification of general or flag officer grade for various positions in the Armed Forces.

(a) Retention of grade of incumbents in positions on effective date.—Effective as of December 23, 2016, and as if included in the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328) to which it relates, section 502 of that Act (130 Stat. 2102) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(tt) Retention of grade of incumbents in positions on effective date.—The grade of service of an officer serving as of the date of the enactment of this Act in a position whose statutory grade is affected by an amendment made by this section may not be reduced after that date by reason of such amendment as long as the officer remains in continuous service in such position after that date.”.

(b) Clarifying amendment to Chief of Veterinary Corps of the Army repeal.—Section 3084 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking the last sentence.

SEC. 509. Grandfathering of retired grade of Assistant Judge Advocates General of the Navy as of repeal of statutory specification of general and flag officers grades in the Armed Forces.

(a) In general.—Notwithstanding the amendments made by section 502(gg)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328), the officer holding a position specified in subsection (b) as of December 23, 2016, in the grade of rear admiral (lower half) or brigadier general, as applicable, may be retired after that date in such grade with the retired pay of such grade (unless entitled to higher pay under another provision of law).

(b) Specified positions.—The positions specified in this subsection are the following:

(1) The Assistant Judge Advocate General of the Navy provided for by section 5149(b) of title 10, United States Code.

(2) The Assistant Judge Advocate General of the Navy provided for by section 5149(c) of title 10, United States Code.

SEC. 510. Service credit for cyberspace experience or advanced education upon original appointment as a commissioned officer.

(a) Original appointment as a reserve officer.—Section 12207 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting “or (e)” after “subsection (b)”;

(2) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections (f) and (g), respectively;

(3) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new subsection (e):

“(e) (1) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, if the Secretary of a military department determines that the number of commissioned officers with cyberspace-related experience or advanced education in reserve active-status in an armed force under the jurisdiction of such Secretary is critically below the number needed, such Secretary may credit any person receiving an original appointment as a reserve commissioned officer with a period of constructive service for the following:

“(A) Special experience or training in a particular cyberspace-related field if such experience or training is directly related to the operational needs of the armed force concerned.

“(B) Any period of advanced education in a cyberspace-related field beyond the baccalaureate degree level if such advanced education is directly related to the operational needs of the armed force concerned.

“(2) Constructive service credited an officer under this subsection shall not exceed one year for each year of special experience, training, or advanced education, and not more than three years total constructive service may be credited.

“(3) Constructive service credited an officer under this subsection is in addition to any service credited that officer under subsection (a) and shall be credited at the time of the original appointment of the officer.

“(4) The authority to award constructive service credit under this subsection expires on December 31, 2023.”; and

(4) in subsection (f), as redesignated by paragraph (2), by striking “or (d)” and inserting “, (d), or (e)”.

(b) Extension of authority in connection with original appointment of regular officers.—Section 533(g)(4) of such title is amended by striking “December 31, 2018” and inserting “December 31, 2023”.

SEC. 510A. Authority for officers to opt-out of promotion board consideration.

(a) Active-duty list officers.—Section 619 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(6) An officer excluded under subsection (e).”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(e) Authority to permit officers to opt out of selection board consideration.—The Secretary of Defense may authorize the Secretary of a military department to provide that an officer under the jurisdiction of that Secretary may, upon the officer's request and with the approval of the Secretary concerned, be excluded from consideration by a selection board convened under section 611(a) of this title to consider officers for promotion to the next higher grade. The Secretary concerned may only approve such a request if—

“(1) the basis for the request is to allow an officer to complete a broadening assignment, advanced education, another assignment of significant value to the Department of Defense, or a career progression requirement delayed by the assignment of education;

“(2) the Secretary concerned determines the exclusion from consideration is in the best interest of the military department concerned; and

“(3) the officer has not previously failed of selection for promotion to the grade for which the officer requests the exclusion from consideration.”.

(b) Reserve active-status list officers.—Section 14301 of such title is amended—

(1) in subsection (c)—

(A) in the subsection heading, by striking “previously selected officers not eligible” and inserting “certain officers not”; and

(B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(6) An officer excluded under subsection (j).”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(j) Authority to permit officers to opt out of selection board consideration.—The Secretary of Defense may authorize the Secretary of a military department to provide that an officer under the jurisdiction of that Secretary may, upon the officer's request and with the approval of the Secretary concerned, be excluded from consideration by a selection board convened under section 14101(a) of this title to consider officers for promotion to the next higher grade. The Secretary concerned may only approve such a request if—

“(1) the basis for the request is to allow an officer to complete a broadening assignment, advanced education, another assignment of significant value to the Department of Defense, or a career progression requirement delayed by the assignment or education;

“(2) the Secretary concerned determines the exclusion from consideration is in the best interest of the military department concerned; and

“(3) the officer has not previously failed of selection for promotion to the grade for which the officer requests the exclusion from consideration.”.

SEC. 510B. Reauthorization of authority to order retired members to active duty in high-demand, low-density assignments.

“(1) The period beginning on December 2, 2002, and ending on December 31, 2011.

“(2) The period beginning on the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 and ending on December 31, 2022.”.

SEC. 511. Consolidation of authorities to order members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces to perform duty.

(1) in the second sentence of subsection (b), by striking “such legislation as would be necessary to amend titles 10, 14, 32, and 37 of the United States Code and other provisions of law in order to implement the Secretary's approach by October 1, 2018” and inserting “legislation implementing the alternate approach by April 30, 2019”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(c) Attributes of alternate approach.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure the alternate approach described in subsection (b)—

“(1) reduces the number of statutory authorities by which members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces may be ordered to perform duty to not more than 8 statutory authorities grouped into 4 duty categories to which specific pay and benefits may be aligned, which categories shall include—

“(A) one duty category that shall generally reflect active service performed in support of contingency type operations or other military actions in support of the commander of a combatant command;

“(B) a second duty category that shall—

“(i) generally reflect active service not described in subparagraph (A); and

“(ii) consist of training, administration, operational support, and full-time support of the reserve components;

“(C) a third duty category that shall—

“(i) generally reflect duty performed under direct military supervision while not in active service; and

“(ii) include duty characterized by partial-day service; and

“(D) a fourth duty category that shall—

“(i) generally reflect remote duty completed while not under direct military supervision; and

“(ii) include completion of correspondence courses and telework;

“(2) distinguishes among duty performed under titles 10, 14, and 32, United States Code, and ensures that the reasons the members of the reserve components are utilized under the statutory authorities which exist prior to the alternate approach are preserved and can be tracked as separate and distinct purposes;

“(3) minimizes, to the maximum extent practicable, disruptions in pay and benefits for members, and adheres to the principle that a member should receive pay and benefits commensurate with the nature and performance of the member’s duties;

“(4) ensures the Secretary has the flexibility to meet emerging requirements and to effectively manage the force; and

“(5) aligns Department of Defense programming and budgeting to the types of duty members perform.”.

SEC. 512. Establishment of Office of Complex Investigations within the National Guard Bureau.

(a) Establishment.—Chapter 1101 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

Ҥ 10509. Office of Complex Investigations

“(a) In general.—There is in the National Guard Bureau an Office of Complex Investigations (in this section referred to as the ‘Office’) under the authority, direction, and control of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau.

“(b) Disposition and functions.—The Office shall be organized, trained, equipped, and managed to conduct administrative investigations in order to assist the States in the organization, maintenance, and operation of the National Guard as follows:

“(1) In investigations of allegations of sexual assault involving members of the National Guard.

“(2) In investigations in circumstances involving members of the National Guard in which other law enforcement agencies within the Department of Defense do not have, or have limited, jurisdiction or authority to investigate.

“(3) In investigations in such other circumstances involving members of the National Guard as the Chief of the National Guard Bureau may direct.

“(c) Scope of investigative authority.—Individuals performing investigations described in subsection (b)(1) are authorized—

“(1) to have access to all records, reports, audits, reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or other material available to the applicable establishment which relate to programs and operations with respect to the National Guard; and

“(2) to request such information or assistance as may be necessary for carrying out those duties from any Federal, State, or local governmental agency or unit thereof.”.

(b) Clerical amendment.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 1101 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

SEC. 516. Report on policies for regular and reserve officer career management.

(a) Report required.—Not later than March 1, 2018, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report setting forth the results of a review, undertaken by the Secretary for purposes of the report, of the policies of the Department of Defense for the career management of regular and reserve officers of the Armed Forces pursuant to the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (commonly referred to as “DOPMA”) and the Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act (commonly referred to as “ROPMA”).

(b) Elements.—The report required by subsection (a) shall include recommendations for the following:

(1) Mechanisms to increase the ability of officers to repeatedly transition between active duty and reserve active-status throughout the course of their military careers.

(2) Mechanisms to provide the Armed Forces additional flexibility in managing the populations of officers in the grades of major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel and Navy grades of lieutenant commander, commander, and captain.

(3) Mechanisms to use the modernized retirement system provided by part I of subtitle D of title VI of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114–92) to encourage officers to pursue careers of lengths that vary from the traditional 20-year military career.

(4) Mechanisms to provide for alternative career tracks for officers that encourage and facilitate the recruitment and retention of officers with technical expertise.

(5) Mechanisms for a career and promotion path for officers in cyber-related specialties.

(6) Mechanism to ensure the officer corps does not become disproportionately weighted toward officers serving in the grades of major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel and Navy grades of lieutenant commander, commander, and captain.

(7) Any other mechanisms or matters the Secretary considers appropriate to improve the effective recruitment, management, and retention of regular and reserve officers of the Armed Forces.

(c) Scope of report.—If any recommendation of the Secretary in the report required by subsection (a) requires legislative or administrative action for implementation, the report shall include a proposal for legislative action, or a description of administrative action, as applicable, to implement such recommendation.

SEC. 517. Responsibility of Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces for standards and qualifications for military specialties within the Armed Forces.

(a) In general.—Except as provided in subsection (d), responsibility within an Armed Force for establishing, approving, and modifying the criteria, standards, and qualifications for military speciality codes within that Armed Force shall be vested solely in the Chief of Staff of that Armed Force.

(b) Military specialty codes.—For purposes of this section, a military specialty code is as follows:

(1) A Military Occupational Speciality Code (MOS) and any other military specialty or military occupational specialty of the Army, in the case of the Army.

(2) A Naval Enlisted Code (NEC), Unrestricted Duty code, Restricted Duty code, Restricted Line duty code, Staff Corps code, Limited Duty code, Warrant Officer code, and any other military specialty or military occupational specialty of the Navy, in the case of the Navy.

(3) An Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) and any other military specialty or military occupational specialty of the Air Force, in the case of the Air Force.

(4) A Military Occupational Speciality Code (MOS) and any other military specialty or military occupational specialty of the Marine Corps, in the case of the Marine Corps.

(c) Chief of Staff for Marine Corps.—For purposes of this section, the Commandant of the Marine Corps shall be deemed to be the Chief of Staff of the Marine Corps.

(d) Gender integration.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to terminate, alter, or revise the authority of the Secretary of Defense to establish, approve, modify, or otherwise regulate gender-based criteria, standards, and qualifications for military specialties within the Armed Forces.

SEC. 518. Confidential review of characterization of terms of discharge of members of the Armed Forces who are survivors of sexual assault.

(a) Codification of current confidential process.—

(1) CODIFICATION.—Chapter 79 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1554a a new section 1554b consisting of—

(A) a heading as follows:

“§ 1554b. Confidential review of characterization of terms of discharge of members of the armed forces who are survivors of sex-related offenses”; and

(B) a text consisting of the text of section 547 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (Public Law 113–291; 128 Stat. 3375; 10 U.S.C. 1553 note).

(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 79 of such title is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1554a the following new item:

(3) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 547 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 is repealed.

(b) Terminology.—Subsection (a) of section 1554b of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section, is amended by striking “victim” each place it appears and inserting “survivor”.

(c) Clarification of applicability to individuals who allege they were a survivor of a sex-related offense during military service.—Subsection (a) of such section 1554b, as so added, is further amended by inserting after “sex-related offense” the following: “, or alleges that the individual was the survivor of a sex-related offense,”.

(d) Conforming amendments.—Such section 1554b, as so added, is further amended—

(1) by striking “Armed Forces” each place it appears in subsections (a) and (b) and inserting “armed forces”;

(2) in subsection (a)—

(A) by striking “boards for the correction of military records of the military department concerned” and inserting “boards of the military department concerned established in accordance with this chapter”; and

(B) by striking “such an offense” and inserting “a sex-related offense”;

(3) in subsection (b), by striking “boards for the correction of military records” and inserting “boards of the military department concerned established in accordance with this chapter”; and

(4) in subsection (d)—

(A) in paragraph (1), by striking “title 10, United States Code” and inserting “this title”; and

(B) in paragraphs (2) and (3), by striking “such title” and inserting “this title”.

SEC. 519. Improvements to certain authorities and procedures of discharge review boards.

(a) Repeal of 15-year statute of limitations on motions or requests for review.—Subsection (a) of section 1553 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking the second sentence.

(b) Telephonic presentation of evidence.—Subsection (c) of such section is amended in the second sentence by striking “or by affidavit” and inserting “, by affidavit, or by telephone or video conference (to the extent reasonable and technically feasible)”.

(c) Effective date.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect on October 1, 2018.

SEC. 520. Public availability of information related to disposition of claims regarding discharge or release of members of the Armed Forces when the claims involve sexual assault.

(a) Boards for the correction of military records.—Section 1552(h) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(4) The number and disposition of claims decided during the calendar quarter preceding the calendar quarter in which such information is made available in which sexual assault is alleged to have contributed, whether in whole or in part, to the original characterization of the discharge or release of the claimant.”.

(b) Discharge review boards.—Section 1553(f) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(4) The number and disposition of claims decided during the calendar quarter preceding the calendar quarter in which such information is made available in which sexual assault is alleged to have contributed, whether in whole or in part, to the original characterization of the discharge or release of the former member.”.

SEC. 521. Revision to Manual for Courts-Martial with respect to dissemination of visual depictions of private areas or sexually explicit conduct without the consent of the person depicted.

(a) Requirement To enumerate offense for purposes of general punitive article.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, part IV of the Manual for Courts-Martial shall be amended to include as an enumerated offense under section 934 of title 10, United States Code (article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), the distribution of a visual depiction of the private area of a person or of sexually explicit conduct involving a person that was—

(1) photographed, videotaped, filmed, or recorded by any means with the consent of such person; and

(2) distributed by another person who knew or should have known that the depicted person did not consent to such distribution.

(b) Private area defined.—In this section, the term “private area” has the meaning given the term in section 920c(d) of title 10, United States Code (article 120c(d) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice).

SEC. 522. Technical and conforming amendments in connection with reform of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

(a) Articles 1, 6b, and 137.—

(1) Section 801 of title 10, United States Code (article 1 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking “chapter:” and inserting “chapter (the Uniform Code of Military Justice):”.

(2) Section 806b(b) of title 10, United States Code (article 6b(b) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended by striking “(the Uniform Code of Military Justice)”.

(3) Section 937 of title 10, United States Code (article 137 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5503 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328), is further amended by striking “(the Uniform Code of Military Justice)” each place it appears as follows:

(A) In subsection (a)(1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A).

(B) In subsection (b), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A).

(C) In subsection (d), in the matter preceding paragraph (1).

(b) Article 6b.—Section 806b(e)(3) of title 10, United States Code (article 6b(e)(3) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended—

(1) by inserting after “President,” the following: “subject to section 830a of this title (article 30a).”;

(2) by striking “and, to the extent practicable,” and inserting “To the extent practicable, such a petition”; and

(3) by striking “before the court.” and inserting “before the Court of Criminal Appeals.”.

(c) Article 30a.—Subsection (a)(1) of section 830a of title 10, United States Code (article 30a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as added by section 5202 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is amended—

(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting “, or otherwise act on,” after “to review”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

“(D) Pre-referral matters under subsections (c) and (e) of section 806b of this title (article 6b).”.

(d) Article 39.—Subsection (a)(4) of section 839 of title 10, United States Code (article 39 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5222(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is amended by striking “in non-capital cases unless the accused requests sentencing by members under section 825 of this title (article 25)” and inserting “under section 853(b)(1) of this title (article 53(b)(1))”.

(e) Article 43.—Subsection (i) of section 843 of title 10, United States Code (article 43 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as added by section 5225(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is amended by striking “Dna Evidence.—” and inserting “DNA Evidence.—”.

(f) Article 48.—Subsection (c)(1) of section 848 of title 10, United States Code (article 48 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5230 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended by striking “section 866(g) of this title (article 66(g))” and inserting “section 866(h) of this title (article 66(h))”.

(g) Article 53.—Subsection (b)(1)(B) of section 853 of title 10, United States Code (article 53 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5236 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended by striking “in a trial”.

(h) Article 53a.—Subsection (d) of section 853a of title 10, United States Code (article 53a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as added by section 5237 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is amended by striking “military judge” the second place it appears and inserting “court-martial”.

(i) Article 56.—Subsection (d)(1) of section 856 of title 10, United States Code (article 56 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5301 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended—

(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting after “concerned,” the following: “under standards and procedures set forth in regulations prescribed by the President,”; and

(2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting after “(B)” the following: “as determined in accordance with standards and procedures prescribed by the President,”.

(j) Article 58a.—

(1) Subsection (a) of section 858a of title 10, United States Code (article 58a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5303(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended in the matter after paragraph (3) by inserting after “reduces” the following: “, if such a reduction is authorized by regulation prescribed by the President,”.

(2) The heading of such section (article) is amended to read as follows:

“§ 858a. Art 58a. Sentences: reduction in enlisted grade”.

(k) Article 58b.—Subsection (b) of section 858b of title 10, United States Code (article 58b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended in the first sentence by striking “section 860 of this title (article 60)” and inserting “section 860a or 860b of this title (article 60a or 60b)”.

(l) Article 62.—Subsection (b) of section 862 of title 10, United States Code (article 62 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended by striking “, notwithstanding section 866(c) of this title (article 66(c))”.

(m) Article 63.—Subsection (b) of section 863 of title 10, United States Code (article 63 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as added by section 5327 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting “, subject to such limitations as the President may prescribe by regulation.”.

(n) Article 64.—Subsection (a) of section 864 of title 10, United States Code (article 64 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5328(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended by striking “(a) (a) In general.—” and inserting “(a) In general.—”.

(o) Article 65.—Subsection (b)(1) of section 865 of title 10, United States Code (article 65 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5329 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended by striking “section 866(b)(2) of this title (article 66(b)(2))” and inserting “section 866(b)(3) of this title (article 66(b)(3))”.

(p) Article 66.—Subsection (e)(2)(C) of section 866 of title 10, United States Code (article 66 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5330 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended by inserting after “required” the following: “by regulation prescribed by the President or”.

(q) Article 69.—Subsection (c)(1)(A) of section 869 of title 10, United States Code (article 69 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5233 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended by inserting a comma after “in part”.

(r) Article 82.—Subsection (b) of section 882 of title 10, United States Code (article 82 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5403 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended by striking “section 99” and inserting “section 899”.

(s) Article 103a.—Section 8312(b)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking “article 106a” and inserting “article 103a”.

(t) Article 119a.—Subsection (b) of section 919a of title 10, United States Code (article 119a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5401(13)(B) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended—

(1) by striking “928a, 926, and 928” and inserting “926, 928, and 928a”; and

(2) by striking “128a 126, and 128” and inserting “126, 128, and 128a”.

(u) Article 120.—Subsection (g)(2) of section 920 of title 10, United States Code (article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5430(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended in the first sentence by striking “brest” and inserting “breast”.

(v) Article 128.—Subsection (b)(2) of section 928 of title 10, United States Code (article 128 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5441 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended by striking the comma after “substantial bodily harm”.

(w) Article 132.—Subsection (b)(2) of section 932 of title 10, United States Code (article 132 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as added by section 5450 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is amended by striking “section 1034(h)” and inserting “section 1034(j)”.

(x) Article 146.—Subsection (f) of section 946 of title 10, United States Code (article 146 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5521 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended—

(1) in paragraph (2), by striking the sentence beginning “Not later than” and inserting the following new sentence: “The analysis under this paragraph shall be included in the assessment required by paragraph (1).”; and

(2) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following new paragraph (5):

“(5) REPORTS.—With respect to each review and assessment under this subsection, the Panel shall submit a report to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each report—

“(A) shall set forth the results of the review and assessment concerned, including the findings and recommendations of the Panel; and

“(B) shall be submitted not later than December 31 of the calendar year in which the review and assessment is concluded.”.

(y) Tables of sections.—

(1) The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter II of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5541(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended in the items relating to sections 810 and 812 (articles 10 and 12) by striking “Art.”.

(2) The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter V of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5541(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended—

(A) by striking “825.” the second place it appears and inserting “825a.”; and

(B) in the items relating to sections 825a, 826a, and 829 (articles 25a, 26a, and 29), by striking “Art.”.

(3) The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter VI of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5541(3) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended—

(A) by striking “830.” the second place it appears and inserting “830a.”; and

(B) in the items relating to sections 830a and 832 through 835 (articles 30a and 32 through 35), by striking “Art.”.

(4) The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter VII of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5541(4) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended in the items relating to sections 846 through 848, 850, 852, 853, and 853a (articles 46 through 48, 50, 52, 53, and 53a) by striking “Art.”.

(5) The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter VIII of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5541(5) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended by striking the item relating to section 858a (article 58a) and inserting the following new item:

(6) The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter IX of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5541(6) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended in the items relating to sections 860 through 861, 864 through 866, and 869 (articles 60 through 61, 64 through 66, and 69) by striking “Art.”.

(7) The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter X of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5452 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended—

(A) in the items relating to sections 877 through 934 (articles 77 through 134), by striking “Art.”;

(B) in the item relating to section 887a (article 87a), by striking “Resistence” and inserting “Resistance”;

(C) in the item relating to section 908 (article 108), by striking “of the United States–Loss” and inserting “of United States–Loss,”; and

(D) in the item relating to section 909 (article 109), by striking “of the” and inserting “of”.

(8) The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter XI of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5541(7) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended in the items relating to sections 936 and 940a (articles 136 and 140a) by striking “Art.”.

(9) The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter XII of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5541(8) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, is further amended in the items relating to sections 946 and 946a (articles 146 and 146a) by striking “Art.”.

(z) Other provisions of title 10 in connection with UCMJ reform.—

(1) Section 673(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking “section 920, 920a, or 920c of this title (article 120, 120a, or 120c of the Uniform Code of Military Justice)” and inserting “section 920, 920c, or 930 of this title (article 120, 120c, or 130 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice)”.

(2) Section 674(a) of such title is amended by striking “section 920, 920a, 920b, 920c, or 925 of this title (article 120, 120a, 120b, 120c, or 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice)” and inserting “section 920, 920b, 920c, or 930 of this title (article 120, 120b, 120c, or 130 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice)”.

(3) Section 1034(c)(2)(A) of such title is amended by striking “sections 920 through 920c of this title (articles 120 through 120c of the Uniform Code of Military Justice)” and inserting “section 920, 920b, 920c, or 930 of this title (article 120, 120b, 120c, or 130 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice)”.

(4) Section 1044e(g)(1) of such title is amended by striking “section 920, 920a, 920b, 920c, or 925 of this title (article 120, 120a, 120b, 120c, or 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice)” and inserting “section 920, 920b, 920c, or 930 of this title (article 120, 120b, 120c, or 130 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice)”.

(5) Section 1059(e) of such title is amended—

(A) in paragraph (1)(A)(ii), by striking “the approval of” and all that follows through “as approved,” and inserting “entry of judgment under section 860c of this title (article 60c of the Uniform Code of Military Justice) if the sentence”; and

(B) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking “by a court-martial” the second place it appears and all that follows through “include any such punishment,” and inserting “for a dependent-abuse offense and the conviction is disapproved or is otherwise not part of the judgment under section 860c of this title (article 60c of the Uniform Code of Military Justice) or the punishment is disapproved or is otherwise not part of the judgment under such section (article),”.

(6) Section 1408(h)(10)(A) of such title is amended by striking “the approval” and all that follows and inserting “entry of judgment under section 860c of this title (article 60c of the Uniform Code of Military Justice).”.

(aa) Effective date.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect immediately after the coming into effect of the amendments made by division E of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, as provided for in section 5542 of that Act.

SEC. 523. Priority of review by Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces of decisions of Courts of Criminal Appeals on petitions for enforcement of victims' rights.

(a) Priority.—Section 806b(e)(3) of title 10, United States Code (article 6b(e)(3) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 522(b) of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: “Review of any decision on such a petition by the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces shall have priority in the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, as determined under the rules of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.”.

(b) Effective date.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect immediately after the coming into effect of the following (in the order specified):

(1) The amendments made by division E of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328), as provided for in section 5542 of that Act.

(2) The amendments made by section 522(b) of this Act, as provided in section 522(aa) of this Act.

SEC. 524. Assistance of defense counsel in additional post-trial matters for accused convicted by court-martial.

(a) Assistance.—Subsection (c)(2) of section 838 of title 10, United States Code (article 38 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended by striking “section 860 of this title (article 60)” and inserting “section 860, 860a, or 860b of this title (article 60, 60a, or 60b)”.

(b) Effective date.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect immediately after the coming into effect of the amendments made by division E of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328), as provided for in section 5542 of that Act.

SEC. 525. Enumeration of additional limitations on acceptance of plea agreements by military judges of general or special courts-martial.

(a) In general.—Subsection (b) of section 853a of title 10, United States Code (article 53a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as added by section 5237 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328), is amended—

(1) in paragraph (2), by striking “or” after the semicolon;

(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and inserting a semicolon; and

(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:

“(4) is prohibited by law; or

“(5) is contrary to, or is inconsistent with, a regulation prescribed by the President with respect to terms, conditions, or other aspects of plea agreements.”.

(b) Effective date.—The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect immediately after the coming into effect of the amendments made by division E of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, as provided for in section 5542 of that Act.

SEC. 526. Additional proceedings by Courts of Criminal Appeals by order of United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

(a) In general.—Subsection (f)(3) of section 866 of title 10, United States Code (article 66 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5330 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328), is further amended—

(1) by inserting after “Court” the first place it appears the following: “of Criminal Appeals”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new sentence: “If the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces determines that additional proceedings are warranted, the Court of Criminal Appeals shall order a hearing or other proceeding in accordance with the direction of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.”.

(b) Effective date.—The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect immediately after the coming into effect of the amendments made by division E of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, as provided for in section 5542 of that Act.

SEC. 527. Clarification of applicability and effective dates for statute of limitations amendments in connection with Uniform Code of Military Justice Reform.

(a) Applicability of certain amendments.—Effective as of December 23, 2016, and immediately after the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328), to which such amendment relates, section 5225(f) of that Act is amended by striking “this subsection” and inserting “this section”.

(b) Child abuse offenses.—With respect to offenses committed before the date designated by the President under section 5542(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, subsection (b)(2)(B) of section 843 of title 10, United States Code (article 43 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), shall be applied as in effect on December 22, 2016.

(c) Fraudulent enlistment or appointment offenses.—With respect to the period beginning on the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 and ending on the day before the date designated by the President under section 5542(a) of that Act, in the application of subsection (h) of section 843 of title 10, United States Code (article 43 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as added by section 5225(b) of that Act, the reference in such subsection (h) to section 904a(1) of title 10, United States Code (article 104a(1) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), shall be deemed to be a reference to section 883(1) of title 10, United States Code (article 83(1) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice).

SEC. 528. Modification of year of initial review by Military Justice Review Panel of Uniform Code of Military Justice reform amendments.

(a) In general.—Subsection (f)(1) of section 946 of title 10, United States Code (article 146 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 5521 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328), is further amended by striking “fiscal year 2020” and inserting “fiscal year 2021”.

(b) Effective date.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect immediately after the coming into effect of the amendments made by division E of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, as provided for in section 5542 of that Act.

SEC. 529. Clarification of applicability of certain provisions of law to civilian judges of the United States Court of Military Commission Review.

“(5) (A) For purposes of sections 203, 205, 207, 208, and 209 of title 18, the term ‘special Government employee’ shall include a judge of the Court appointed under paragraph (3).

“(B) A person appointed as a judge of the Court under paragraph (3) shall be considered to be an officer or employee of the United States with respect to such person's status as a judge, but only during periods in which such person is performing the duties of such a judge. Any provision of law that prohibits or limits the political or business activities of an employee of the United States shall only apply to such a judge during such periods.”.

SEC. 530. Enhancement of effective prosecution and defense in courts-martial and related matters.

(a) Additional element in program for effective prosecution and defense.—Subsection (a)(1) of section 542 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328; 130 Stat. 2126; 10 U.S.C. 827 note) is amended by inserting before the semicolon the following: “or there is adequate supervision and oversight of trial counsel and defense counsel so detailed to ensure effective prosecution and defense in the court-martial”.

(b) Assignment of civilian employees to supervise less experienced judge advocates in prosecution and defense.—Such section is further amended—

(1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsection (c):

“(c) Assignment of civilian employees to supervise less experienced judge advocates in prosecution and defense.—

“(1) ASSIGNMENT AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary concerned may assign the function of supervising and overseeing prosecution or defense in courts-martial by less experienced judge advocates to civilian employees of the military department concerned or the Department of Homeland Security, as applicable, who have extensive litigation expertise.

“(2) STATUS AS SUPERVISOR.—A civilian employee assigned to supervise and oversee the prosecution or defense in a court-martial pursuant to this subsection is not required to be detailed to the case, but must be reasonably available for consultation during court-martial proceedings.”.

(c) Pilot programs on professional developmental process for judge advocates.—Subsection (d) of such section, as redesignated by subsection (b)(1) of this section, is amended—

(1) in paragraph (1), striking “establishing” and all that follows and inserting “a military justice career track for judge advocates under the jurisdiction of the Secretary.”;

(2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and

(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new paragraph (4):

“(4) ELEMENTS.—Each pilot program shall include the following:

“(A) A military justice career track for judge advocates that leads to judge advocates with military justice expertise in the grade of colonel, or in the grade of captain in the case of judge advocates of the Navy.

“(B) The use of skill identifiers to identify judge advocates for participation in the pilot program from among judge advocates having appropriate skill and experience in military justice matters.

“(C) Guidance for promotion boards considering the selection for promotion of officers participating in the pilot program in order to ensure that judge advocates who are participating in the pilot program have the same opportunity for promotion as all other judge advocate officers being considered for promotion by such boards.

“(D) Such other matters as the Secretary concerned considers appropriate.”.

SEC. 531. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces jurisdiction to review interlocutory appeals of decisions on certain petitions for writs of mandamus.

(1) in paragraph (1), by striking “paragraph (4)”and inserting “paragraph (5)”;

(2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and

(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new paragraph (4):

“(4) The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces may review for legal error a grant or denial of a petition for a writ of mandamus under this subsection by the Court of Criminal Appeals, upon petition of a victim of an offense under this chapter or of the accused, and on good cause shown. Any such review shall, to the extent practicable, have priority over all other proceedings of the Court of Appeals.”.

SEC. 532. Punitive article on wrongful broadcast or distribution of intimate visual images or visual images of sexually explicit conduct under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

(a) Prohibition.—Subchapter X of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 917 (article 117 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice) the following new section (article):

Ҥ 917a. Art. 117a. Wrongful broadcast or distribution of intimate visual images

“(a) Prohibition.—Any person subject to this chapter who—

“(1) knowingly and wrongfully broadcasts or distributes an intimate visual image of another person or a visual image of sexually explicit conduct involving a person who—

“(A) is at least 18 years of age at the time the intimate visual image or visual image of sexually explicit conduct was created;

“(B) is identifiable from the intimate visual image or visual image of sexually explicit conduct itself, or from information displayed in connection with the intimate visual image or visual image of sexually explicit conduct; and

“(C) does not explicitly consent to the broadcast or distribution of the intimate visual image or visual image of sexually explicit conduct;

“(2) knows or reasonably should have known that the intimate visual image or visual image of sexually explicit conduct was made under circumstances in which the person depicted in the intimate visual image or visual image of sexually explicit conduct retained a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding any broadcast or distribution of the intimate visual image or visual image of sexually explicit conduct; and

“(3) knows or reasonably should have known that the broadcast or distribution of the intimate visual image or visual image of sexually explicit conduct is likely—

“(A) to cause harm, harassment, intimidation, emotional distress, or financial loss for the person depicted in the intimate visual image or visual image of sexually explicit conduct; or

“(B) to harm substantially the depicted person with respect to that person’s health, safety, business, calling, career, financial condition, reputation, or personal relationships,

“(b) Definitions.—In this section (article):

“(1) BROADCAST.—The term ‘broadcast’ means to electronically transmit a visual image with the intent that it be viewed by a person or persons.

“(2) DISTRIBUTE.—The term ‘distribute’ means to deliver to the actual or constructive possession of another person, including transmission by mail or electronic means.

“(3) INTIMATE VISUAL IMAGE.—The term ‘intimate visual image’ means a visual image that depicts a private area of a person.

“(4) PRIVATE AREA.—The term ‘private area’ means the naked or underwear-clad genitalia, anus, buttocks, or female areola or nipple.

“(5) REASONABLE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY.—The term ‘reasonable expectation of privacy’ refers to circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe that an intimate visual image of the person, or a visual image of sexually explicit conduct involving the person, would not be broadcast or distributed to another person.

“(6) SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONDUCT.—The term ‘sexually explicit conduct’ means actual or simulated genital-genital contact, oral-genital contact, anal-genital contact, or oral-anal contact, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex, bestiality, masturbation, or sadistic or masochistic abuse.

“(7) VISUAL IMAGE.—The term ‘visual image’ means the following:

“(A) Any developed or undeveloped photograph, picture, film or video.

“(B) Any digital or computer image, picture, film, or video made by any means, including those transmitted by any means, including streaming media, even if not stored in a permanent format.

“(C) Any digital or electronic data capable of conversion into a visual image.”.

(b) Clerical amendment.—The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter X of chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 917 (article 117) the following new item:

SEC. 541. Ready, Relevant Learning initiative of the Navy.

(a) Certifications required.—Not later than October 1, 2017, and each year thereafter, the Secretary of the Navy shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a certification on the status of implementation of the Ready, Relevant Learning initiative of the Navy for each applicable enlisted rating.

(b) Elements.—Each certification under subsection (a) shall include the following:

(1) A certification by the Commander of the United States Fleet Forces Command that the block learning and modernized delivery methods of the Ready, Relevant Learning initiative to be implemented during the fiscal year beginning in which such certification is submitted will meet or exceed the existing training delivery approach for all associated training requirements.

(2) A certification by the Secretary that the content re-engineering necessary to meet all training objectives and transition from the traditional training curriculum to the modernized delivery format to be implemented during such fiscal year will be complete prior to such transition, including full functionality of all required course software and hardware.

(3) A detailed cost estimate of transitioning to the block learning and modernized delivery approaches to be implemented during such fiscal year with funding listed by purpose, amount, appropriations account, budget program element or line item, and end strength adjustments.

(4) A detailed phasing plan associated with transitioning to the block learning and modernized delivery approaches to be implemented during such fiscal year, including the current status, timing, and identification of reductions in “A” school and “C” school courses, curricula, funding, and personnel.

(5) A certification by the Secretary that—

(A) the contracting strategy associated with transitioning to the modernized delivery approach to be implemented during such fiscal year has been completed; and

(B) contracting actions contain sufficient specification detail to enable a low risk approach to receiving the deliverable end item or items on-budget, on-schedule, and with satisfactory performance.

SEC. 542. Element in preseparation counseling for members of the Armed Forces on assistance and support services for caregivers of certain veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

(a) In general.—Section 1142(b) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(18) A description, developed in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, of the assistance and support services for family caregivers of eligible veterans under the program conducted by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs pursuant to section 1720G of title 38, including the veterans covered by the program, the caregivers eligible for assistance and support through the program, and the assistance and support available through the program.”.

(b) Participation of potential caregivers in appropriate preseparation counseling.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with procedures established by the Secretary of Defense, each Secretary of a military department shall take appropriate actions to achieve the following:

(A) To determine whether each member of the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of such Secretary who is undergoing preseparation counseling pursuant to section 1142 of title 10, United States Code (as amended by subsection (a)), and who may require caregiver services after separation from the Armed Forces has identified an individual to provide such services after the member's separation.

(B) In the case of a member described in subparagraph (A) who has identified an individual to provide caregiver services after the member's separation, at the election of the member, to permit such individual to participate in appropriate sessions of the member's preseparation counseling in order to inform such individual of—

(i) the assistance and support services available to caregivers of members after separation from the Armed Forces; and

(ii) the manner in which the member's transition to civilian life after separation may likely affect such individual as a caregiver.

(2) CAREGIVERS.—For purposes of this subsection, individuals who provide caregiver services refers to individuals (including a spouse, partner, parent, sibling, adult child, other relative, or friend) who provide physical or emotional assistance to former members of the Armed Forces during and after their transition from military life to civilian life following separation from the Armed Forces.

(3) DEADLINE FOR COMMENCEMENT.—Each Secretary of a miliary department shall commence the actions required pursuant to this subsection by not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 543. Discharge in the Selected Reserve of the commissioned service obligation of military service academy graduates who participate in professional athletics.

(a) United States Military Academy.—Section 4348(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(5) That, if upon graduation the cadet obtains employment as a professional athlete in lieu of the acceptance of an appointment tendered under paragraph (2), the cadet—

“(A) will accept an appointment as a commissioned officer as a Reserve in the Army for service in the Army Reserve; and

“(B) will remain in that reserve component as a member of the Selected Reserve until completion of the commissioned service obligation of the cadet.”.

(b) United States Naval Academy.—Section 6959(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(5) That, if upon graduation the midshipman obtains employment as a professional athlete in lieu of the acceptance of an appointment tendered under paragraph (2), the midshipman—

“(A) will accept an appointment as a commissioned officer as a Reserve in the Navy for service in the Navy Reserve or the Marine Corps Reserve; and

“(B) will remain in that reserve component as a member of the Selected Reserve until completion of the commissioned service obligation of the midshipman.”.

(c) United States Air Force Academy.—Section 9348(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(5) That, if upon graduation the cadet obtains employment as a professional athlete in lieu of the acceptance of an appointment tendered under paragraph (2), the cadet—

“(A) will accept an appointment as a commissioned officer as a Reserve in the Air Force for service in the Air Force Reserve; and

“(B) will remain in that reserve component as a member of the Selected Reserve until completion of the commissioned service obligation of the cadet.”.

(d) Application of amendments.—The Secretaries of the military departments shall promptly revise the cadet and midshipman service agreements under sections 4348, 6959, and 9348 of title 10, United States Code, to reflect the amendments made by this section. The revised agreement shall apply to cadets and midshipmen who are attending the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, or the United States Air Force Academy on the date of the enactment of this Act and to persons who begin attendance at such military service academies on or after that date.

SEC. 544. Pilot programs on appointment in the excepted service in the Department of Defense of physically disqualified former cadets and midshipmen.

(a) Pilot programs authorized.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Secretary of a military department may carry out a pilot program under which former cadets or midshipmen described in paragraph (2) (in this section referred to as “eligible individuals”) under the jurisdiction of such Secretary may be appointed by the Secretary of Defense in the excepted service under section 3320 of title 5, United States Code, in the Department of Defense.

(2) CADETS AND MIDSHIPMEN.—Except as provided in paragraph (3), a former cadet or midshipman described in this paragraph is any former cadet at the United States Military Academy or the United States Air Force Academy, and any former midshipman at the United States Naval Academy, who—

(A) completed the prescribed course of instruction and graduated from the applicable service academy; and

(B) is determined to be medically disqualified to complete a period of active duty in the Armed Forces prescribed in an agreement signed by such cadet or midshipman in accordance with section 4348, 6959, or 9348 of title 10, United States Code.

(3) EXCEPTION.—A former cadet or midshipman whose medical disqualification as described in paragraph (2)(B) is the result of the gross negligence or misconduct of the former cadet or midshipman is not an eligible individual for purposes of appointment under a pilot program.

(b) Purpose.—The purpose of the pilot programs is to evaluate the feasibility and advisability of permitting eligible individuals who cannot accept a commission or complete a period of active duty in the Armed Forces prescribed by the Secretary of the military department concerned to fulfill an obligation for active duty service in the Armed Forces through service as a civilian employee of the Department of Defense

(c) Positions.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The positions to which an eligible individual may be appointed under a pilot program are existing positions within the Department of Defense in grades up to GS–9 under the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code (or equivalent). The authority in subsection (a) does not authorize the creation of additional positions, or create any vacancies to which eligible individuals may be appointed under a pilot program.

(2) TERM POSITIONS.—Any appointment under a pilot program shall be to a position having a term of five years or less.

(d) Scope of authority.—

(1) RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—The authority in subsection (a) may be used only to the extent necessary to recruit and retain on a non-competitive basis cadets and midshipmen who are relieved of an obligation for active duty in the Armed Forces due to becoming medically disqualified from serving on active duty in the Armed Forces, and may not be used to appoint any other individuals in the excepted service.

(2) VOLUNTARY ACCEPTANCE OF APPOINTMENTS.—A pilot program may not be used as an implicit or explicit basis for compelling an eligible individual to accept an appointment in the excepted service in accordance with this section.

(e) Relationship to repayment provisions.—Completion of a term appointment pursuant to a pilot program shall relieve the eligible individual concerned of any repayment obligation under section 303a(e) or 373 of title 37, United States Code, with respect to the agreement of the individual described in subsection (b)(2)(B).

(f) Termination.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The authority to appoint eligible individuals in the excepted service under a pilot program shall expire on the date that is four years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(2) EFFECT ON EXISTING APPOINTMENTS.—The termination by paragraph (1) of the authority in subsection (a) shall not affect any appointment made under that authority before the termination date specified in paragraph (1) in accordance with the terms of such appointment.

SEC. 545. Limitation on availability of funds for attendance of Air Force enlisted personnel at Air Force officer professional military education in-residence courses.

(a) Limitation.—None of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise available for the Department of the Air Force may be obligated or expended for the purpose of the attendance of Air Force enlisted personnel at Air Force officer professional military education (PME) in-residence courses until the later of—

(1) the date on which the Secretary of the Air Force submits to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and to the Comptroller General of the United States, a report on the attendance of such personnel at such courses as described in subsection (b);

(2) the date on which the Comptroller General submits to such committees the report setting forth an assessment of the report under paragraph (1) as described in subsection (c); or

(3) 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(b) Secretary of the Air Force report.—The report of the Secretary described in subsection (a)(1) shall include the following:

(1) The purpose of the attendance of Air Force enlisted personnel at Air Force officer professional military education in-residence courses.

(2) The objectives for the attendance of such enlisted personnel at such officer professional military education courses.

(3) The required prerequisites for such enlisted personnel to attend such officer professional military education courses.

(4) The process for selecting such enlisted personnel to attend such officer professional military education courses.

(5) The impact of the attendance of such enlisted personnel at such officer professional military education courses on the availability of officer allocations for the attendance of officers at such courses.

(6) The impact of the attendance of such enlisted personnel at such officer professional military education courses on the morale and retention of officers attending such courses.

(7) The resources required for such enlisted personnel to attend such officer professional military education courses.

(8) The impact on unit and overall Air Force manning levels of the attendance of such enlisted personnel at such officer professional military education courses, especially at the statutorily-limited end strengths of grades E–8 and E–9.

(9) The extent to which graduation by such enlisted personnel from such officer professional military education courses is a requirement for Air Force or joint assignments.

(10) The planned assignment utilization for Air Force enlisted graduates of such officer professional military education courses.

(11) Any other matters in connection with the attendance of such enlisted personnel at such officer professional military education courses that the Secretary considers appropriate.

(c) Comptroller General of the United States report.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the date the Secretary submits the report described in subsection (a)(1), the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a briefing on an assessment of the report by the Comptroller General. As soon as practicable after the briefing, the Comptroller General shall submit to such committees a report on such assessment for purposes of subsection (a)(2).

(2) ELEMENTS.—The report under paragraph (1) shall include the following:

(A) An assessment of whether the conclusions and assertions included in the report of the Secretary under subsection (a) are comprehensive, fully supported, and sufficiently detailed.

(B) An identification of any shortcomings, limitations, or other reportable matters that affect the quality of the findings or conclusions of the report of the Secretary.

SEC. 546. Pilot program on integration of Department of Defense and non-Federal efforts for civilian employment of members of the Armed Forces following transition from active duty to civilian life.

(a) Pilot program required.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a pilot program to assess the feasability and advisability of assisting members of the Armed Forces described in subsection (c) who are undergoing the transition from active duty in the Armed Forces to civilian life by accelerating and improving their access to employment following their transition to civilian life through the coordination, integration, and leveraging of existing programs and authorities of the Department of Defense for such purposes with programs and resources of State and local agencies, institutions of higher education, employers, and other public, private, and nonprofit entities applicable to the pilot program.

(2) EXISTING COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES.—For purposes of this section, existing programs and resources of State and local agencies, institutions of higher education, employers, and other public, private, and nonprofit entities described in paragraph (1) in the vicinity of a location of the pilot program are referred to as the “existing community programs and resources” in that vicinity.

(b) Goals.—The goals of the pilot program shall be as follows:

(1) To facilitate the coordination of existing community programs and resources in the locations of the pilot program in order to identify a model for the coordination of such programs and authorities that can be replicated nationwide in communities in which members of the Armed Forces described in subsection (c) are undergoing the transition from active duty to civilian life.

(2) To identify mechanisms by which the Department of Defense and existing community programs and resources may work with employers and members of the Armed Forces described in subsection (c) in order to—

(A) identify workforce needs that may be satisfiable by such members following their transition to civilian life;

(B) identify military occupational skills that may satisfy the workforce needs identified pursuant to subparagraph (A); and

(C) identify gaps in the training of members of the Armed Forces that may require remediation in order to satisfy workforce needs identified pursuant to subparagraph (A), and identify mechanisms by which members of the Armed Forces described in subsection (c) may receive training to remediate such gaps.

(3) To identify mechanisms to assist members of the Armed Forces described in subsection (c) in bridging geographical gaps between their final military installations and nearby metropolitan areas in which employment and necessary training are likely to be available to such members during or following their transition to civilian life.

(c) Covered members.—The members of the Armed Forces described in this subsection are the following:

(1) Regular members of the Armed Forces who are within 180 days of discharge or release from the Armed Forces.

(2) Members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces (whether National Guard or Reserve) who are on active duty for a period of more than 365 days and are within 180 days of release from such active duty.

(d) Locations.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out the pilot program at not less than five locations selected by the Secretary for purposes of the pilot program.

(2) SELECTION REQUIREMENTS.—Each location selected pursuant to paragraph (1) shall—

(A) include a military installation—

(i) that has a well-established military-civilian community relationship with the civilian communities nearby; and

(ii) at which serves an appropriate population of members of the Armed Forces described in subsection (c);

(B) have a large employment or industry base that supports a variety of occupational opportunities;

(C) have appropriate institutional infrastructure for the provision of worker training; and

(D) take place in a different geographic region of the United States.

(e) Elements.—At each location selected for the pilot program there shall be the following:

(1) A mechanism to identify existing community programs and resources for participation in the pilot program, including programs and resources that are currently working with programs and authorities of the Department of Defense to assist members of the Armed Forces described in subsection (c), and, especially, programs and resources that are recognized as engaging in best practices in working with such programs and authorities of the Department.

(2) A mechanism to assess the willingness of employers in the vicinity of such location to participate in the pilot program and employ members of the Armed Forces participating in the pilot program following their transition to civilian life.

(3) A mechanism to assess the willingness of the State in which such location is located to recognize military training for credit for professional and occupational licenses.

(4) A civilian community coordinator for the pilot program, who shall be responsible for implementation and execution of the pilot program for the Department, and for coordinating existing community programs and resources, at such location by—

(A) pursuing a multi-faceted outreach and engagement strategy that leverages relationships with appropriate public, private, and nonprofit entities in the vicinity of such location for purposes of the pilot program;

(B) developing and implementing a program using existing resources, infrastructure, and experience to maximize the benefits of the pilot program for members of the Armed Forces participating in the pilot program by minimizing the time required for completion of training provided to such members under the pilot program, which program shall—

(i) compliment continuing Department efforts to assist members of the Armed Forces in their transition from active duty in the Armed Forces to civilian life and to coordinate with existing veteran employment programs for purposes of such efforts;

(ii) provide for the cultivation of a network of partners among the entities described in subparagraph (A) in order to maximize the number of opportunities for civilian employment for members of the Armed Forces participating in the pilot program following their transition to civilian life;

(iii) provide for the use of comprehensive assessments of the military experience gained by members of the Armed Forces participating in the pilot program in order to assist them in obtaining civilian employment relating to their military occupations following their transition to civilian life;

(iv) seek to secure for members of the Armed Forces participating in the pilot program maximum credit for prior military service in their pursuit of civilian employment following their transition to civilian life;

(v) seek to eliminate unnecessary and redundant elements of the training provided for purposes of the pilot program to members of the Armed Forces participating in the pilot program;

(vi) seek to minimize the time required for members of the Armed Forces participating in the pilot program in obtaining skills, credentials, or certifications required for civilian employment following their transition to civilian life; and

(vii) provide for the continuous collection of data and feedback from employers in the vicinity of such location in order to tailor training provided to members of the Armed Forces for purposes of the pilot program to meet the needs of such employers.

(5) A plan of action for delivering additional training and credentialing modules for members of the Armed Forces described in subsection (c) in order to seek to provide such members with skills that are in high demand in the vicinity and region of such location.

(f) Reports.—

(1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date of the commencement of the pilot program, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the pilot program. The report shall include, for each location selected for the pilot program pursuant to subsection (d), the following:

(A) A full description of the pilot program, including—

(i) the number of members of the Armed Forces participating in the pilot program;

(ii) the outreach to public, private, and nonprofit entities conducted for purposes of the pilot program to encourage such entities to participate in the pilot program;

(iii) the entities participating in the pilot program, set forth by employment sector;

(iv) the number of members participating in the pilot program who obtained employment with an entity participating in the pilot program, set forth by employment sector;

(v) a description of any additional training provided to members participating in the pilot program for purposes of the pilot program, including the amount of time required for such additional training; and

(vi) a description of the cost of the pilot program.

(B) A current assessment of the effect of the pilot program on Department of Defense and community efforts to assist members of the Armed Forces described in subsection (c) in obtaining civilian employment following their transition to civilian life.

(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days before the date on which the pilot program terminates, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives an update of the report submitted under paragraph (1).

(g) Construction.—Nothing in this section may be construed to authorize the Secretary to hire additional employees for the Department of Defense to carry out the pilot program.

(h) Termination.—The authority of the Secretary to carry out the pilot program shall terminate on the date that is two years after the date on which the pilot program commences.

SEC. 547. Two-year extension of suicide prevention and resilience program for the National Guard and Reserves.

SEC. 548. Sexual assault prevention and response training for all individuals enlisted in the Armed Forces under a delayed entry program.

(a) Training required.—Commencing not later than January 1, 2018, each Secretary concerned shall, insofar as practicable, provide training on sexual assault prevention and response to each individual under the jurisdiction of such Secretary who is enlisted in the Armed Forces under a delayed entry program such that each such individual completes such training before the date of commencement of basic training or initial active duty for training in the Armed Forces.

(b) Elements.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The training provided pursuant to subsection (a) shall meet such requirements as the Secretary of Defense shall establish for purposes of this section. Such training shall, to the extent practicable, be uniform across the Armed Forces.

(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON PROVISION AND NATURE OF TRAINING.—It is the sense of Congress that the training should—

(A) be provided through in-person instruction, whenever possible; and

(B) include instruction on the proper use of social media.

(c) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) The term “delayed entry program” means the following:

(A) The Future Soldiers Program of the Army.

(B) The Delayed Entry Program of the Navy and the Marine Corps.

(C) The program of the Air Force for the delayed entry of enlistees into the Air Force.

(D) The program of the Coast Guard for the delayed entry of enlistees into the Coast Guard.

(E) Any successor program to a program referred to in subparagraphs (A) through (D).

(2) The term “Secretary concerned” has the meaning given that term in section 101(a)(9) of title 10, United States Code.

SEC. 549. Use of assistance under Department of Defense Tuition Assistance Program for non-traditional education to develop cybersecurity and computer coding skills.

(a) Briefing on use required.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall provide the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a briefing on the feasability and advisability of the enactment into law of the authority described in subsection (b).

(b) Authority.—The authority described in this subsection is authority for a member of the Armed Forces who is eligible for tuition assistance under the Department of Defense Tuition Assistance (TA) Program to use such assistance at or with an educational institution described in subsection (c) for courses or programs of education of such educational institution in connection with the following:

(1) Cybersecurity skills or related skills.

(2) Computer coding skills or related skills.

(c) Educational institutions.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—An educational institution described in this subsection is an educational institution not otherwise approved for participation in the Department of Defense Tuition Assistance Program that receives approval from the Department of Defense for participation in the program for courses or programs of education described in subsection (b).

(2) APPROVAL.—Any approval of the participation of an educational institution in the Program under this subsection would be granted by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in accordance with such guidance as the Under Secretary would issue for purposes of this section.

(3) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Under Secretary would enter into a memorandum of understanding with each educational institution approved for participation in the Program pursuant to this subsection regarding the participation of such educational institution in the Program. Each memorandum of understanding would set forth such terms and conditions regarding the participation of the educational institution concerned in the Program, including terms and conditions applicable to the courses or programs for which tuition assistance under the Program could be used, as the Under Secretary would consider appropriate for purposes of this section.

(d) Courses and programs.—The courses and programs of education for which tuition assistance could be used pursuant to the authority in subsection (b) would include the following:

(1) Massive online open courses (MOOCs).

(2) Short-term certification courses, including so-called computer coding “boot camps”.

(3) Such other non-traditional courses and programs of education leading to skills specified in subsection (b) as the Under Secretary would consider appropriate for purposes of this section.

SEC. 551. Impact aid for children with severe disabilities.

(a) In general.—Of the amount authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2018 pursuant to section 301 and available for operation and maintenance for Defense-wide activities as specified in the funding table in section 4301, $10,000,000 shall be available for payments under section 363 of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (as enacted into law by Public Law 106–398; 114 Stat. 1654A–77; 20 U.S.C. 7703a).

(b) Use of certain amount.—Of the amount available under subsection (a) for payments as described in that subsection, $5,000,000 shall be available for such payments to local educational agencies determined by the Secretary of Defense, in the discretion of the Secretary, to have higher concentrations of military children with severe disabilities.

SEC. 552. Continuation of authority to assist local educational agencies that benefit dependents of members of the Armed Forces and Department of Defense civilian employees.

(a) Assistance to schools with significant numbers of military dependent students.—Of the amount authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2018 by section 301 and available for operation and maintenance for Defense-wide activities as specified in the funding table in section 4301, $25,000,000 shall be available only for the purpose of providing assistance to local educational agencies under subsection (a) of section 572 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (Public Law 109–163; 20 U.S.C. 7703b).

(b) Local educational agency defined.—In this section, the term “local educational agency” has the meaning given that term in section 7013(9) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7713(9)).

SEC. 553. One-year extension of authorities relating to the transition and support of military dependent students to local educational agencies.

SEC. 556. Housing treatment for certain members of the Armed Forces, and their spouses and other dependents, undergoing a permanent change of station within the United States.

(a) Housing treatment.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 37, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 403 the following new section:

Ҥ 403a. Housing treatment for certain members of the armed forces, and their spouses and other dependents, undergoing a permanent change of station within the United States

“(a) Housing treatment for certain members who have a spouse or other dependents.—

“(1) HOUSING TREATMENT REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations that permit a member of the armed forces described in paragraph (2) who is undergoing a permanent change of station within the United States to request the housing treatment described in subsection (b) during the covered relocation period of the member.

“(2) ELIGIBLE MEMBERS.—A member described in this paragraph is any member who—

“(A) has a spouse who is gainfully employed or enrolled in a degree, certificate or license granting program at the beginning of the covered relocation period;

“(B) has one or more dependents attending an elementary or secondary school at the beginning of the covered relocation period;

“(C) has one or more dependents enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program; or

“(D) is caring for an immediate family member with a chronic or long-term illness at the beginning of the covered relocation period.

“(b) Housing treatment.—

“(1) CONTINUATION OF HOUSING FOR THE SPOUSE AND OTHER DEPENDENTS.—If a spouse or other dependent of a member whose request under subsection (a) is approved resides in Government-owned or Government-leased housing at the beginning of the covered relocation period, the spouse or other dependent may continue to reside in such housing during a period determined in accordance with the regulations prescribed pursuant to this section.

“(2) EARLY HOUSING ELIGIBILITY.—If a spouse or other dependent of a member whose request under subsection (a) is approved is eligible to reside in Government-owned or Government-leased housing following the member’s permanent change of station within the United States, the spouse or other dependent may commence residing in such housing at any time during the covered relocation period.

“(3) TEMPORARY USE OF GOVERNMENT-OWNED OR GOVERNMENT-LEASED HOUSING INTENDED FOR MEMBERS WITHOUT A SPOUSE OR DEPENDENT.—If a spouse or other dependent of a member relocates at a time different from the member in accordance with a request approved under subsection (a), the member may be assigned to Government-owned or Government-leased housing intended for the permanent housing of members without a spouse or dependent until the member’s detachment date or the spouse or other dependent’s arrival date, but only if such Government-owned or Government-leased housing is available without displacing a member without a spouse or dependent at such housing.

“(4) EQUITABLE BASIC ALLOWANCE FOR HOUSING.—If a spouse or other dependent of a member relocates at a time different from the member in accordance with a request approved under subsection (a), the amount of basic allowance for housing payable may be based on whichever of the following areas the Secretary concerned determines to be the most equitable:

“(A) The area of the duty station to which the member is reassigned.

“(B) The area in which the spouse or other dependent resides, but only if the spouse or other dependent resides in that area when the member departs for the duty station to which the member is reassigned, and only for the period during which the spouse or other dependent resides in that area.

“(C) The area of the former duty station of the member, but only if that area is different from the area in which the spouse or other dependent resides.

“(c) Rule of construction related to certain basic allowance for housing payments.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the payment or the amount of basic allowance for housing payable under section 403(d)(3)(A) of this title to a member whose request under subsection (a) is approved.

“(d) Inapplicability to Coast Guard.—This section does not apply to members of the Coast Guard.

“(e) Housing treatment education.—The regulations prescribed pursuant to this section shall ensure the relocation assistance programs under section 1056 of title 10 include, as part of the assistance normally provided under such section, education about the housing treatment available under this section.

“(f) Definitions.—In this section:

“(1) COVERED RELOCATION PERIOD.— (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the term ‘covered relocation period’, when used with respect to a permanent change of station of a member of the armed forces, means the period that—

“(i) begins 180 days before the date of the permanent change of station; and

“(ii) ends 180 days after the date of the permanent change of station.

“(B) The regulations prescribed pursuant to this section may provide for a shortening or lengthening of the covered relocation period of a member for purposes of this section.

“(2) DEPENDENT.—The term ‘dependent’ has the meaning given that term in section 401 of this title.

“(3) PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION.—The term ‘permanent change of station’ means a permanent change of station described in section 452(b)(2) of this title.”.

(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 7 such title is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 403 the following new item:

(b) Effective date.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect on October 1, 2018.

SEC. 557. Direct hire authority for Department of Defense for childcare services providers for Department child development centers.

(a) In general.—The Secretary of Defense may, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, recruit and appoint qualified childcare services providers to positions within the Department of Defense child development centers.

(b) Regulations.—The Secretary shall carry out this section in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary for purposes of this section.

(c) Deadline for implementation.—The Secretary shall prescribe the regulations required by subsection (b), and commence implementation of subsection (a), by not later than May 1, 2018.

(d) Childcare services provider defined.—In this section, the term “childcare services provider” means a person who provides childcare services for dependent children of members of the Armed Forces and civilian employees of the Department of Defense in child development centers on Department installations.

SEC. 558. Report on expanding and contracting for childcare services of the Department of Defense.

(1) Expanding the operating hours of childcare facilities of the Department of Defense in order to meet childcare services requirements for swing-shift, night-shift, and weekend workers.

(2) Using contracts with private-sector childcare services providers to expand the availability of childcare services for members of the Armed Forces at locations outside military installations at costs similar to the current costs for childcare services through child development centers on military installations.

(3) Contracting with private-sector childcare services providers to operate childcare facilities of the Department on military installations.

(4) Expanding childcare services as described in paragraphs (1) through (3) to members of the National Guard and Reserves in a manner that does not substantially raise costs of childcare services for the military departments or conflict with others who have a higher priority for space in childcare services programs, such as members of the Armed Forces on active duty.

SEC. 559. Report on review of General Schedule pay grades of childcare services providers of the Department of Defense.

(a) Report required.—Not later than March 1, 2018, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on a review, undertaken by the Secretary for purposes of the report, of the General Schedule pay grades for childcare services provider positions within the Department of Defense.

(b) Elements of review.—The review undertaken for purposes of subsection (a) shall include the following:

(1) A comparison of the compensation provided for current General Schedule pay grades for childcare services provider positions within the Department with the compensation provided to childcare services providers in the private sector providing similar childcare services.

(2) An assessment of the mix of General Schedule pay grades currently required by the Department to most effectively recruit and retain childcare services providers for military dependents.

(3) A comparison of the budget implications of the current General Schedule pay grade mix with the General Schedule pay grade mix determined pursuant to paragraph (2) to be required by the Department to most effectively recruit and retain childcare services providers for military dependents.

SEC. 560. Pilot program on public-private partnerships for telework facilities on military installations outside the United States.

(a) In general.—Commencing not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall carry out a pilot program to assess the feasability and advisability of providing telework facilities for military spouses on military installations outside the United States. The Secretary shall consult with the host nation or nations concerned in carrying out the pilot program.

(b) Number of installations.—The Secretary shall carry out the pilot program at not less than two military installations outside the United States selected by the Secretary for purposes of the pilot program.

(c) Duration.—The duration of the pilot program shall be a period selected by the Secretary, but not more than three years.

(d) Elements.—The pilot program shall include the following elements:

(1) The pilot program shall be conducted as one or more public-private partnerships between the Department of Defense and a private corporation or partnership of private corporations.

(2) The corporation or corporations participating in the pilot program shall contribute to the carrying out of the pilot program an amount equal to the amount committed by the Secretary to the pilot program at the time of its commencement.

(3) The Secretary shall enter into one or more memoranda of understanding with the corporation or corporations participating in the pilot program for purposes of the pilot program, including the amounts to be contributed by such corporation or corporations pursuant to paragraph (2).

(4) The telework undertaken by military spouses under the pilot program may only be for United States companies.

(5) The pilot program shall permit military spouses to provide administrative, informational technology, professional, and other necessary support to companies through telework from Department installations outside the United States.

(e) Funding.—Of the amount authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2018 by section 401 and available for military personnel as specified in the funding table in section 4401, up to $1,000,000 may be available to carry out the pilot program, including entry into memoranda of understanding pursuant to subsection (d)(3) and payment by the Secretary of the amount committed by the Secretary to the pilot program pursuant to subsection (d)(2).

SEC. 561. Report on mechanisms to facilitate the obtaining by military spouses of professional licenses or credentials in other States.

(1) The development and maintenance of a joint Federal-State clearing house to process the professional license and credential information of military spouses in order—

(A) to facilitate the matching of such information with State professional licensure and credentialing requirements; and

(B) to provide military spouses information on the actions required to obtain professional licenses or credentials in other States.

(2) The establishment of a joint Federal-State taskforce dedicated to the elimination of unnecessary or duplicative professional licensure and credentialing requirements among the States.

(3) The development and maintenance of an Internet website that serves as a one-stop resource on professional licenses and credentials for military spouses that sets forth license and credential requirements for common professions in the States and provides assistance and other resources for military spouses seeking to obtain professional licenses or credentials in other States.

SEC. 562. Additional military childcare matters.

(a) Hours of operation of childcare development centers of the Department of Defense.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The hours of operation of each childcare development center (CDC) of the Department of Defense shall, to the extent practicable, be set and maintained in manner that takes into account the demands and circumstances of members of the Armed Forces, including members of the reserve components, who use such center in facilitation of the performance of their military duties.

(2) MATTERS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—The demands and circumstances to be taken into account under paragraph (1) for purposes of setting and maintaining the hours of operation of a childcare development center shall include the following:

(A) Mission requirements of units whose members use such center.

(B) The unpredictability of work schedules, and fluctuations in day-to-day work hours, of such members.

(C) The potential for frequent and prolonged absences of such members for training, operations, and deployments.

(D) The location of such center on the military installation concerned, including the location in connection with duty locations of members and applicable military family housing.

(E) The geographic separation of such members from their extended family.

(F) The impact on the ability of such members to perform their military duties of employment of their spouses or educational pursuits of their spouses.

(G) Such other matters as the Secretary of the military department concerned considers appropriate for purposes of this subsection.

(b) Childcare coordinators for military installations.—

(1) CHILDCARE COORDINATORS.—Each Secretary of a military department shall provide for a childcare coordinator at each military installation under the jurisdiction of such Secretary at which are stationed significant numbers of members of the Armed Forces with accompanying dependent children, as determined by such Secretary.

(2) NATURE OF POSITION.—The childcare coordinator for a military installation may be an individual appointed to that position on full-time or part-time basis or an individual appointed to another position whose duties in such other position are consistent with the discharge by the person of the duties of childcare coordinator.

(3) DUTIES.—Each childcare coordinator for an installation shall carry out the duties as follows:

(A) Act as an advocate for military families at the installation on childcare matters both on-installation and off-installation.

(B) Work with the commander of the installation in order to seek to ensure that the childcare development centers at the installation, together with any other available childcare options on or in the vicinity of the installation—

(i) provide a quality of care (including a caregiver-to-child ratio) commensurate with best practices of private providers of childcare services; and

(ii) are responsive to the childcare needs of members stationed at the installation and their families.

(C) Work with private providers of childcare services in the vicinity of the installation in order to—

(i) track vacancies in the childcare facilities of such providers;

(ii) seek to increase the availability of affordable childcare services for such members; and

(iii) otherwise ease the use of such services by such members.

(D) Such other duties as the Secretary of the military department concerned shall specify.

SEC. 571. Authority of Secretary of the Army to award the Personnel Protection Equipment award of the Army to former members of the Army.

SEC. 572. Authorization for award of Distinguished Service Cross to Specialist Frank M. Crary for acts of valor in Vietnam.

(a) Authorization.—Notwithstanding the time limitations specified in section 3744 of title 10, United States Code, or any other time limitation with respect to the awarding of certain medals to persons who served in the Armed Forces, the President may award the Distinguished Service Cross under section 3742 of such title to Specialist Frank M. Crary for the acts of valor in Vietnam described in subsection (b).

(b) Acts of valor described.—The acts of valor referred to in subsection (a) are the actions of Frank M. Crary on April 7, 1966, as a member of the Army serving in the grade of Specialist in Vietnam while serving with Company D, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.

SEC. 581. Modification of submittal date of Comptroller General of the United States report on integrity of the Department of Defense whistleblower program.

SEC. 582. Report to Congress on accompanied and unaccompanied tours of duty in remote locations with high family support costs.

(1) United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

(2) Kwajalein Atoll.

(3) Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.

SEC. 601. Fiscal year 2018 increase in military basic pay.

(a) Waiver of section 1009 adjustment.—The adjustment to become effective during fiscal year 2018 required by section 1009 of title 37, United States Code, in the rates of monthly basic pay authorized members of the uniformed services shall not be made.

(b) Increase in Basic Pay.—Effective on January 1, 2018, the rates of monthly basic pay for members of the uniformed services are increased by 2.1 percent.

SEC. 602. Extension of authority to provide temporary increase in rates of basic allowance for housing under certain circumstances.

SEC. 603. Adjustment to basic allowance for housing at with dependents rate of certain members of the uniformed services.

(a) In general.—Section 403 of title 37, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(p) Ineligibility for with dependents rate of certain members.—A member who is married to another member, is assigned to the same geographic location as such other member, and has one or more dependent children with such other member is not eligible for a basic allowance for housing at the with dependents rate.”.

(b) Effective date.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2017, and shall, except as provided in paragraph (2), apply with respect to allowances for basic housing payable for months beginning on or after that date.

(2) PRESERVATION OF CURRENT BAH FOR MEMBERS WITH UNINTERRUPTED ELIGIBILITY FOR BAH.—Notwithstanding the amendment made by subsection (a), the monthly amount of basic allowance for housing payable to a member of the uniformed services under section 403 of title 37, United States Code, as of September 30, 2017, shall not be reduced by reason of the amendment so long as the member retains uninterrupted eligibility for such basic allowance for housing within an area of the United States or within an overseas location (as applicable).

SEC. 604. Modification of authority of President to determine alternative pay adjustment in annual basic pay of members of the uniformed services.

(a) Modification.—Section 1009(e) of title 37, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in paragraph (1), by striking “or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare”;

(2) by striking paragraph (2); and

(3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2).

(b) Effective date.—The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, and—

(1) if the date of the enactment of this Act occurs before September 1 of a year, shall apply with respect to plans for alternative pay adjustments for any year beginning after such year; and

(2) if the date of the enactment of this Act occurs after August 31 of a year, shall apply with respect to plans for alternative pay adjustments for any year beginning after the year following such year.

SEC. 611. One-year extension of certain bonus and special pay authorities for reserve forces.

(1) Section 308b(g), relating to Selected Reserve reenlistment bonus.

(2) Section 308c(i), relating to Selected Reserve affiliation or enlistment bonus.

(3) Section 308d(c), relating to special pay for enlisted members assigned to certain high-priority units.

(4) Section 308g(f)(2), relating to Ready Reserve enlistment bonus for persons without prior service.

(5) Section 308h(e), relating to Ready Reserve enlistment and reenlistment bonus for persons with prior service.

(6) Section 308i(f), relating to Selected Reserve enlistment and reenlistment bonus for persons with prior service.

(7) Section 478a(e), relating to reimbursement of travel expenses for inactive-duty training outside of normal commuting distance.

(8) Section 910(g), relating to income replacement payments for reserve component members experiencing extended and frequent mobilization for active duty service.

SEC. 612. One-year extension of certain bonus and special pay authorities for health care professionals.

(a) Title 10 authorities.—The following sections of title 10, United States Code, are amended by striking “December 31, 2017” and inserting “December 31, 2018”:

(1) Section 2130a(a)(1), relating to nurse officer candidate accession program.

(2) Section 16302(d), relating to repayment of education loans for certain health professionals who serve in the Selected Reserve.

(b) Title 37 authorities.—The following sections of title 37, United States Code, are amended by striking “December 31, 2017” and inserting “December 31, 2018”:

(1) Section 302c-1(f), relating to accession and retention bonuses for psychologists.

(2) Section 302d(a)(1), relating to accession bonus for registered nurses.

(3) Section 302e(a)(1), relating to incentive special pay for nurse anesthetists.

(4) Section 302g(e), relating to special pay for Selected Reserve health professionals in critically short wartime specialties.

(5) Section 302h(a)(1), relating to accession bonus for dental officers.

(6) Section 302j(a), relating to accession bonus for pharmacy officers.

(7) Section 302k(f), relating to accession bonus for medical officers in critically short wartime specialties.

(8) Section 302l(g), relating to accession bonus for dental specialist officers in critically short wartime specialties.

SEC. 613. One-year extension of special pay and bonus authorities for nuclear officers.

(1) Section 312(f), relating to special pay for nuclear-qualified officers extending period of active service.

(2) Section 312b(c), relating to nuclear career accession bonus.

(3) Section 312c(d), relating to nuclear career annual incentive bonus.

SEC. 614. One-year extension of authorities relating to title 37 consolidated special pay, incentive pay, and bonus authorities.

(1) Section 331(h), relating to general bonus authority for enlisted members.

(2) Section 332(g), relating to general bonus authority for officers.

(3) Section 333(i), relating to special bonus and incentive pay authorities for nuclear officers.

(4) Section 334(i), relating to special aviation incentive pay and bonus authorities for officers.

(5) Section 335(k), relating to special bonus and incentive pay authorities for officers in health professions.

(6) Section 336(g), relating to contracting bonus for cadets and midshipmen enrolled in the Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

(7) Section 351(h), relating to hazardous duty pay.

(8) Section 352(g), relating to assignment pay or special duty pay.

(9) Section 353(i), relating to skill incentive pay or proficiency bonus.

(10) Section 355(h), relating to retention incentives for members qualified in critical military skills or assigned to high priority units.

SEC. 615. One-year extension of authorities relating to payment of other title 37 bonuses and special pays.

(1) Section 301b(a), relating to aviation officer retention bonus.

(2) Section 307a(g), relating to assignment incentive pay.

(3) Section 308(g), relating to reenlistment bonus for active members.

(4) Section 309(e), relating to enlistment bonus.

(5) Section 316a(g), relating to incentive pay for members of precommissioning programs pursuing foreign language proficiency.

(6) Section 324(g), relating to accession bonus for new officers in critical skills.

(7) Section 326(g), relating to incentive bonus for conversion to military occupational specialty to ease personnel shortage.

(8) Section 327(h), relating to incentive bonus for transfer between Armed Forces.

(9) Section 330(f), relating to accession bonus for officer candidates.

SEC. 616. Aviation bonus matters.

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraphs:

“(2) BUSINESS CASE FOR PAYMENT OF AVIATION BONUS AMOUNTS.—

“(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the aviation bonus payable under paragraph (1)(B) under agreements entered into under subsection (d) during a fiscal year shall be determined solely through a business case analysis of the amount required to be paid under such agreements in order to address anticipated manning shortfalls for such fiscal year by aircraft type category.

“(B) BUDGET JUSTIFICATION DOCUMENTS.—The budget justification documents in support of the budget of the President for a fiscal year (as submitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31) shall set forth for each uniformed service the following:

“(i) The amount requested for the payment of aviation bonuses under this section using amounts authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year concerned by aircraft type category.

“(ii) The business case analysis supporting the amount so requested by aircraft type category.

“(iii) For each aircraft type category, whether or not the amount requested will permit the payment during the fiscal year concerned of the maximum amount of the aviation bonus authorized by paragraph (1).

“(iv) If any amount requested is to address manning shortfalls, a description of any plans of the Secretary concerned to address such shortfalls by non-monetary means.

“(3) TIERED LIMITATION ON MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF AVIATION BONUS.—

“(A) IN GENERAL.—The maximum amount of the aviation bonus payable under paragraph (1)(B) under agreements entered into under subsection (d) during a fiscal year shall vary by anticipated manning shortfalls for such fiscal year by aircraft type category. The variance shall be stated by tier correlating maximum bonus amounts with anticipated manning and retention levels, as follows:

“(i) Maximum amount payable (known as ‘Tier I’) is the amount specified for the fiscal year concerned by paragraph (1)(B) and is payable under agreements for duty by aircraft type category in which—

“(I) the projected manning level for the fiscal year does not exceed 90 percent of the required manning level; or

“(II) the two-year retention trend for personnel performing such duty does not exceed 50 percent.

“(ii) Maximum amount payable (known as ‘Tier II’) is an amount equal to 68 percent of the amount specified for the fiscal year concerned by paragraph (1)(B) and is payable under agreements for duty by aircraft type category in which—

“(I) the projected manning level for the fiscal year is between 90 and 95 percent of the required manning level; or

“(II) the two-year retention trend for personnel performing such duty is between 50 and 55 percent.

“(iii) Maximum amount payable (known as ‘Tier III’) is an amount equal to 34 percent of the amount specified for the fiscal year concerned by paragraph (1)(B) and is payable under agreements for duty by aircraft type category in which—

“(I) the projected manning level for the fiscal year is between 95 and 100 percent of the required manning level; or

“(II) the two-year retention trend for personnel performing such duty is between 55 and 65 percent.

“(iv) Maximum amount payable (known as ‘Tier IV’) is zero for duty by aircraft type category in which—

“(I) the projected manning level for the fiscal year is 100 percent or more of the required manning level; or

“(II) the two-year retention trend for personnel performing such duty exceeds 65 percent.

“(B) LIMITATION ON TOTAL NUMBER OF AGREEMENTS PROVIDING FOR TIER I PAYMENT.—In no event may all the agreements entered into under subsection (d) during a fiscal year by a Secretary concerned provide for a maximum amount payable as described in subparagraph (A)(i).”.

SEC. 617. Special aviation incentive pay and bonus authorities for enlisted members who pilot remotely piloted aircraft.

(a) In general.—Chapter 5 of title 37, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 334 the following new section:

Ҥ 334a. Special aviation incentive pay and bonus authorities: enlisted members who pilot remotely piloted aircraft

“(a) Aviation incentive pay.—

“(1) INCENTIVE PAY AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary concerned may pay aviation incentive pay under this section to an enlisted member in a regular or reserve component of a uniformed service who—

“(A) is entitled to basic pay under section 204 of this title or compensation under 206 of this title;

“(B) is designated as a remotely piloted aircraft pilot, or is in training leading to such a designation;

“(C) engages in, or is in training leading to, frequent and regular performance of operational flying duty or proficiency flying duty;

“(D) engages in or remains in aviation service for a specified period; and

“(E) meets such other criteria as the Secretary concerned determines appropriate.

“(2) ENLISTED MEMBERS NOT CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN FLYING DUTY.—The Secretary concerned may pay aviation incentive pay under this section to an enlisted member who is otherwise qualified for such pay but who is not currently engaged in the performance of operational flying duty or proficiency flying duty if the Secretary determines, under regulations prescribed under section 374 of this title, that payment of aviation pay to that enlisted member is in the best interests of the service.

“(b) Aviation bonus.—The Secretary concerned may pay an aviation bonus under this section to an enlisted member in a regular or reserve component of a uniformed service who—

“(1) is entitled to aviation incentive pay under subsection (a);

“(2) is within one year of completing the member’s enlistment;

“(3) reenlists or voluntarily extends the member’s enlistment for a period of at least one year or, in the case of an enlisted member serving pursuant to an indefinite reenlistment, executes a written agreement to remain on active duty for a period of at least one year or to remain in an active status in a reserve component for a period of at least one year; and

“(4) meets such other criteria as the Secretary concerned determines appropriate.

“(c) Maximum amount and method of payment.—

“(1) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The Secretary concerned shall determine the amount of a bonus or incentive pay to be paid under this section, except that—

“(A) aviation incentive pay under subsection (a) shall be paid at a monthly rate not to exceed $1,000 per month; and

“(B) an aviation bonus under subsection (b) may not exceed $35,000 for each 12-month period of obligated service agreed to under subsection (d).

“(2) BUSINESS CASE FOR PAYMENT OF AVIATION BONUS AMOUNTS.—

“(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the aviation bonus payable under paragraph (1)(B) under agreements entered into under subsection (d) during a fiscal year shall be determined solely through a business case analysis of the amount required to be paid under such agreements in order to address anticipated manning shortfalls for such fiscal year by aircraft type category.

“(B) BUDGET JUSTIFICATION DOCUMENTS.—The budget justification documents in support of the budget of the President for a fiscal year (as submitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31) shall set forth for each uniformed service the following:

“(i) The amount requested for the payment of aviation bonuses under this section using amounts authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year concerned by aircraft type category.

“(ii) The business case analysis supporting the amount so requested by aircraft type category.

“(iii) For each aircraft type category, whether or not the amount requested will permit the payment during the fiscal year concerned of the maximum amount of the aviation bonus authorized by paragraph (1).

“(iv) If any amount requested is to address manning shortfalls, a description of any plans of the Secretary concerned to address such shortfalls by non-monetary means.

“(3) LUMP SUM OR INSTALLMENTS.—A bonus under this section may be paid in a lump sum or in periodic installments, as determined by the Secretary concerned.

“(4) FIXING BONUS AMOUNT.—Upon acceptance by the Secretary concerned of the written agreement required by subsection (d), the total amount of the bonus to be paid under the agreement shall be fixed.

“(d) Written agreement for bonus.—To receive an aviation bonus under this section, an enlisted member determined to be eligible for the bonus shall enter into a written agreement with the Secretary concerned that specifies—

“(1) the amount of the bonus;

“(2) the method of payment of the bonus under subsection (c)(2);

“(3) the period of obligated service; and

“(4) the type or conditions of the service.

“(e) Reserve component enlisted members performing inactive duty training.—An enlisted member of reserve component who is entitled to compensation under section 206 of this title and who is authorized aviation incentive pay under this section may be paid an amount of incentive pay that is proportionate to the compensation received under section 206 of this title for inactive-duty training.

“(f) Relationship to other pay and allowances.—

“(1) AVIATION INCENTIVE PAY.—Aviation incentive pay paid to an enlisted member under subsection (a) shall be in addition to any other pay and allowance to which the enlisted member is entitled, except that an enlisted member may not receive a payment under such subsection and section 351(a)(2) or 353(a) of this title for the same skill and period of service.

“(2) AVIATION BONUS.—An aviation bonus paid to an enlisted member under subsection (b) shall be in addition to any other pay and allowance to which the enlisted member is entitled, except that an enlisted member may not receive a bonus payment under such subsection and section 331 or 353(b) of this title for the same skill and period of service.

“(g) Repayment.—An enlisted member who receives aviation incentive pay or an aviation bonus under this section and who fails to fulfill the eligibility requirements for the receipt of the incentive pay or bonus or complete the period of service for which the incentive pay or bonus is paid, as specified in the written agreement under subsection (d) in the case of a bonus, shall be subject to the repayment provisions of section 373 of this title.

“(h) Definitions.—In this section:

“(1) AVIATION SERVICE.—The term ‘aviation service’ means participation in aerial flight performed, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned, by an eligible enlisted member remotely piloted aircraft pilot.

“(2) OPERATIONAL FLYING DUTY.—The term ‘operational flying duty’ means flying performed under competent orders by enlisted members of the regular or reserve components while serving in assignments in which basic flying skills are normally maintained in the performance of assigned duties as determined by the Secretary concerned, and flying duty performed by members in training that leads to designation as a remotely piloted aircraft pilot by the Secretary concerned.

“(3) PROFICIENCY FLYING DUTY.—The term ‘proficiency flying duty’ means flying performed under competent orders by enlisted members of the regular or reserve components while serving in assignments in which such skills would normally not be maintained in the performance of assigned duties.

“(i) Termination of Authority.—No agreement may be entered into under this section after December 31, 2018.”.

(b) Clerical amendment.—The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 5 of such title is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 334 the following new item:

SEC. 618. Technical and conforming amendments relating to 2008 consolidation of special pay authorities.