[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4214 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4214

    To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish and implement a 
 comprehensive system for analyzing and addressing nonconformities in 
     the aftermath of all Class A Mishaps, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 20, 2023

 Mr. Calvert introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish and implement a 
 comprehensive system for analyzing and addressing nonconformities in 
     the aftermath of all Class A Mishaps, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Military Equipment Quality and 
Safety Reform Act'' or ``MEZr Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Department of Defense lacks a comprehensive system 
        for addressing nonconformities that may have contributed to 
        Class A Mishaps.
            (2) This lack of a system can result in a failure to 
        identify and address underlying issues, which can increase the 
        risk of similar incidents occurring in the future.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SYSTEM FOR ANALYSIS OF NONCONFORMITIES 
              CONTRIBUTING TO CLASS A MISHAPS.

    (a) System Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall establish and 
implement a comprehensive system for analyzing and addressing 
nonconformities in the aftermath of all Class A Mishaps. Such system 
shall include each of the following capabilities:
            (1) The analysis of processes, work operations, and 
        material for nonconformities.
            (2) The investigation of the causes of nonconformities.
            (3) The identification of the actions needed to correct and 
        prevent the recurrence of nonconformities.
            (4) The implementation and documentation of changes in 
        methods and procedures to correct and prevent identified 
        nonconformities.
            (5) The verification or validation of corrective and 
        preventive actions to ensure that such actions are effective 
        and do not adversely affect the overall system.
            (6) Ensuring that information related to nonconformities 
        including corrective and preventive actions and their 
        effectiveness is disseminated to the individuals who are 
        directly responsible for assuring the quality of related 
        processes, and made available for public release.
            (7) The submission to the Joint Safety Counsel established 
        under section 184 of title 10, United States Code, of relevant 
        information on identified nonconformities, as well as 
        corrective and preventive actions and their effectiveness.
    (b) Guidelines and Procedures.--The Secretary of Defense shall 
establish guidelines and procedures for compliance with the 
requirements of this Act.
    (c) Enforcement.--
            (1) Penalties for noncompliance.--The Secretary of Defense 
        may establish penalties for noncompliance with the requirements 
        of the system established under subsection (a), which may 
        include fines, suspension or revocation of contracts, and other 
        appropriate measures.
            (2) Auditing and monitoring.--The Secretary of Defense 
        shall establish auditing and monitoring processes to ensure 
        compliance with the requirements of the system established 
        under subsection (a), which may include regular audits of 
        nonconformities and corrective and preventive actions taken.
            (3) Reporting.--The Secretary of Defense shall submit to 
        the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of 
        Representatives a report on the establishment of the system 
        under subsection (a). Such report shall include information on 
        identified nonconformities, corrective and preventive actions 
        taken, and the effectiveness of the system.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``Class A Mishap'' means any mishap involving 
        aircraft, missile, spacecraft, nuclear weapon, or submarine, 
        resulting in--
                    (A) a fatality or permanent total disability; or
                    (B) property damage of $2,000,000 or more.
            (2) The term ``nonconformity'' means any failure to fulfill 
        a specified requirement or standard.
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