[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2600 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2600
To require a Defense Science Board study on optimal organizational
structure for digital solutions.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 31, 2025
Mr. Rounds introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require a Defense Science Board study on optimal organizational
structure for digital solutions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DEFENSE SCIENCE BOARD STUDY ON OPTIMAL ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE FOR DIGITAL ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS.
(a) Study Required.--The Secretary of Defense shall direct the
Defense Science Board to conduct a comprehensive study to evaluate and
recommend the most optimal organizational structure within the Office
of the Secretary of Defense to support digital solutions engineering
activities across the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the
military departments.
(b) Elements.--The study required under subsection (a) shall
include the following elements:
(1) An assessment of existing organizational structures and
organizations supporting digital solutions engineering across
the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the military
departments, including--
(A) current responsibilities, requirements, and
deliverables of service-based software delivery
organizations;
(B) responsibilities or authorities imposed by
statutory requirements;
(C) limitations based on current enterprise data
management platforms;
(D) effectiveness and efficiency of current
approaches;
(E) optimization of resource allocation and
utilization processes; and
(F) integration challenges and opportunities with
Department-wide digital initiatives.
(2) An evaluation of potential organizational courses of
action for supporting digital solutions engineering within the
Office of the Secretary of Defense, including--
(A) establishment of a new defense agency or
Department of Defense field activity;
(B) integration into an existing defense agency or
Department of Defense field activity;
(C) consolidation of digital development functions
within existing Office of the Secretary of Defense
staff organizations;
(D) optimization of current organizational
structures and authorities;
(E) hybrid approaches combining elements of the
options described in subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and
(D); and
(F) any other organizational structures deemed
appropriate by the Defense Science Board.
(3) Recommendations on the selection of the optimal
organizational structure, including--
(A) analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of
each course of action evaluated under paragraph (2);
(B) assessment of capability requirements and gaps;
(C) evaluation of cost-effectiveness and resource
implications;
(D) application of lessons from similar industry or
academic entities performing similar work;
(E) consideration of governance and execution
framework requirements;
(F) assessment of the implementation of and
execution of governance structures, including
artificial intelligence model management;
(G) coordination mechanisms with existing
Department components and combatant commands;
(H) recommendations for unique hiring authorities
to support digital solutions engineering workforce
requirements; and
(I) recommendations for unique acquisition
authorities to support rapid digital solutions
engineering and deployment.
(4) Transition recommendations for implementing the
selected organizational structure, including--
(A) detailed implementation timeline and
milestones;
(B) organizational and personnel changes required;
(C) resource requirements and funding mechanisms;
(D) legislative or regulatory changes needed;
(E) risk assessment and mitigation strategies; and
(F) metrics for evaluating implementation success.
(c) Report.--
(1) Transmittal to secretary.--Not later than February 1,
2027, the Board shall transmit to the Secretary of Defense a
final report on the study conducted pursuant to subsection (a).
(2) Transmittal to congress.--Not later than 30 days after
the date on which the Secretary receives the final report under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit the report to the
congressional defense committees, together with such comments
as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Congressional defense committees.--The term
``congressional defense committees'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code.
(2) Digital solutions engineering.--The term ``digital
solutions engineering'' means the development, deployment, and
sustainment of artificial intelligence systems, software
applications, data engineering solutions, data analytics
platforms, and other digital technologies for operational and
business purposes within the Department of Defense.
(3) Software delivery organizations.--The term ``software
delivery organizations'' means organizational units within the
military services dedicated to the rapid development,
deployment, and sustainment of software applications and
digital solutions.
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