S.Amdt. 4126

SA 4126. Mr. BLUMENTHAL submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed by him to the bill S. 2943, to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2017 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; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

[[Page S3117]]

At the end of subtitle C of title VII, add the following:

SEC. 764. ASSESSMENT OF ABILITY OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TO
USE MODELING AND SIMULATION CAPABILITIES TO
ADDRESS MEDICAL TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.

(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies
of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under which the
National Academies assess the ability of the Department of
Defense to use modeling and simulation capabilities to
address medical training requirements of the Department.
(b) Alternate Organization.--
(1) In general.--If the Secretary is unable to enter into
an agreement described in subsection (a) with the National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on terms
acceptable to the Secretary, the Secretary shall seek to
enter into such an agreement with another appropriate
organization that--
(A) is not part of the Federal Government;
(B) operates as a not-for-profit entity; and
(C) has expertise and objectivity comparable to that of the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
(2) Treatment.--If the Secretary enters into an agreement
with another organization as described in paragraph (1), any
reference in this section to the National Academies of
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine shall be treated as a
reference to the other organization.
(c) Elements.--In conducting the assessment under
subsection (a), the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine shall--
(1) assess--
(A) the modeling and simulation technology available to the
Federal Government and the private sector;
(B) research and development programs that the Department
may be able to undertake to enhance the modeling and
simulation technology available to the Department;
(C) programs to transition modeling and simulation
technology into operational use by the Department; and
(D) the advantages and disadvantages of using modeling and
simulation as compared to live animal training, including
fiscal and educational advantages and disadvantages; and
(2) make recommendations to the Secretary on--
(A) improvements to policies and programs of the Department
to increase the use of modeling and simulation technology;
(B) research and development priorities of the Department
that will enhance modeling and simulation capabilities; and
(C) the development of specific technical metrics to
compare modeling and simulation to live animal training.
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