S.Amdt. 2192

SA 2192. Mr. GRASSLEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 4049, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2021 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:

At the appropriate place in title IX, insert the following:

SEC. ___. OFFICE OF NET ASSESSMENT.

(a) Limitation on Funds Available.--The amount available
for programs, projects, and activities of the Office of Net
Assessment (ONA) in any fiscal year after fiscal year 2020
may not exceed $10,000,000.
(b) Limitation on Research Contracts.--Any contract for
research entered into by the Office of Net Assessment after
the date of the enactment of this Act may only be for
research for purposes of the development and coordination of
net assessments as described in section 904 of the Carl Levin
and Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (10 U.S.C. 113 note).
(c) Strategy on Elimination of Waste by ONA.--Not later
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of Defense shall develop and implement a
comprehensive strategy to provide for the following:
(1) Proper contract oversight mechanisms are in place at
the Office of Net Assessment in order to ensure that--
(A) financial waste is kept to a minimum;
(B) research contracts comport with the purpose of a net
assessment under section 113 of title 10, United States Code;
and
(C) all contract documents are collected and recorded as
required by section 113 of title 10, United States Code, and
applicable regulations.
(2) A formal cost analysis by the Secretary of Defense on
an annual basis of actual cost of the performance of net
assessments by the Office of Net Assessment.
(d) Inspector General of the Department of Defense
Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the
Department of Defense shall submit to the Secretary of
Defense and the congressional defense committees a report
setting forth the following:
(1) A description and assessment of the extent to which the
Office of Net Assessment has failed to comply with law and
regulations in contracting for research projects during the
five-year period ending on September 30, 2020.
(2) A description and assessment of the extent to which the
Secretary of Defense has developed and implemented the
comprehensive strategy required by subsection (c).
(3) An assessment the effectiveness of the comprehensive
strategy required by subsection (c) in meeting each required
purpose of the strategy as specified in paragraphs (1) and
(2) of that subsection.
(4) An analysis of the actual cost of net assessments to
assess whether the determination of the Secretary on the
actual cost of performance of annual net assessments by the
Office of Net Assessment is supported by the facts, and an
assessment whether annual net assessments can be performed by
the Office at a cost less than $10,000,000.
(5) Such recommendations as the Inspector General considers
appropriate to address failures or shortfalls in the
performance of annual net assessments by the Office of Net
Assessment.
(e) Comptroller General of the United States Report.--Not
later than one year after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall
submit to the Secretary of Defense and the congressional
defense committees a report setting forth the following:
(1) The results of a comprehensive audit, conducted for
purposes of the report, of the effectiveness of the
comprehensive strategy required by subsection (c).
(2) The results of an analysis, conducted for purposes of
the report, of the actual cost of performance of annual net
assessments by the Office of Net Assessment.
(3) Such recommendations as the Comptroller General
considers appropriate to improve the oversight of the Office
of Net Assessment by the Department of Defense, and to ensure
compliance by the Office with applicable law and regulations
on contracting.
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