§499c Portfolio management framework for nuclear forces

Summary

By January 1, 2024, the Secretary of Defense must set up a portfolio management plan for U.S. nuclear forces. The plan must say which nuclear forces are included, create a governance group (which can use or copy an existing model such as the Deputy’s Management Action Group from DoD Directive 5105.79), explain how the Department will find, manage, and rank risks, and show how the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment will work with the Administrator for Nuclear Security through the Nuclear Weapons Council. The plan must use the findings and recommendations from the GAO report GAO–22–104061 (January 2022). The Secretary must also finish a full review of what skills and tools are needed to manage these risks, including using public and private experts and the Defense Acquisition University. With each President’s budget submission starting for fiscal year 2025, the Secretary must brief the congressional defense committees on the requirements used, key risks found, and actions to reduce those risks. Briefings may be classified. The Secretary must notify the committees if a congressional funding action will significantly delay nuclear certification or delivery. The rules end 90 days after the Secretary certifies that these programs are fully operational: the LGM–35A Sentinel ICBM, the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, the long-range standoff weapon, the B–21 Raider bomber, and the F–35A dual-capable aircraft. “Nuclear forces” here means at least: nuclear weapons; the platforms and systems that carry them; command, control, and communications for nuclear forces; and the DoD and NNSA people, buildings, and support that keep those systems working.