§119a — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must send a report to the defense committees in Congress by March 1 each year about programs run under alternative compensatory control measures. The report must list the total amount requested for those programs in the President’s budget for the coming fiscal year. For each such program it must give a short description, the main milestones, actual costs for past years, the program’s total estimated cost, and estimated costs for the current year, the budget year, and the next four years. If the President’s budget for that year is not a full Department budget because of multiyear budgeting, the report must show what has already been appropriated for the next year and any additional amount requested, and it must still include the same program-by-program details. By February 1 each year the Secretary must also tell the defense committees about any new program put under these control measures and explain why. That notice must include a current total cost estimate and any similar existing programs or technologies. If a program’s classification is to change or be declassified, the Secretary must tell the committees about the planned change, the reasons, and any planned public announcement at least 14 days before it happens, unless exceptional circumstances require faster action, in which case the Secretary must explain why. The Secretary can withhold certain report details if revealing them would harm national security, but must give the hidden details and the reason for the withholding directly to the chairman and ranking member of each defense committee. A program cannot start under these control measures until the committees are notified and 30 days pass, except if waiting would cause exceptionally grave harm to national security; then the Secretary may start early but must notify the committees within 10 days with a justification. Neither the Secretary of Defense nor the Director of National Intelligence may cut off the defense committees’ access to classified programs or information that the committees could access as of the date the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 became law, or to classified programs later under the committees’ jurisdiction. “Classified program” includes special access programs, alternative compensatory control measures, and other controlled access programs.

Title 10, §119a

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Not later than March 1 each year, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the programs being managed under alternative compensatory control measures in the Department of Defense.

(2)Each report under paragraph (1) shall set forth the following:

(A)The total amount requested for programs being managed under alternative compensatory control measures in the Department in the budget of the President under section 1105 of title 31 for the fiscal year beginning in the fiscal year in which such report is submitted.

(B)For each program in that budget that is a program being managed under alternative compensatory control measures in the Department—

(i)a brief description of the program;

(ii)a brief discussion of the major milestones established for the program;

(iii)the actual cost of the program for each fiscal year during which the program has been conducted before the fiscal year during which that budget is submitted; and

(iv)the estimated total cost of the program and the estimated cost of the program for—

(I)the current fiscal year;

(II)the fiscal year for which that budget is submitted; and

(III)each of the four succeeding fiscal years during which the program is expected to be conducted.

(3)In the case of a report under paragraph (1) submitted in a year during which the budget of the President for the fiscal year concerned does not, because of multiyear budgeting for the Department, include a full budget request for the Department, the report required by paragraph (1) shall set forth—

(A)the total amount already appropriated for the next fiscal year for programs being managed under alternative compensatory control measures in the Department, and any additional amount requested in that budget for such programs for such fiscal year; and

(B)for each program that is a program being managed under alternative compensatory control measures in the Department, the information specified in paragraph (2)(B).

(b)(1)Not later than February 1 each year, the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report that, with respect to each new program being managed under alternative compensatory control measures in the Department, provides—

(A)notice of the designation of the program as a program being managed under alternative compensatory control measures in the Department; and

(B)a justification for such designation.

(2)A report under paragraph (1) with respect to a program shall include—

(A)the current estimate of the total program cost for the program; and

(B)an identification of existing programs or technologies that are similar to the technology, or that have a mission similar to the mission, of the program that is the subject of the report.

(3)In this subsection, the term “new program being managed under alternative compensatory control measures” means a program in the Department that has not previously been covered by a report under this subsection.

(c)(1)Whenever a change in the classification of a program being managed under alternative compensatory control measures in the Department is planned to be made, or whenever classified information concerning a program being managed under alternative compensatory control measures in the Department is to be declassified and made public, the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report containing a description of the proposed change, the reasons for the proposed change, and notice of any public announcement planned to be made with respect to the proposed change.

(2)Except as provided in paragraph (3), a report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted not less than 14 days before the date on which the proposed change or public announcement concerned is to occur.

(3)If the Secretary determines that because of exceptional circumstances the requirement in paragraph (2) cannot be met with respect to a proposed change or public announcement concerning a program covered by paragraph (1), the Secretary may submit the report required by that paragraph regarding the proposed change or public announcement at any time before the proposed change or public announcement is made, and shall include in the report an explanation of the exceptional circumstances.

(d)Whenever there is a modification or termination of the policy or criteria used for designating a program as a program being managed under alternative compensatory control measures in the Department, the Secretary shall promptly notify the congressional defense committees of such modification or termination. Any such notification shall contain the reasons for the modification or termination and, in the case of a modification, the provisions of the policy or criteria as modified.

(e)(1)The Secretary may waive any requirement in subsection (a), (b), or (c) that certain information be included in a report under such subsection if the Secretary determines that inclusion of that information in the report would adversely affect the national security. Any such waiver shall be made on a case-by-case basis.

(2)If the Secretary exercises the authority in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide the information described in the applicable subsection with respect to the program concerned, and the justification for the waiver, jointly to the chairman and ranking minority member of each of the congressional defense committees.

(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), a program to be managed under alternative compensatory control measures in the Department may not be initiated until—

(A)the congressional defense committees are notified of the program; and

(B)a period of 30 days elapses after such notification is received.

(2)If the Secretary determines that waiting for the regular notification process before initiating a program as described in paragraph (1) would cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security, the Secretary may begin a program to be managed under alternative compensatory control measures in the Department before such waiting period elapses. The Secretary shall notify the congressional defense committees within 10 days of initiating a program under this paragraph, including a justification for the determination of the Secretary that waiting for the regular notification process would cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security.

(g)(1)Neither the Secretary of Defense nor the Director of National Intelligence may take any action that would have the effect of limiting the access of the congressional defense committees to—

(A)any classified program, or any information about any classified program, to which such committees have access as of the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022; or

(B)any classified program established, or any information about any classified program that becomes available, after the date of the enactment of such Act that is within the jurisdiction of such committees.

(2)In this subsection, the term “classified program” includes any special access program, alternative compensatory control measure, or any other controlled access program.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 and the date of the enactment of such Act, referred to in subsec. (g)(1), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 117–81, which was approved Dec. 27, 2021.

Amendments

2021—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 117–81 added subsec. (g). 2019—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 116–92 substituted “ACCMS” for “AACMS” in subsec. heading.

§119a Programs Managed Under Alternative Compensatory Control Measures: Congressional Oversight