Military Readiness and Cost Savings Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3181 To direct the Secretary of Defense to enter into a contract with an eligible institution to carry out research and education activities relating to military painting. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 10, 2019 Ms. FINKENAUER (for herself, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. RYAN, and Mr. TONKO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Armed Services A BILL To direct the Secretary of Defense to enter into a contract with an eligible institution to carry out research and education activities relating to military painting. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Readiness and 4 Cost Savings Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The Bob Stump National Defense Author- 8 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107– 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3181.IH H3181 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3181 IH 314), which passed with broad bipartisan support, 1 established an Office of Corrosion Policy and Over- 2 sight within the Office of the Under Secretary of 3 Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. The office 4 was created to ‘‘oversee and coordinate efforts 5 throughout the Department of Defense to prevent 6 and mitigate corrosion of the military equipment and 7 infrastructure of the Department’’. 8 (2) Corrosion of the equipment and infrastruc- 9 ture of the Department of Defense (referred to in 10 this section as the ‘‘Department’’) is expensive and 11 impedes military readiness. According to a study 12 commissioned by the Department’s Office of Corro- 13 sion Policy and Oversight, corrosion costs the De- 14 partment $20.6 billion annually across all services. 15 These costs comprise 21 percent of the Depart- 16 ment’s total maintenance costs across all services. 17 Corrosion is responsible for 11 percent, or roughly 18 1.1 million, of all non-available days for Department 19 assets. 20 (3) Chemical-agent-resistant-coatings, which 21 help to protect military vehicles and equipment from 22 chemical and biological weapons and severe environ- 23 mental conditions that cause corrosion, can range in 24 price from $100 to $800 per gallon. With approxi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3181.IH H3181 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3181 IH mately 3,760 assets of varying sizes painted at a 1 typical Department depot per year, such coatings 2 comprise a significant annual cost category for the 3 operation of the facility and the maintenance of mili- 4 tary assets, according to analysis from the South- 5 west Research Institute. 6 (4) Military painter training and certification 7 helps reduce waste and rework of military assets, re- 8 ducing the costs associated with the application of 9 chemical-agent-resistant-coatings. For example, one 10 military painter training and certification provider 11 helped Letterkenny Army Depot use 8,100 fewer 12 gallons of such coatings per year, saving the depot 13 $500,000 per year through improved transfer effi- 14 ciency and reduced rework, according to the South- 15 west Research Institute. 16 (5) The Senate Report accompanying S. 1519 17 (115th Congress; the National Defense Authoriza- 18 tion Act for Fiscal Year 2018) included language 19 recognizing the importance of military painter train- 20 ing, noting that ‘‘paint training programs can save 21 the Department time and funding resources by using 22 advanced technology and equipment along with 23 hands-on training to effectively apply coatings and 24 reduce waste. Additionally, increasing coating trans- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3181.IH H3181 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3181 IH fer efficiency and preventing corrosion and rework 1 can improve asset readiness’’. 2 (6) Investing in military painter and coating 3 training and certification programs helps improve 4 military readiness, increases safety for service mem- 5 bers, and reduces paint costs. It is prudent for Con- 6 gress to invest in research that will foster innova- 7 tions in those areas. 8 (7) The importance of corrosion resistance goes 9 beyond Department assets. Across nearly every sec- 10 tor, corrosion is expensive and poses a safety risk to 11 users. For example, decaying roads and bridges cost 12 the United States economy $5,000,000,000 a year, 13 according to the National Association of Corrosion 14 Engineers. Congress has a duty to pair Federal in- 15 frastructure investment with corrosion management 16 to ensure new and existing public infrastructure is 17 built to last. 18 (8) The proper application of anticorrosion 19 coatings requires a high degree of knowledge and 20 skill. According to the International Union of Paint- 21 ers and Allied Trades, a poorly executed corrosion 22 prevention project will leave an asset unprotected, 23 increase costs to repair or replace all or parts of it, 24 and irresponsibly use taxpayer dollars. Using trained 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3181.IH H3181 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3181 IH and certified painters is the most effective way to 1 ensure assets are truly protected from corrosion. 2 SEC. 3. NATIONAL CENTER FOR MILITARY PAINTER TRAIN- 3 ING AND APPLIED RESEARCH. 4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Chapter 131 of title 10, 5 United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 6 2228 the following new section: 7 ‘‘§ 2228a. National Center for Military Painter Train- 8 ing and Applied Research 9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, acting 10 through the Director of the Office of Corrosion Policy and 11 Oversight, shall seek to enter into a contract with an eligi- 12 ble institution under which the institution will carry out 13 the functions described in subsection (c). 14 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary shall designate 15 the institution that is awarded a contract under subsection 16 (a) as the ‘National Center for Military Painting and Ap- 17 plied Research’ (referred to in this section as the ‘Center’). 18 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Center shall— 19 ‘‘(1) serve as a testing facility for the applica- 20 tion of new paint coatings developed by industry- 21 leading research and development facilities; 22 ‘‘(2) partner with industry to assess the efficacy 23 of specific blends of chemical-agent-resistant coating 24 powder on certain military assets to assure max- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3181.IH H3181 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3181 IH imum cost efficiency, coating effectiveness, and qual- 1 ity finish; 2 ‘‘(3) expand training and certification programs 3 for military painters to covered facilities that have 4 an ongoing, unmet need for such programs; 5 ‘‘(4) develop new teaching tools, which may in- 6 clude the use of virtual reality technology to enable 7 trainees to simulate the painting of a variety of mili- 8 tary assets; 9 ‘‘(5) develop online learning modules for train- 10 ing military painters in the use of liquid and powder 11 coatings; 12 ‘‘(6) explore the adoption of automated painting 13 technologies while recognizing that the repair of cer- 14 tain military assets is best performed manually; 15 ‘‘(7) provide on-site consultation and technical 16 assistance at covered facilities to maximize cost effi- 17 ciency, quality assurance, and operational effective- 18 ness in painting and coating operations; and 19 ‘‘(8) conduct outreach to servicemembers at 20 covered facilities, in coordination with Department 21 of Defense and any appropriate skilled labor organi- 22 zations, employers, and industry organizations with 23 specialties in corrosion and painting, to raise aware- 24 ness of military painter career opportunities and any 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3181.IH H3181 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3181 IH related industrial and commercial painting appren- 1 ticeship opportunities for Veterans. 2 ‘‘(d) CONTRACT PROCEDURES.—A contract under 3 subsection (a) shall be awarded in accordance with full 4 and open competition (as that term is defined in chapter 5 1 of title 41, United States Code). 6 ‘‘(e) PROVISION OF SERVICES FOR COAST GUARD.— 7 The Secretary of Defense may enter into an agreement 8 with the Secretary of the department in which the Coast 9 Guard is operating under which the Center may provide, 10 with or without reimbursement for the cost thereof, train- 11 ing and other assistance to the Coast Guard in accordance 12 with subsection (c). 13 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than September 14 30 of each year covered by the contract under subsection 15 (a), the Center shall submit to the Director of the Office 16 of Corrosion Policy and Oversight a report that describes 17 the progress of the Center in carrying out the functions 18 described in subsection (c), including the progress of the 19 Center in— 20 ‘‘(1) expanding training programs for military 21 painters; and 22 ‘‘(2) conducting applied research relating to 23 military painting. 24 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3181.IH H3181 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3181 IH ‘‘(1) The term ‘eligible institution’ means an 1 entity that— 2 ‘‘(A) as of the date of the enactment of 3 this section, provides military painter training 4 programs that lead to a certification that is rec- 5 ognized by the Department of Defense; 6 ‘‘(B) demonstrates the ability to establish 7 sustainable military painter operations at mul- 8 tiple covered facilities, including on military 9 bases and depots; 10 ‘‘(C) has a proven ability to scale a mili- 11 tary painter training program to meet the needs 12 of multiple covered facilities, including by devel- 13 oping or expanding a certified train-the-trainer 14 program; 15 ‘‘(D) demonstrates experience in devel- 16 oping and managing a military painter training 17 and certification program that has proven suc- 18 cess in achieving cost savings and unit readi- 19 ness through training in the prevention and 20 control of corrosion; and 21 ‘‘(E) possesses the facilities and equipment 22 necessary to conduct applied research on the ef- 23 ficacy of military paint composites and coatings 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3181.IH H3181 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3181 IH and the transfer efficiency of such composites 1 and coatings. 2 ‘‘(2) The term ‘covered facilities’ means— 3 ‘‘(A) the facilities of the Department of 4 Defense, including the facilities of— 5 ‘‘(i) the Armed Forces; 6 ‘‘(ii) the reserve components, includ- 7 ing the National Guard; and 8 ‘‘(iii) the Army Corps of Engineers; 9 and 10 ‘‘(B) subject to an agreement under sub- 11 section (e), the facilities of the Coast Guard. 12 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 13 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec- 14 tion— 15 ‘‘(1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; and 16 ‘‘(2) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 17 through 2023.’’. 18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 19 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 20 after the item relating to section 2228 the following new 21 item: 22 ‘‘2228a. National Center for Military Painter Training and Applied Research.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3181.IH H3181 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS