Spectrum IT Modernization Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3717 To require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to submit to Congress a plan for the modernization of the information technology systems of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 13, 2020 Mr. WICKER (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. INHOFE, and Mr. REED) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Commu- nications and Information to submit to Congress a plan for the modernization of the information technology sys- tems of the National Telecommunications and Informa- tion Administration, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Spectrum IT Mod- 4 ernization Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. MODERNIZATION EFFORT. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3717.IS S3717 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3717 IS (1) the term ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’ means the 1 Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communica- 2 tions and Information; 3 (2) the term ‘‘covered agency’’— 4 (A) means any Federal entity that the As- 5 sistant Secretary determines is appropriate; and 6 (B) includes the Department of Defense; 7 (3) the term ‘‘Federal entity’’ has the meaning 8 given the term in section 113(l) of the National 9 Telecommunications and Information Administration 10 Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(l)); 11 (4) the term ‘‘Federal spectrum’’ means fre- 12 quencies assigned on a primary basis to a covered 13 agency; 14 (5) the term ‘‘infrastructure’’ means informa- 15 tion technology systems and information tech- 16 nologies, tools, and databases; and 17 (6) the term ‘‘NTIA’’ means the National Tele- 18 communications and Information Administration. 19 (b) INITIAL INTERAGENCY SPECTRUM INFORMATION 20 TECHNOLOGY COORDINATION.—Not later than 90 days 21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Sec- 22 retary, in consultation with the Policy and Plans Steering 23 Group, shall identify a process to establish goals, including 24 parameters to measure the achievement of those goals, for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3717.IS S3717 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3717 IS the modernization of the infrastructure of covered agen- 1 cies relating to managing the use of Federal spectrum by 2 those agencies, which shall include— 3 (1) the standardization of data inputs, modeling 4 algorithms, modeling and simulation processes, anal- 5 ysis tools with respect to Federal spectrum, assump- 6 tions, and any other tool to ensure interoperability 7 and functionality with respect to that infrastructure; 8 (2) other potential innovative technological ca- 9 pabilities with respect to that infrastructure, includ- 10 ing cloud-based databases, artificial intelligence tech- 11 nologies, automation, and improved modeling and 12 simulation capabilities; 13 (3) ways to improve the management of covered 14 agencies’ use of Federal spectrum through that in- 15 frastructure, including by— 16 (A) increasing the efficiency of that infra- 17 structure; 18 (B) addressing validation of usage with re- 19 spect to that infrastructure; 20 (C) increasing the accuracy of that infra- 21 structure; 22 (D) validating models used by that infra- 23 structure; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3717.IS S3717 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3717 IS (E) monitoring and enforcing requirements 1 that are imposed on covered agencies with re- 2 spect to the use of Federal spectrum by covered 3 agencies; 4 (4) ways to improve the ability of covered agen- 5 cies to meet mission requirements in congested envi- 6 ronments with respect to Federal spectrum, includ- 7 ing as part of automated adjustments to operations 8 based on changing conditions in those environments; 9 (5) the creation of a time-based automated 10 mechanism— 11 (A) to share Federal spectrum between 12 covered agencies to collaboratively and dynami- 13 cally increase access to Federal spectrum by 14 those agencies; and 15 (B) that could be scaled across Federal 16 spectrum; and 17 (6) the collaboration between covered agencies 18 necessary to ensure the interoperability of Federal 19 spectrum. 20 (c) SPECTRUM INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MOD- 21 ERNIZATION.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 240 days 23 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assist- 24 ant Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3717.IS S3717 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3717 IS contains the plan of the NTIA to modernize and 1 automate the infrastructure of the NTIA relating to 2 managing the use of Federal spectrum by covered 3 agencies so as to more efficiently manage that use. 4 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required under 5 paragraph (1) shall include— 6 (A) an assessment of the current, as of the 7 date on which the report is submitted, infra- 8 structure of the NTIA described in that para- 9 graph; 10 (B) an acquisition strategy for the modern- 11 ized infrastructure of the NTIA described in 12 that paragraph, including how that modernized 13 infrastructure will enable covered agencies to be 14 more efficient and effective in the use of Fed- 15 eral spectrum; 16 (C) a timeline for the implementation of 17 the modernization efforts described in that 18 paragraph; 19 (D) plans detailing how the modernized in- 20 frastructure of the NTIA described in that 21 paragraph will— 22 (i) enhance the security and reliability 23 of that infrastructure so that such infra- 24 structure satisfies the requirements of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3717.IS S3717 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3717 IS Federal Information Security Management 1 Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–296; 116 2 Stat. 2135); 3 (ii) improve data models and analysis 4 tools to increase the efficiency of the spec- 5 trum use described in that paragraph; 6 (iii) enhance automation and 7 workflows, and reduce the scope and level 8 of manual effort, in order to— 9 (I) administer the management 10 of the spectrum use described in that 11 paragraph; and 12 (II) improve data quality and 13 processing time; and 14 (iv) improve the timeliness of spec- 15 trum analyses and requests for informa- 16 tion, including requests submitted pursu- 17 ant to section 552 of title 5, United States 18 Code; 19 (E) an operations and maintenance plan 20 with respect to the modernized infrastructure of 21 the NTIA described in that paragraph; 22 (F) a strategy for coordination between the 23 covered agencies within the Policy and Plans 24 Steering Group, which shall include— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3717.IS S3717 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3717 IS (i) a description of— 1 (I) those coordination efforts, as 2 in effect on the date on which the re- 3 port is submitted; and 4 (II) a plan for coordination of 5 those efforts after the date on which 6 the report is submitted, including with 7 respect to the efforts described in sub- 8 section (d); 9 (ii) a plan for standardizing— 10 (I) electromagnetic spectrum 11 analysis tools; 12 (II) modeling and simulation 13 processes and technologies; and 14 (III) databases to provide tech- 15 nical interference assessments that 16 are usable across the Federal Govern- 17 ment as part of a common spectrum 18 management infrastructure for cov- 19 ered agencies; and 20 (iii) a plan for each covered agency to 21 implement a modernization plan described 22 in subsection (d)(1) that is tailored to the 23 particular timeline of the agency; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3717.IS S3717 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3717 IS (G) identification of manually intensive 1 processes involved in managing Federal spec- 2 trum and proposed enhancements to those proc- 3 esses; 4 (H) metrics to evaluate the success of the 5 modernization efforts described in that para- 6 graph and any similar future efforts; and 7 (I) an estimate of the cost of the mod- 8 ernization efforts described in that paragraph 9 and any future maintenance with respect to the 10 modernized infrastructure of the NTIA de- 11 scribed in that paragraph, including the cost of 12 any personnel and equipment relating to that 13 maintenance. 14 (d) INTERAGENCY INPUTS.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 16 the date of enactment of this Act, the head of each 17 covered agency shall submit to the Assistant Sec- 18 retary and the Policy and Plans Steering Group a 19 report that describes the plan of the agency to mod- 20 ernize the infrastructure of the agency with respect 21 to the use of Federal spectrum by the agency so that 22 such modernized infrastructure of the agency is 23 interoperable with the modernized infrastructure of 24 the NTIA, as described in subsection (c). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3717.IS S3717 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3717 IS (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted by the 1 head of a covered agency under paragraph (1) 2 shall— 3 (A) include— 4 (i) an assessment of the current, as of 5 the date on which the report is submitted, 6 management capabilities of the agency 7 with respect to the use of frequencies that 8 are assigned to the agency, which shall in- 9 clude a description of any challenges faced 10 by the agency with respect to that manage- 11 ment; 12 (ii) a timeline for completion of the 13 modernization efforts described in that 14 paragraph; 15 (iii) a description of potential innova- 16 tive technological capabilities for the man- 17 agement of frequencies that are assigned 18 to the agency, as determined under sub- 19 section (b); 20 (iv) identification of agency-specific 21 requirements or constraints relating to the 22 infrastructure of the agency; 23 (v) identification of any existing, as of 24 the date on which the report is submitted, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3717.IS S3717 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3717 IS systems of the agency that are duplicative 1 of the modernized infrastructure of the 2 NTIA, as proposed under subsection (c); 3 and 4 (vi) with respect to the report sub- 5 mitted by the Secretary of Defense— 6 (I) a strategy for the integration 7 of systems or the flow of data among 8 the Armed Forces, the military de- 9 partments, the Defense Agencies and 10 Department of Defense Field Activi- 11 ties, and other components of the De- 12 partment of Defense; 13 (II) a plan for the implementa- 14 tion of solutions to the use of Federal 15 spectrum by the Department of De- 16 fense involving information at multiple 17 levels of classification; and 18 (III) a strategy for addressing, 19 within the modernized infrastructure 20 of the Department of Defense de- 21 scribed in that paragraph, the ex- 22 change of information between the 23 Department of Defense and the NTIA 24 in order to accomplish required proc- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3717.IS S3717 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3717 IS essing of all Department of Defense 1 domestic spectrum coordination and 2 management activities; and 3 (B) be submitted in an unclassified format, 4 with a classified annex, as appropriate. 5 (3) NOTIFICATION OF CONGRESS.—Upon sub- 6 mission of the report required under paragraph (1), 7 the head of each covered agency shall notify Con- 8 gress that the head of the covered agency has sub- 9 mitted the report. 10 (e) GAO OVERSIGHT.—The Comptroller General of 11 the United States shall— 12 (1) not later than 90 days after the date of en- 13 actment of this Act, conduct a review of the infra- 14 structure of covered agencies, as that infrastructure 15 exists on the date of enactment of this Act; 16 (2) after all of the reports required under sub- 17 section (d) have been submitted, conduct oversight 18 of the implementation of the modernization plans 19 submitted by the NTIA and covered agencies under 20 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; 21 (3) not later than 1 year after the date on 22 which the Comptroller General begins conducting 23 oversight under paragraph (2), and annually there- 24 after, submit a report regarding that oversight to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3717.IS S3717 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3717 IS (A) with respect to the implementation of 1 the modernization plan of the Department of 2 Defense, the Committee on Armed Services of 3 the Senate and the Committee on Armed Serv- 4 ices of the House of Representatives; and 5 (B) with respect to the implementation of 6 the modernization plans of all covered agencies, 7 including the Department of Defense, the Com- 8 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor- 9 tation of the Senate and the Committee on En- 10 ergy and Commerce of the House of Represent- 11 atives; and 12 (4) provide regular briefings to— 13 (A) with respect to the application of this 14 section to the Department of Defense, the Com- 15 mittee on Armed Services of the Senate and the 16 Committee on Armed Services of the House of 17 Representatives; and 18 (B) with respect to the application of this 19 section to all covered agencies, including the 20 Department of Defense, the Committee on 21 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 22 Senate and the Committee on Energy and Com- 23 merce of the House of Representatives. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3717.IS S3717 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS