Warfighting Software Enhancement Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4508 To authorize a pilot program to explore the use of consumption-based solutions to address software-intensive warfighting capability. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 6, 2020 Mr. ROUNDS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To authorize a pilot program to explore the use of consump- tion-based solutions to address software-intensive warfighting capability. 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 ‘‘Warfighting Software 4 Enhancement Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4508.IS S4508 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4508 IS SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM EXPLORING THE USE OF CON- 1 SUMPTION-BASED SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS 2 SOFTWARE-INTENSIVE WARFIGHTING CAPA- 3 BILITY. 4 (a) FINDING.—In its final report, the Section 809 5 Panel recommended the adoption of consumption-based 6 approaches at the Department of Defense, stating, ‘‘More 7 things will be sold as a service in the future. XaaS could 8 really mean everything in the context of the Internet of 9 things (IoT). Consumption-based solutions are appearing 10 in many industry sectors, from last mile transportation 11 (e.g., bike shares and electric scooters) to agriculture (e.g., 12 tractor-as-a-service for farmers in developing countries). 13 Most smart phone users are familiar with software up- 14 dates that provide bug fixes or new features. A more ex- 15 treme example of technology innovation enabled by the 16 IoT is the ability to deliver physical performance improve- 17 ments to vehicles through over-the-air software updates 18 . . . In the not-so-distant future, cloud computing and the 19 IoT will enable consumption-based solution offerings and 20 delivery models that are hard to imagine today.’’ 21 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 22 gress— 23 (1) that the Department of Defense should take 24 advantage of ‘‘as-a-service’’ or ‘‘aaS’’ approaches in 25 commercial capability development, particularly 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4508.IS S4508 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4508 IS where the capability is software-defined, and cloud- 1 enabled; 2 (2) to support the Department of Defense’s 3 commitment to new approaches to development and 4 acquisition of software; 5 (3) that the Department should explore a vari- 6 ety of approaches, to include the use of consump- 7 tion-based solutions for software-intensive 8 warfighting capability; and 9 (4) that, in conducting activities under the pilot 10 program established under this program, the De- 11 partment should use the Software pathway under 12 the new Adaptive Acquisition Framework. 13 (c) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap- 14 propriations, the Secretary of Defense is authorized to es- 15 tablish a pilot program to explore the use of consumption- 16 based solutions to address software-intensive warfighting 17 capability. 18 (d) SELECTION OF INITIATIVES.—The Secretary of 19 each military department and the commander of each 20 combatant command with acquisition authority shall pro- 21 pose for selection by the Secretary of Defense for the pilot 22 program at least one and not more than three initiatives 23 that are well-suited to explore consumption-based solu- 24 tions to address software-intensive warfighting capability. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4508.IS S4508 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4508 IS The initiatives may be new or existing programs of record 1 and shall focus on software-defined or machine-enabled 2 warfighting applications, and may include applications 3 that— 4 (1) rapidly analyze sensor data; 5 (2) secure warfighter networks, including multi- 6 level security; 7 (3) swiftly transport information across various 8 networks and network modalities; or 9 (4) otherwise enable joint all-domain oper- 10 ational concepts, including in a contested environ- 11 ment. 12 (e) CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.—Contracts for con- 13 sumption-based solutions entered into pursuant to the 14 pilot program shall provide for— 15 (1) the solution to be measurable on a frequent 16 interval customary for the type of solution; 17 (2) the contractor to notify the government 18 when consumption reaches 75 percent and 90 per- 19 cent of the contract funded amount; and 20 (3) discretion for the contracting officer to add 21 new features or capabilities without additional com- 22 petition for the contract, provided that the amount 23 of the new features or capabilities does not exceed 24 25 percent of the total contract value. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4508.IS S4508 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4508 IS (f) DURATION OF INITIATIVES.—Each initiative car- 1 ried out under the pilot program shall be carried out dur- 2 ing the three-year period following selection of the initia- 3 tive. 4 (g) MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PILOT PRO- 5 GRAM.—The Director of the Office of Cost Assessment 6 and Program Evaluation shall establish continuous moni- 7 toring to evaluate the pilot program established under sub- 8 section (c), including collecting data on cost, schedule, and 9 performance from the program office, the user community, 10 and the contractors. 11 (h) REPORTS.— 12 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than January 13 31, 2021, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to 14 the congressional defense committees a report on ini- 15 tiatives selected for the pilot program, roles and re- 16 sponsibilities for implementing the pilot program, 17 and the monitoring and evaluation approach for the 18 pilot. 19 (2) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than April 20 15, 2021, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to 21 the congressional defense committees a report on the 22 progress of the initiatives. 23 (3) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4508.IS S4508 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4508 IS retary of Defense shall submit to the congressional 1 defense committees a report on the cost, schedule, 2 and performance outcomes of the initiatives. The re- 3 port shall also include lessons learned about the use 4 of consumption-based solutions for software-inten- 5 sive capabilities and any recommendations for statu- 6 tory or regulatory changes to facilitate their use. 7 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 (1) CONGRESSIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEES.— 9 The term ‘‘congressional defense committees’’ has 10 the meaning given the term in section 101(a)(16) of 11 title 10, United States Code. 12 (2) CONSUMPTION-BASED SOLUTION.—The 13 term ‘‘consumption-based solution’’ means any com- 14 bination of software, hardware or equipment, and 15 labor or services that provides a seamless capability 16 that is metered and billed based on actual usage and 17 predetermined pricing per resource unit, and in- 18 cludes the ability to rapidly scale capacity up or 19 down. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4508.IS S4508 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS