119-s2600

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2600 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2600

 To require a Defense Science Board study on optimal organizational 
 structure for digital solutions.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 July 31, 2025

 Mr. Rounds introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require a Defense Science Board study on optimal organizational 
 structure for digital solutions.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DEFENSE SCIENCE BOARD STUDY ON OPTIMAL ORGANIZATIONAL 
 STRUCTURE FOR DIGITAL ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS.

    (a) Study Required.--The Secretary of Defense shall direct the 
Defense Science Board to conduct a comprehensive study to evaluate and 
recommend the most optimal organizational structure within the Office 
of the Secretary of Defense to support digital solutions engineering 
activities across the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the 
military departments.

    (b) Elements.--The study required under subsection

    (a) shall 
include the following elements:

    (1) An assessment of existing organizational structures and 
 organizations supporting digital solutions engineering across 
 the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the military 
 departments, including--
        (A) current responsibilities, requirements, and 
 deliverables of service-based software delivery 
 organizations;
        (B) responsibilities or authorities imposed by 
 statutory requirements;
            (C) limitations based on current enterprise data 
 management platforms;
            (D) effectiveness and efficiency of current 
 approaches;
        (E) optimization of resource allocation and 
 utilization processes; and
        (F) integration challenges and opportunities with 
 Department-wide digital initiatives.

    (2) An evaluation of potential organizational courses of 
 action for supporting digital solutions engineering within the 
 Office of the Secretary of Defense, including--
        (A) establishment of a new defense agency or 
 Department of Defense field activity;
        (B) integration into an existing defense agency or 
 Department of Defense field activity;
            (C) consolidation of digital development functions 
 within existing Office of the Secretary of Defense 
 staff organizations;
            (D) optimization of current organizational 
 structures and authorities;
        (E) hybrid approaches combining elements of the 
 options described in subparagraphs
        (A) ,
        (B) ,
            (C) , and
            (D) ; and
        (F) any other organizational structures deemed 
 appropriate by the Defense Science Board.

    (3) Recommendations on the selection of the optimal 
 organizational structure, including--
        (A) analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of 
 each course of action evaluated under paragraph

    (2) ;
        (B) assessment of capability requirements and gaps;
            (C) evaluation of cost-effectiveness and resource 
 implications;
            (D) application of lessons from similar industry or 
 academic entities performing similar work;
        (E) consideration of governance and execution 
 framework requirements;
        (F) assessment of the implementation of and 
 execution of governance structures, including 
 artificial intelligence model management;
        (G) coordination mechanisms with existing 
 Department components and combatant commands;
        (H) recommendations for unique hiring authorities 
 to support digital solutions engineering workforce 
 requirements; and
            (I) recommendations for unique acquisition 
 authorities to support rapid digital solutions 
 engineering and deployment.

    (4) Transition recommendations for implementing the 
 selected organizational structure, including--
        (A) detailed implementation timeline and 
 milestones;
        (B) organizational and personnel changes required;
            (C) resource requirements and funding mechanisms;
            (D) legislative or regulatory changes needed;
        (E) risk assessment and mitigation strategies; and
        (F) metrics for evaluating implementation success.
            (c) Report.--

    (1) Transmittal to secretary.--Not later than February 1, 
 2027, the Board shall transmit to the Secretary of Defense a 
 final report on the study conducted pursuant to subsection

    (a) .

    (2) Transmittal to congress.--Not later than 30 days after 
 the date on which the Secretary receives the final report under 
 paragraph

    (1) , the Secretary shall submit the report to the 
 congressional defense committees, together with such comments 
 as the Secretary considers appropriate.
            (d) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Congressional defense committees.--The term 
 ``congressional defense committees'' has the meaning given the 
 term in 

section 101

    (a)

    (16) of title 10, United States Code.

    (2) Digital solutions engineering.--The term ``digital 
 solutions engineering'' means the development, deployment, and 
 sustainment of artificial intelligence systems, software 
 applications, data engineering solutions, data analytics 
 platforms, and other digital technologies for operational and 
 business purposes within the Department of Defense.

    (3) Software delivery organizations.--The term ``software 
 delivery organizations'' means organizational units within the 
 military services dedicated to the rapid development, 
 deployment, and sustainment of software applications and 
 digital solutions.
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