§ 171a. Council on Oversight of the National Leadership Command, Control, and Communications System

(a)Establishment.— There is within the Department of Defense a council to be known as the “Council on Oversight of the National Leadership Command, Control, and Communications System” (in this section referred to as the “Council”).

(b)Membership.— The members of the Council shall be as follows:

(1) The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

(2) The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

(3) The Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

(4) The Commander of the United States Strategic Command.

(5) The Director of the National Security Agency.

(6) The Chief Information Officer of the Department of Defense.

(7) Such other officers of the Department of Defense as the Secretary may designate.

(c)Co-Chair.— The Council shall be co-chaired by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

(d)Responsibilities.—

(1) The Council shall be responsible for oversight of the command, control, and communications system for the national leadership of the United States, including nuclear command, control, and communications.

(2) In carrying out the responsibility for oversight of the command, control, and communications system as specified in paragraph (1), the Council shall be responsible for the following:

(A) Oversight of performance assessments (including interoperability).

(B) Vulnerability identification and mitigation.

(C) Architecture development.

(D) Resource prioritization.

(E) Such other responsibilities as the Secretary of Defense shall specify for purposes of this section.

(e)Annual Reports.— At the same time each year that the budget of the President is submitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105(a) of title 31, the Council shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the activities of the Council. Each report shall include the following:

(1) A description and assessment of the activities of the Council during the previous fiscal year.

(2) A description of the activities proposed to be undertaken by the Council during the period covered by the current future-years defense program under section 221 of this title.

(3) Any changes to the requirements of the command, control, and communications system for the national leadership of the United States made during the previous year, along with an explanation for why the changes were made and a description of the effects of the changes to the capability of the system.

(4) A breakdown of each program element in such budget that relates to the system, including how such program element relates to the operation and sustainment, research and development, procurement, or other activity of the system.

(f)Budget and Funding Matters.—

(1) Not later than 30 days after the President submits to Congress the budget for a fiscal year under section 1105(a) of title 31, the Commander of the United States Strategic Command shall submit to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff an assessment of—

(A) whether such budget allows the Federal Government to meet the required capabilities of the command, control, and communications system for the national leadership of the United States during the fiscal year covered by the budget and the four subsequent fiscal years; and

(B) if the Commander determines that such budget does not allow the Federal Government to meet such required capabilities, a description of the steps being taken to meet such required capabilities.

(2) Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff receives the assessment of the Commander of the United States Strategic Command under paragraph (1), the Chairman shall submit to the congressional defense committees—

(A) such assessment as it was submitted to the Chairman; and

(B) any comments of the Chairman.

(3) If a House of Congress adopts a bill authorizing or appropriating funds for the activities of the command, control, and communications system for the national leadership of the United States that, as determined by the Council, provides insufficient funds for such activities for the period covered by such bill, the Council shall notify the congressional defense committees of the determination.

(g)Notification of Anomalies.—

(1) The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees written notification of an anomaly in the nuclear command, control, and communications system for the national leadership of the United States that is reported to the Secretary or the Council by not later than 14 days after the date on which the Secretary or the Council learns of such anomaly, as the case may be.

(2) In this subsection, the term “anomaly” means any unplanned, irregular, or abnormal event, whether unexplained or caused intentionally or unintentionally by a person or a system.

(h)National Leadership of the United States Defined.— In this section, the term “national leadership of the United States” means the following:

(1) The President.

(2) The Vice President.

(3) Such other civilian officials of the United States Government as the President shall designate for purposes of this section.

(Added Pub. L. 113–66, div. A, title X, § 1052(a)(1), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 859.)