SEC. 841. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
PERTAINING TO PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 148 of title 10, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section section:
``Sec. 2533d. Additional requirements pertaining to printed
circuit boards
``(a) In General.--
``(1) Beginning on January 1, 2023, the
Secretary of Defense may not acquire a covered printed
circuit board from a covered nation.
``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with
respect to any acquisition of supplies or services below the
micro-purchase threshold under section 2338 of this title.
``(b) Waiver.--
``(1) The Secretary may waive the
prohibition under subsection (a) if the Secretary determines
in writing that--
``(A) there are no significant national
security concerns regarding counterfeiting, quality, or
unauthorized access created by such waiver;
``(B) the waiver is required to support
national security; and
``(C) a covered printed circuit board of
satisfactory quality and sufficient quantity, in the
required form, cannot be procured as and when needed from
nations other than a covered nation at reasonable cost,
excluding comparisons with non-market economies.
``(2) Not later than 10 days after the
Secretary provides a waiver under paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate
and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives a written notice setting forth the reasoning
for the waiver, together with a copy of the waiver itself.
``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Covered nation.--The term `covered
nation' means--
``(A) the Democratic People's Republic of
North Korea;
``(B) the People's Republic of China;
``(C) the Russian Federation; and
``(D) the Islamic Republic of Iran.
``(2) Covered printed circuit board.--The
term `covered printed circuit board' means any partially
manufactured or complete bare printed circuit board or fully
or partially assembled printed circuit board that--
``(A) performs a mission critical function
in any product or service that is not a commercial product
or commercial service (as such terms are defined under
sections 103 and 103a of title 41, respectively); or
``(B) the Secretary designates as a covered
printed circuit board, after reasonable notice, based on a
determination that the designation is required to support
national security.
``(3) Secretary.--The term `Secretary'
means the Secretary of Defense.
``(d) Rulemaking.--Not later than May 1,
2022, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations, after an
opportunity for notice and comment, implementing this section.
``(e) Applicability.--This section shall
apply only with respect to contracts entered into after the
issuance of a final rule implementing this section.
``(f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in
this section shall be construed to prohibit the Department of
Defense from entering into a contract with an entity that
connects to the
facilities of a third party, for the purposes of backhaul,
roaming, or interconnection arrangements, on the basis of the
noncompliance by the third party with the provisions of this
section or use of equipment or services that do not route or
redirect user data traffic or permit visibility into any user
data or packets that such equipment transmits or otherwise
handles.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of
sections for subchapter V of chapter 148 of title 10, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 2533c the following:
``2533d. Additional requirements pertaining to printed circuit
boards.''.
(c) Trusted Supply.--The Secretary of
Defense shall apply the requirements of section 224 of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public
Law 116-92; 10 U.S.C. 2302 note) to the acquisition of covered
printed circuit boards (as such term is defined under section
2533d(c) of title 10, United States Code, as added by this
section).
(d) Independent Assessment.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Defense shall seek to enter into an agreement with a federally
funded research and development center under which the center
will conduct an assessment of the benefits and risks of
expanding the prohibition in section 2533d(a) and the
definitions in section 2533d(c) of title 10, United States
Code, each as added by this section, to include printed
circuit boards in commercial products or services, or in
commercially available off-the-shelf products or services. The
assessment shall also include analysis and recommendations
regarding the scope of mission critical functions, as such
term is used in such section.
(2) Submission to department of
defense.--Not later than one year after entering into the
contract described in paragraph (1), the federally funded
research and development center that conducts the assessment
described in such paragraph shall submit to the Secretary of
Defense a report on the results of the assessment.
(3) Submission to congress.--Not later than
90 days after the date on which the Secretary of Defense
receives the report described in paragraph (2), the Secretary
shall submit to the congressional defense committees an
unaltered copy of the report, together with any comments the
Secretary may have with respect to the report, as well as a
summary of the recommendations of the report. The comments of
the Secretary, if any, and the summary of recommendations
shall be in an unclassified form, but the submission may
include a classified annex.
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Additional requirements pertaining to
printed circuit boards (sec. 841)
The House bill contained a provision (sec. 826) that would
direct the Secretary of Defense to establish, for contractors
and subcontractors that provide printed circuit boards (PCBs) to
the Department of Defense, certifications pertaining to the
boards' manufacture and assembly within approved countries at
certain percentages and on a certain schedule. The provision
would allow the Secretary to waive the requirement upon
determining there are no significant national security concerns,
and that the contractor is otherwise in compliance with relevant
cybersecurity provisions, including section 224 of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law
116-92).
The Senate amendment contained a similar
provision (sec. 808) that would allow purchase from additional
countries and prohibit purchase from certain others and would
direct implementation of the associated manufacturing
certifications on a different schedule.
The Senate recedes with an amendment to
prohibit procurement of covered printed circuit boards from
certain enumerated countries; an amendment to modify the
definition of covered PCBs to focus on products and services
other than commercial products and services, unless specifically
identified by the Secretary; and an amendment to direct an
independent assessment of the implications of expanding the
coverage to more commercial products and services.
The conferees expect the Department of
Defense to take steps to reduce and mitigate national and
economic security risks related to sources of supply and
manufacture of printed circuit boards. The conferees note that
this section is intended to augment, not reduce or supersede,
other efforts to reduce and mitigate such risks.
The conferees note the complexity of
technical, security, business, trade, and acquisition program
issues that impact any efforts to develop policies relating to
this industry. Therefore, the conferees direct an independent
assessment to inform further congressional deliberation on this
matter.
House Committee Report
116-442 Accompanying H. R. 6395
Section 826--Additional
Requirements Pertaining to Printed Circuit Boards
This section would require the Secretary of Defense to mandate
that contractors and subcontractors that provide printed circuit
boards to the Department of Defense must certify that set
percentages of the boards were manufactured and assembled within
approved countries. The Secretary may waive the requirement if
the Secretary determines there are no significant national
security concerns, and the contractor is otherwise in compliance
with relevant cybersecurity provisions including section 224 of
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020
(Public Law 116-92).
Senate Committee Report 116-236 to Accompanying S. 4049
Additional requirements pertaining
to printed circuit boards (sec. 808)
The committee recommends a provision that would require the
Department of Defense to take steps to reduce and mitigate the
risks of reliance on certain sources of supply and manufacturing
for printed circuit boards.
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