Spare Parts Competition Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9482 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9482

  To require the Defense Logistics Agency to allow contractors to use 
 additive manufacturing for spare parts for the Department of Defense, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 6, 2024

  Ms. Porter introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Defense Logistics Agency to allow contractors to use 
 additive manufacturing for spare parts for the Department of Defense, 
                        and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Spare Parts Competition Act''.

SEC. 2. ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING FOR SPARE PARTS.

    (a) Additive Manufacturing Allowed.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided by paragraph (2), a 
        contractor providing spare parts to the Defense Logistics 
        Agency may manufacture such spare parts using additive 
        manufacturing except to the extent that the contract or other 
        agreement under which such contractor is providing such spare 
        parts to the Defense Logistics Agency express prohibits the use 
        of additive manufacturing for such spare parts.
            (2) Waiver.--The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition 
        and Sustainment may waiver paragraph (1) with respect to a 
        spare part or contract or other agreement if the Under 
        Secretary determines that such a waiver is in the interest of 
        national security or necessary to reduce the costs to the 
        Department of Defense.
    (b) Publication of Information.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this section, the Director of the Defense 
Logistics Agency shall make publicly available on a website of the 
Defense Logistics Agency the following:
            (1) A list of the of National Stock Numbers for which the 
        Department of Defense has qualified additive manufacturing 
        designs for use as spare parts in systems of the Department.
            (2) A list, disaggregated by subject area, of the additive 
        manufacturing designs for goods properly submitted to the 
        Defense Logistics Agency for qualification for use as spare 
        parts in systems of the Department of Defense, for which the 
        Defense Logistics Agency has not granted such qualification as 
        of the date on which the Director makes publicly available the 
        information required under this subsection pursuant to this 
        subsection.
            (3) The rate at which additive manufacturing designs for 
        goods are being submitted to the Defense Logistics Agency, the 
        military departments, and the other elements of the Department 
        of Defense for qualification for use as spare parts in systems 
        of the Department of Defense, including the changes in such 
        rate during the three-year period immediately preceding the 
        date on which the Director publishes such rate on a website of 
        the Defense Logistics Agency pursuant to this subsection.
            (4) An assessment of whether the Defense Logistics Agency, 
        each of the military departments, and the Department of Defense 
        as a whole have sufficient appropriate personnel required to 
        evaluate additive manufacturing designs for goods for 
        qualification for use as spare parts in a timely manner.
            (5) An explanation of whether the Defense Logistics Agency 
        has pursued certifying additive manufacturing processes to 
        produce parts suitable for use in aircraft of the Department of 
        Defense, including an explanation of the efforts of the Defense 
        Logistics Agency, if any, to develop and implement such a 
        qualification approach or, if the Defense Logistics Agency is 
        not pursing such a qualification approach, why the Defense 
        Logistics Agency ceased pursing such a qualification approach.
            (6) An explanation of the goals of the Defense Logistics 
        Agency with respect to the manufacture of spare parts for the 
        Defense Logistics Agency through the use of additive 
        manufacturing, including the types of spare parts the Defense 
        Logistics Agency has determined to be strong candidates for 
        manufacturing through the use of additive manufacturing and any 
        plans of the Defense Logistics Agency to achieve such goals.
            (7) An assessment of whether the contracting practices of 
        the Defense Logistics Agency are optimized to encourage 
        submission of spare parts manufactured using additive 
        manufacturing for qualification for use as spare parts in 
        systems of the Department of Defense.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency 
shall submit to Congress a report containing--
            (1) the list of the of National Stock Numbers for which the 
        Department of Defense has qualified additive manufacturing 
        designs for use as spare parts in systems of the Department, 
        disaggregated by subject area; and
            (2) an explanation of the barriers to the Defense Logistics 
        Agency--
                    (A) encouraging contractors to submit new additive 
                manufacturing designs for qualification for use as 
                spare parts in systems of the Department; and
                    (B) evaluating such new additive manufacturing 
                designs in a timely manner.
    (d) Military Department Defined.--In this section, the term 
``military department'' has the meaning given such term in section 
101(a) of title 10, United States Code.

SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION OF GAO RECOMMENDATIONS RELATING TO SPARE PARTS 
              IN GLOBAL SPARES POOL RELATING TO F-35 PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under 
Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, shall take such 
actions as may be necessary to implement the recommendations of the 
Comptroller General of the United States contained in the report 
entitled ``F-35 Program: DOD Needs Better Accountability for Global 
Spare Parts and Reporting of Losses Worth Millions'' (GAO-23-106098), 
published on May 23, 2023.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report 
on the progress of the implementation required by subsection (a).
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