REVIEW OF USE OF TEMPORARY DUTY ASSIGNMENTS FOR SHIP REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE.

SEC. 366. REVIEW OF USE OF TEMPORARY DUTY ASSIGNMENTS FOR SHIP REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE. (a) Findings.—Congress makes the following findings: (1) In order to reduce the time that the crew of a naval vessel is away from the homeport of the vessel, the Navy seeks to perform ship repair and maintenance of the vessel at the homeport of the vessel whenever it takes six months or less to accomplish the work involved. (2) At the same time, the Navy seeks to distribute ship repair and maintenance work among the Navy shipyards (known as to “level load”) in order to more fully utilize personnel resources. (3) During periods when a Navy shipyard is not utilized to its capacity, the Navy sometimes sends workers at the shipyard, on a temporary duty basis, to perform ship repairs and maintenance at a homeport not having a Navy shipyard. (4) This practice is a more efficient use of civilian employees who might otherwise not be fully employed on work assigned to Navy shipyards. (b) Comptroller General Review and Report.—(1) The Comptroller General shall review the Navy’s practice of using temporary duty assignments of personnel to perform ship maintenance and repair work at homeports not having Navy shipyards. The review shall include the following: (A) An assessment of the rationale, conditions, and factors supporting the Navy’s practice. (B) A determination of whether the practice is cost-effective. (C) The factors affecting future requirements for, and the adherence to, the practice, together with an assessment of the factors. (2) Not later than May 1, 1998, the Comptroller General shall submit a report on the review to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives.