MAINTENANCE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS EXPERTISE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.

SEC. 3163. MAINTENANCE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS EXPERTISE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY. (a) Administration of Joint Nuclear Weapons Council.— (1) Subsection (b) of section 179 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(3) The Council shall meet not less often than once every three months.”. (2) Subsection (c) of that section is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(3)(A) Whenever the position of Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense Programs has been vacant a period of more than 6 months, the Secretary of Energy shall designate a qualified individual to serve as acting staff director of the Council until the position of that Assistant to the Secretary is filled. “(B) An individual appointed under subparagraph (A) shall possess substantial technical and policy experience relevant to the management and oversight of nuclear weapons programs.”. (b) Revitalization of Joint Nuclear Weapons Council.—(1) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy shall jointly prepare, and not later than March 15, 2000, submit to the committees specified in subsection (g), a plan to revitalize the Joint Nuclear Weapons Council established by section 179 of title 10, United States Code. (2) The plan shall include any proposed modification to the membership or responsibilities of the Council that the Secretaries jointly determine advisable to enhance the capability of the Council to ensure the integration of Department of Defense requirements for nuclear weapons into the programs and budget processes of the Department of Energy. (c) Annual Report on Council Activities.—Section 179(f) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “(3) A description of the activities of the Council during the 12-month period ending on the date of the report together with any assessments or studies conducted by the Council during that period.113 STAT. 945 “(4) A description of the highest priority requirements of the Department of Defense with respect to the Department of Energy stockpile stewardship and management program as of that date. “(5) An assessment of the extent to which the requirements referred to in paragraph (4) are being addressed by the Department of Energy as of that date.”. (d) Nuclear Mission Management Plan.—(1) The Secretary of Defense shall develop and implement a plan to ensure the continued reliability of the capability of the Department of Defense to carry out its nuclear deterrent mission. (2) The plan shall do the following: (A) Articulate the current policy of the United States on the role of nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence in the conduct of defense and foreign relations matters. (B) Establish stockpile viability and capability requirements with respect to that mission, including the number and variety of warheads required. (C) Establish requirements relating to the contractor industrial base, support infrastructure, and surveillance, testing, assessment, and certification of nuclear weapons necessary to support that mission. (3) The plan shall take into account the following: (A) Requirements for the critical skills, readiness, training, exercise, and testing of personnel necessary to meet that mission. (B) The relevant programs and plans of the military departments and the Defense Agencies with respect to readiness, sustainment (including research and development), and modernization of the strategic deterrent forces. (e) Nuclear Expertise Retention Measures.—(1) Not later than March 15, 2000, the Secretary of Energy and Secretary of Defense shall submit to the committees specified in subsection (g) a joint plan setting forth the actions that the Secretaries consider necessary to retain core scientific, engineering, and technical skills and capabilities within the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and the contractors of those departments in order to maintain the United States nuclear deterrent force indefinitely. (2) The plan shall include the following elements: (A) A baseline of current skills and capabilities by location. (B) A statement of the skills or capabilities that are at risk of being lost within the next ten years. (C) A statement of measures that will be taken to retain such skills and capabilities. (D) A proposal for recruitment measures to address the loss of such skills or capabilities. (E) A proposal for the training and evaluation of personnel with core scientific, engineering, and technical skills and capabilities. (F) A statement of the additional advanced manufacturing programs and process engineering programs that are required to maintain the nuclear deterrent force indefinitely. (G) An assessment of the desirability of establishing a nuclear weapons workforce reserve to ensure the availability of the skills and capabilities of present and former employees of the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and 113 STAT. 946the contractors of those departments in the event of an urgent future need for such skills and capabilities. (f) Reports on Critical Difficulties at Nuclear Weapons Laboratories.—Section 3159 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (Public Law 104–201; 110 Stat. 2842; 42 U.S.C. 7274o) is amended— (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new subsection: “(d) Inclusion of Reports in Annual Stockpile Certification.—Any report submitted pursuant to subsection (a) shall also be included with the decision documents that accompany the annual certification of the safety and reliability of the United States nuclear weapons stockpile which is provided to the President for the year in which such report is submitted.”. (g) Specified Committees.—The committees specified in this subsection are the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives.