REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF TACTICAL RADIO COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS.

SEC. 218. REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF TACTICAL RADIO COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS.(a) Interim Tactical Radio Communications.—The Secretary of Defense shall—(1) assess the immediate requirements of the military departments for tactical radio communications systems;(2) ensure that the military departments rapidly acquire tactical radio communications systems utilizing existing technology or mature systems readily available in the commercial marketplace; and(3) develop a plan and roadmap for the development, procurement, deployment, and sustainment of interim and future tactical radio communications systems.(b) Joint Tactical Radio System.—The Secretary of Defense shall apply Department of Defense Instruction 5000.2 to the Joint Tactical Radio System in a manner that does not permit the Milestone B entrance requirements to be waived unless the Secretary certifies that the Department is unable to meet critical national security objectives.(c) Certification of Budgets.—(1) Budgeting through joint program office.—The Secretary of Defense shall require that the Secretary of each military department, and the head of each Defense Agency with programs developing components of or research related to the Joint Tactical Radio System transmit such proposed budgets for these activities, including all waveform development activities, for a fiscal year to the head of the single joint program office designated under section 213 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (Public Law 108–136; 117 Stat. 1416) for review and certification under paragraph (2) before submitting such proposed budget to the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller).(2) Actions of head of joint program office.—The head of the single joint program office designated under section 213 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (Public Law 108–136; 117 Stat. 1416) shall review each proposed budget transmitted under paragraph (1) and shall, not later than January 31 of the year preceding the fiscal year for which such budgets are proposed, submit to the Secretary of Defense a report containing comments with respect to all such proposed budgets, together with the certification as to whether such proposed budgets are adequate and whether 119 STAT. 3172 such proposed budgets provide balanced support for the plan required under subsection (a)(3).(3) Actions of secretary of defense.—The Secretary of Defense shall, not later than March 31 of the year preceding the fiscal year for which such budgets are proposed, submit to Congress a report on those proposed budgets which the head of the single joint program office has not certified under paragraph (2) to be adequate, including a discussion of the actions that the Secretary proposes to take to address the inadequacy of the proposed budgets.(d) Report on Implementation Required.—Not later than May 1, 2006, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report on the implementation of this section.