IMPROVEMENTS TO QUADRENNIAL DEFENSE REVIEW.

SEC. 1031. IMPROVEMENTS TO QUADRENNIAL DEFENSE REVIEW.(a) Findings.—Congress finds that the comprehensive examination of the defense program and policies of the United States that is undertaken by the Security Defense every four years pursuant to section 118 of title 10, United States Code, known as the Quadrennial Defense Review, is—(1) vital in laying out the strategic military planning and threat objectives of the Department of Defense; and(2) critical to identifying the correct mix of military planning assumptions, defense capabilities, and strategic focuses for the Armed Forces.(b) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that the Quadrennial Defense Review is intended to provide more than an overview of global threats and the general strategic orientation of the Department of Defense.(c) Conduct of Review.—Subsection (b) of section 118 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—(1) by striking “and” at the end of paragraph (2);(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3) and inserting “; and”; and(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:“(4) to make recommendations that are not constrained to comply with the budget submitted to Congress by the President pursuant to section 1105 of title 31.”.(d) Additional Elements in Report to Congress.—Subsection (d) of such section is amended—(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting “, the strategic planning guidance,” after “United States”;120 STAT. 2386(2) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through (15) as paragraphs (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15), and (17), respectively;(3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following new paragraph (9):“(9) The specific capabilities, including the general number and type of specific military platforms, needed to achieve the strategic and warfighting objectives identified in the review.”; and(4) by inserting after paragraph (15), as redesignated by paragraph (2), the following new paragraph:“(16) The homeland defense and support to civil authority missions of the active and reserve components, including the organization and capabilities required for the active and reserve components to discharge each such mission.”.(e) CJCS Review.—Subsection (e)(1) of such section is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: “and a description of the capabilities needed to address such risk”.(f) Independent Assessment.—Such section is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:“(f) Independent Panel Assessment.—(1) Not later than six months before the date on which the report on a Quadrennial Defense Review is to be submitted under subsection (d), the Secretary of Defense shall establish a panel to conduct an assessment of the quadrennial defense review.“(2) Not later than three months after the date on which the report on a quadrennial defense review is submitted under subsection (d) to the congressional committees named in that subsection, the panel appointed under paragraph (1) shall submit to those committees an assessment of the review, including the recommendations of the review, the stated and implied assumptions incorporated in the review, and the vulnerabilities of the strategy and force structure underlying the review. The assessment of the panel shall include analyses of the trends, asymmetries, and concepts of operations that characterize the military balance with potential adversaries, focusing on the strategic approaches of possible opposing forces.”.