NATIONAL DEFENSE PANEL.

SEC. 1071. NATIONAL DEFENSE PANEL. Subsection (f) of section 118 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:“(f) National Defense Panel.—“(1) Establishment.—Not later than February 1 of a year in which a quadrennial defense review is conducted under this section, there shall be established an independent panel to be known as the National Defense Panel (in this subsection referred to as the ‘Panel’). The Panel shall have the duties set forth in this subsection.“(2) Membership.—The Panel shall be composed of ten members from private civilian life who are recognized experts in matters relating to the national security of the United States. Eight of the members shall be appointed as follows:“(A) Two by the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives.“(B) Two by the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate.“(C) Two by the ranking member of the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives.“(D) Two by the ranking member of the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate.“(3) Co-chairs of the panel.—In addition to the members appointed under paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense shall appoint two members from private civilian life to serve as co-chairs of the panel.“(4) Period of appointment; vacancies.—Members shall be appointed for the life of the Panel. Any vacancy in the Panel shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.“(5) Duties.—The Panel shall have the following duties with respect to a quadrennial defense review:“(A) While the review is being conducted, the Panel shall review the updates from the Secretary of Defense required under paragraph (8) on the conduct of the review.“(B) The Panel shall—124 STAT. 4365“(i) review the Secretary of Defense’s terms of reference and any other materials providing the basis for, or substantial inputs to, the work of the Department of Defense on the quadrennial defense review;“(ii) conduct an assessment of the assumptions, strategy, findings, and risks of the report on the quadrennial defense review required in subsection (d), with particular attention paid to the risks described in that report;“(iii) conduct an independent assessment of a variety of possible force structures of the armed forces, including the force structure identified in the report on the quadrennial defense review required in subsection (d);“(iv) review the resource requirements identified pursuant to subsection (b)(3) and, to the extent practicable, make a general comparison to the resource requirements to support the forces contemplated under the force structures assessed under this subparagraph; and“(v) provide to Congress and the Secretary of Defense, through the report under paragraph (7), any recommendations it considers appropriate for their consideration.“(6) First meeting.—If the Secretary of Defense has not made the Secretary’s appointments to the Panel under paragraph (3) by February 1 of a year in which a quadrennial defense review is conducted under this section, the Panel shall convene for its first meeting with the remaining members.“(7) Report.—Not later than 3 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 established under paragraph (1) shall submit to those committees an assessment of the quadrennial defense review, including a description of the items addressed under paragraph (5) with respect to that quadrennial defense review.“(8) Updates from secretary of defense.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that periodically, but not less often than every 60 days, or at the request of the co-chairs, the Department of Defense briefs the Panel on the progress of the conduct of a quadrennial defense review under subsection (a).“(9) Administrative provisions.—“(A) The Panel may request directly from the Department of Defense and any of its components such information as the Panel considers necessary to carry out its duties under this subsection. The head of the department or agency concerned shall cooperate with the Panel to ensure that information requested by the Panel under this paragraph is promptly provided to the maximum extent practical.“(B) Upon the request of the co-chairs, the Secretary of Defense shall make available to the Panel the services of any federally funded research and development center that is covered by a sponsoring agreement of the Department of Defense.124 STAT. 4366“(C) The Panel shall have the authorities provided in section 3161 of title 5 and shall be subject to the conditions set forth in such section.“(D) Funds for activities of the Panel shall be provided from amounts available to the Department of Defense.“(10) Termination.—The Panel for a quadrennial defense review shall terminate 45 days after the date on which the Panel submits its final report on the quadrennial defense review under paragraph (7).”.