View all text of Chapter 72 A [§ 4651 - § 4659]
§ 4653. Department of Defense
(a) Department of Defense efforts
(1) In general
(2) Risk mitigation requirementsA participant in a consortium formed with incentives under paragraph (1)—
(A) shall have the potential to enable design, perform fabrication, assembly, package, or test functions for microelectronics deemed critical to national security as defined by the National Security Advisor and the Secretary of Defense;
(B) may be a fabless company migrating its designs to the facility envisioned in paragraph (1) or migrating to an existing facility onshore;
(C) may be companies, including fabless companies and companies that procure large quantities of microelectronics, willing to co-invest to achieve the objectives set forth in paragraph (1);
(D) shall include management processes to identify and mitigate supply chain security risks; and
(E) shall be capable of providing microelectronic components that are consistent with applicable measurably secure supply chain and operational security standards established under section 224(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92).
(3) National security considerationsThe Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence shall select participants for each consortium and or 1
1 So in original.
partnership formed with incentives under paragraph (1). In selecting such participants, the Secretary and the Director may jointly consider whether the companies—(A) have participated in previous programs and projects of the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, or the intelligence community, including—
(i) the Trusted Integrated Circuit program of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity;
(ii) trusted and assured microelectronics projects, as administered by the Department of Defense;
(iii) the Electronics Resurgence Initiative program of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency; or
(iv) relevant semiconductor research programs of the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy;
(B) have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to performing contracts for the Department of Defense and the intelligence community;
(C) are approved by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency or the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as presenting an acceptable security risk, taking into account supply chain assurance vulnerabilities, counterintelligence risks, and any risks presented by companies whose beneficial owners are located outside the United States; and
(D) are evaluated periodically for foreign ownership, control, or influence by a foreign entity of concern.
(4) Nontraditional defense contractors and commercial entities
(5) ImplementationSubject to the availability of appropriations for such purposes, the Secretary of Defense—
(A) shall carry out paragraph (1) jointly through the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment; and
(B) may carry out paragraph (1) in collaboration with any such other component of the Department of Defense as the Secretary of Defense considers appropriate.
(6) Other initiatives
(A) Required initiatives
(B) Support plan required
(C) Assessment of public private partnerships and activities
(7) Reports
(A) Report by Secretary of Defense
(B) Biennial reports by Comptroller General of the United States
(b) National network for microelectronics research and development
(1) In generalSubject to the availability of appropriations for such purposes, the Secretary of Defense shall establish a national network for microelectronics research and development—
(A) to enable the laboratory to fabrication transition of microelectronics innovations in the United States; and
(B) to expand the global leadership in microelectronics of the United States.
(2) ActivitiesThe national network for microelectronics research and development shall—
(A) enable cost effective exploration of new materials, devices, and architectures, and prototyping in domestic facilities to safeguard domestic intellectual property;
(B) accelerate the transition of new technologies to domestic microelectronics manufacturers; and
(C) conduct other relevant activities deemed necessary by the Secretary of Defense for accomplishing the purposes of the national network for microelectronics research and development.
(3) Selection of entities
(A) In general
(B) Geographic diversity
(Pub. L. 116–283, div. H, title XCIX, § 9903, Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4849; Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title II, § 217, Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1596.)