22 U.S.C. § 10412: Designation of senior official for Department of Defense activities relating to, and implementation plan for, the AUKUS partnership

Not later than 90 days after December 22, 2023 , the Secretary of Defense shall designate a senior civilian official of the Department of Defense who shall be responsible for overseeing Department of Defense activities relating to the AUKUS partnership. Not later than 90 days after December 22, 2023 , the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Administrator for Nuclear Security and the Secretary of State, shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report containing an implementation plan outlining Department of Defense efforts relating to the AUKUS partnership. Timelines and major anticipated milestones for the implementation of the AUKUS partnership. unrelated to the AUKUS partnership; and solely within the decisionmaking responsibility of Australia or the United Kingdom. the expansion of existing United States submarine construction capacity to fulfill United States, United Kingdom, and Australia requirements; acceleration of the restoration of United States capabilities for producing highly enriched uranium to fuel submarine reactors; stabilization of commodity markets and expanding supplies of high-grade steel, construction materials, and other resources required for improving shipyard condition and expanding throughput capacity; and coordination and synchronization of industrial sourcing opportunities among Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. a detailed assessment of the feasibility of hiring and retaining additional foreign disclosure officers to facilitate more rapid technology transfer to Australia and the United Kingdom; and an assessment of any additional requirements for Department of Defense personnel to support the transfer of defense articles to Australia and the United Kingdom. recommendations for modifications to foreign disclosure policies and processes; the promulgation of written information-sharing guidelines or policies to improve information sharing under the AUKUS partnership; the establishment of an information handling caveat specific to the AUKUS partnership; and the reduction in use of the Not Releasable to Foreign Nations (NOFORN) information handling caveat. Processes for the protection of privately held intellectual property, including patents. Recommended updates to other title 10 authorities or regulatory, policy, or process frameworks. Not later than 60 days after the date on which the plan required by subsection (b) is submitted, and semiannually thereafter not later than April 1 and October 1 each year through 2029, the senior civilian official designated under subsection (a) shall provide the congressional defense committees and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate with a briefing on the status of all Department activities to implement the AUKUS partnership.