Sponsor
Donald J. Bacon
Representative · R-NE
The bill centralizes RDT&E facility data to improve planning, efficiency, and congressional oversight, at the trade-off of added implementation/maintenance costs, potential cybersecurity exposure, and possible gaps in technical utility.
DoD planners and military departments gain a centralized dashboard that shows RDT&E facility conditions and project values, improving planning for construction, maintenance, and prioritization of investments.
Taxpayers and budget overseers may see more efficient use of defense construction dollars because the dashboard increases visibility into plant replacement value, project costs, and unfunded needs.
Congressional committees and oversight bodies gain stronger oversight tools because the law requires operational certification and notification of recommendations, improving accountability for RDT&E infrastructure spending.
Military personnel and federal employees face increased national security risk if consolidated facility and equipment data are exposed due to insufficient cybersecurity protections.
Taxpayers and federal budgets will incur additional program costs because establishing and maintaining the dashboard requires DoD staff time and IT resources through at least 2030.
DoD planners and technical staff may find the dashboard of limited usefulness for engineering or operational facility management if it relies only on existing financial tools and omits specialized technical metrics.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the USD(R&E) to build a DoD-wide dashboard tracking RDT&E facility and equipment data for military construction planning and report on continuation within three years.
Representative · R-NE
Creates a centralized Department of Defense dashboard to monitor and track research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) facility and related equipment data used for military construction planning, design, and execution. The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering must build the dashboard within one year using existing financial management tools and include specific facility metadata, project/program data, unfunded requirements, and trend displays, then certify it to congressional defense committees. Requires the USD(R&E) to recommend within three years whether the dashboard should continue and notify Congress; the authority to establish the dashboard sunsets on December 30, 2030. The dashboard must include defined property identifiers and equipment replacement value metrics to support oversight and planning across military departments.
Official title: To require the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to establish a dashboard for military construction projects for Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation facilities, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 17, 2026 by Donald J. Bacon · Last progress September 17, 2026