Transfer or possession of defense items for national defense purposes

(a) Transfer and possession exceptions Section 922(o)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking or by and inserting, by, or under the authority of; (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking or at the end; (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and inserting; or; and (4) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new subparagraph: (C) a transfer to, or possession by, a licensed manufacturer or licensed importer (if, with respect to a transfer, such transfer has been approved by the Attorney General in accordance with law) for purposes of— (i) joint production of a weapon, or integration or incorporation into another article or device; (ii) calibration, testing, or research and development; (iii) permanent or temporary export, or temporary import, otherwise in accordance with law; or (iv) training of Department of Defense personnel and Federal, State, local, or friendly foreign government military and law enforcement personnel.. (b) Importation requirements Section 925(d) of such title is amended— (1) in paragraph (3)— (A) by inserting except as provided in paragraph (5), before is of; and (B) by striking or at the end; (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and inserting; or; and (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new paragraph: (5) is being imported or brought in by a licensed manufacturer or licensed importer in conformity with, and solely for a purpose described in subparagraphs (A) or (C) of section 922(o)(2).. (c) Report (1) In general Not later than one year after the effective date of this section, the Secretary of Defense shall— (A) conduct a survey of defense contractors who have used or intend to use a covered exception; and (B) submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report describing the results of such survey. (2) Elements The report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A) The number of contractors that used a covered exception during the period covered by the report. (B) Any issues identified by the Department of Defense or such contractors with the implementation of such covered exception. (C) Any recommendations for changes to statutes or regulations to implement covered exceptions. (3) Covered exception defined In this subsection, the term covered exception means an exception provided under— (A) subparagraph (C) of section 922(o)(2) of title 18, United States Code, as added by this section; or (B) paragraph (5) of section 922(d) of such title, as added by this section. (d) Effective date This section and the amendments made by this section shall take effect 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.