Prohibition on closure of Army organic industrial base sites

(a) Prohibition The Secretary of Defense shall not take any action to close, mothball, divest, deactivate, or otherwise render inoperable any facility that is part of the organic industrial base of the Army, including any depot, arsenal, ammunition plant, manufacturing center, or facility of a center of industrial and technical excellence, unless— (1) a similar or replacement facility has already been created; and (2) the action is authorized— (A) in accordance with the provisions of this section; or (B) pursuant to an Act of Congress. (b) Scope The prohibition in subsection (a) applies to all facilities operated or maintained as part of the organic industrial base of the Army, whether Government-owned and Government-operated or Government-owned and contractor-operated. (c) Exception for safety (1) In general The Secretary of Defense may suspend operations or limit access to a facility covered by this section if such action is necessary to address an imminent threat to the health and safety of personnel or to mitigate substantial environmental hazards. (2) Report required The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report that describes any action taken under paragraph (1) not later than 15 days after the date on which such suspension of operations or limitation of access is initiated. (d) National security waiver (1) In general The Secretary of Defense may waive the prohibition under subsection (a) if the Secretary determines that such a waiver is necessary to address a critical national security interest of the United States. (2) Notification required Not later than 30 days prior to exercising the waiver under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees— (A) a written notification of the intent to waive the prohibition; (B) a detailed justification for the waiver, including an assessment of the national security interest at stake; (C) an evaluation of potential impacts to the readiness, industrial base capacity, and surge requirements of the Army; and (D) a description of any mitigation measures to be implemented. (e) Reports required (1) In general Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for five years, the Secretary of the Army shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the status of all facilities in the organic industrial base of the Army. (2) Elements Each report required by paragraph (a) shall include— (A) a list of all facilities in the organic industrial base of the Army and the operational status of each facility; (B) any planned changes in mission, workload, or operating status of each facility; (C) any planned investments or divestments that may affect the capability or capacity of any such facility; and (D) a description of any action by the Secretary of Defense taken pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) during the one-year period preceding submission of the report. (f) Definitions In this section: (1) Mothball The term mothball means placing a facility in inactive status while maintaining it in a condition such that it could be reactivated at some future time. (2) Organic industrial base of the Army The term organic industrial base of the Army means the network of Government-owned facilities that provide manufacturing, maintenance, storage, and readiness support for Army materiel and munitions, including the facilities listed in the Army Organic Industrial Base Modernization Implementation Plan, dated April 12, 2022.