House Appropriations Committee Approves Defense Appropriations Bill; Senate Yet to Release Bill
The passage of the debt limit deal (Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023) in early June freed up Congress to begin appropriations markups, with significant movement on the House side.  On June 22, the full House Appropriations Committee approved its fiscal year (FY) 2024 Defense Appropriations bill on a party line vote of 34-24.  The bill would provide $886.3 billion in total spending, an increase of almost $286 million over the President’s budget request (PBR) and $28.7 billion over last year’s enacted level.  While the House has made progress on its defense appropriations bill, we are still awaiting action in the Senate. You can read the full article here. 

House & Senate Armed Services Committees Approve FY 2024 NDAA
The Senate and House Armed Services Committees (SASC and HASC respectively) approved their respective versions of the fiscal year (FY) 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in June.  The NDAA, which has been passed reliably for over 60 years, authorizes appropriations and programs for the Department of Defense (DOD) and other national security programs.  Both bills authorize a top line figure of $886 billion for national security funding, including $842 billion in discretionary funding for the DOD, consistent with the President’s budget request and the top level negotiated between Congress and President Biden for the debt limit deal.  The HASC version of the NDAA was recently made public, and SASC has released an executive summary of its version of the bill but has yet to release bill text.  Lewis-Burke will continue tracking developments regarding the NDAA as the bills are voted on in both the House and Senate chambers and the conferencing process begins.  Lewis-Burke's analysis of the HASC NDAA can be found here.  The HASC FY 2024 NDAA Chairman’s Mark can be found here.  You can read the full article here. 

AI Gains Traction in the Senate; Senator Schumer Releases AI Policy Framework
Congress is increasingly focused on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the nation, with Senate Committees holding hearings on the topic and calling for action from stakeholders.  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) recently released a policy framework that emphasizes AI innovation, impact, security, and transparency, entitled the “SAFE Innovation Framework.”  The release of the framework and increased interest in the Senate follows three Senators-only briefings in June.  The briefings included an overview of current AI technology as well as the development of future technologies over the next decade.  You can read the full article here. 

---

NATIONAL SECURITY NEWS

DOD Announces Policy to Counter Unwanted Foreign Influence at Higher Education Institutions
The Department of Defense (DOD) recently announced its internal policy regarding risk-based security reviews of fundamental research projects.  The policy provides guidance to assist program managers in reviewing projects for potential conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment arising from foreign influence.  You can read the full article here. 

CSC 2.0 Releases Updated Recommendations to Protect U.S. Critical Infrastructure
On June 7, the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC) published their updated recommendations for how best to safeguard critical infrastructure and improve outdated systems in an increasingly cyber-dependent world. You can read the full article here. 

---

Opportunity	Agency    Name	Program Description	Posted Date	Close    Date
N00014-23-S-F004  FY24 Young Investigator Program (YIP)	Office of Naval Research	Provides funding to promising young tenure-track faculty who demonstrate the ability to deliver innovative research aligned with ONR’s research priorities.	3/29/2023	7/07/2023
HR001123S0044 Principles of Undersea Magnetohydrodynamic Pumps (PUMP)	DARPA – Defense Sciences Office	Seeks to develop and demonstrate MHD pumps that match the efficiency, reduce the noise generation, and exceed the reliability of conventional impeller-based pumps.	5/30/2023	7/31/2023
DARPA-SN-23-74 Fine-grained Physical Design Automation Tools for Digital 3D Integrated Circuits	DARPA – Microsystems Technology Office	Seeks comments on potential development of programs to explore the aforementioned area.	7/03/2023	8/03/2023
HR001123S0036 High Operational Temperature Sensors (HOTS)	DARPA – Microsystems Technology Office	Seeks to develop high-bandwidth, high-dynamic-range analog sensor microelectronics technologies that operate at high-temperature.	05/16/2023	8/15/2023; 6/22/2023 (Abstracts)
HR001123S0038 Aesthetics for Battlefield Care (ABC)	DARPA – Biological Technologies Office	Seeks research proposals that will ultimately produce drugs for use in traumatic injuries to improve casualty outcomes.	6/09/2023	8/21/2023
FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2023-0012 Center of Excellence (COE): Extreme Neuromorphic Materials and Computing	Air Force Office of Scientific Research	Seeks a university team to perform collaborative research with AFOSR in the named area.	06/15/2023	08/24/2023
HR001123S0047 Advanced Sources for Single-event Effects Radiation Testing (ASSERT)	DARPA – Microsystems Technology Office	Seeks research proposals to develop new capabilities for single-event effect (SEE) testing of 3D heterogeneously integrated (3DHI) electronic components and circuits.	7/5/2023	9/15/2023; 8/04/2023 (Abstracts)
W912HZ-23-BAA-01 ERDC Broad Agency Announcement	Dept. of the Army – Corps of Engineers	Solicits research proposals of interest to ERDC.  Successful proposals require frequent engagement with ERDC program managers and congressional involvement.	3/31/2023	1/1/2024
N00014-23-S-B003 Office of Naval Research Science and Technology for Advanced Manufacturing Projects (STAMP) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)	Office of Naval Research (ONR)	Seeks systems engineering proposals critical to the design, fabrication, and manufacture of key components at more desirable weights, performance, cost, and/or survivability.	1/17/2023	1/16/2024
N00014-23-S-F005  The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Science, Technology, Engineering And Mathematic (STEM) Program	Office of Naval Research	Develops efforts that correlate with ONR science and technology areas and that provide solutions that establish, build, and/or maintain STEM educational pathways and workforce opportunities.	4/03/2023	4/02/2024
N66001-23-S-4702 C4ISR, Information Operations, Cyberspace Operations and Information Technology System Research, Cryogenics and Quantum Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)	Dept. of the Navy – Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific	Seeks unique and innovative research to develop next generation C4ISR capabilities.	6/07/2023	6/08/2024
HR001123S0042 Redefining Possible – 2023	DARPA – Tactical Technology Office	Solicits abstracts, proposals, and executive summaries for research to redefine warfighting across air, ground, maritime, and space	6/16/2023	6/14/2024
HR001123S0045 Biological Technologies	DARPA – Biological Technologies Office	Seeks research ideas for topics not currently being addressed by the Biological Technologies Office.	6/22/2023	6/20/2024
N00421-23-S-0001 Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Office-Wide Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)	Dept. of the Navy – Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division	Seeks white papers for research projects to advance and improve NAWCAD operations.	6/23/2023	6/22/2024
N00421-23-S-0001 United States Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) Broad Agency Announcement	Dept. of the Army – Materiel Command	Solicits research proposals of interest to ARI to improve human performance and Army Readiness.  Prospective awardees must meet certain standards pertaining to financial resources and responsibility, among others.	05/01/2023	4/30/2028

CDMRP Releases Additional FY 2023 Research Topic Solicitations
The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) are currently accepting proposals for the following fiscal year (FY) 2023 topics:

• Autism
• Bone Marrow Failure
• Breast Cancer
• Combat Readiness-Medical
• Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
• Hearing Restoration
• Joint Warfighter Medical
• Kidney Cancer
• Lung Cancer
• Lupus
• Melanoma
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Neurofibromatosis
• Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes
• Pancreatic Cancer
• Parkinson’s
• Peer Reviewed Cancer
• Peer Reviewed Orthopaedic
• Prostate Cancer
• Rare Cancers
• Reconstructive Transplant Research
• Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health
• Tuberous Sclerosis Complex
• Vision

Additional research program solicitations are expected to be released in the coming months.  All open funding opportunities and pre-announcements are available here.  Interested applicants can subscribe for real-time updates, including forthcoming solicitations here.  

Dates and Location Confirmed, Registration Opens July 6 for 2023 Military Health System Research Symposium (JRC)
The dates and location for the 2023 Military Health System Research Symposium (MHSRS) are confirmed, and the meeting will be held from August 14-17 at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida.  The MHSRS is DOD’s premier medical research meeting and offers an opportunity to engage with program managers and DOD officials, who are often hard to reach, on military biomedical and health-related research topics.  Interested individuals can register for the MHSRS here, and registration will open July 6.  More information, including breakout session descriptions and topics of interest, can be found here.

DARPA Announces Advanced Research Concepts & Disruptioneering Opportunities
The Defense Sciences Office (DSO) within the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is seeking abstracts for its Advanced Research Concepts (ARC) opportunity.  The opportunity is specifically looking to explore potential automation of parts of knowledge curation to streamline information for analysts and decision makers.  DSO has also released a program announcement for the Disruptioneering program.  Under this program announcement, DARPA will issue Disruption Opportunities (DO) through pre-solicitation notices that will identify the specific technology domains that DARPA wants research conducted on with the goal of determining future investment and prototyping.  The first DO that has been announced is Synthetic Quantum Nanostructures (SynQuaNon).  You can read the full article here. 

DOD Hosts Climate Resilience Workshop July 10-13
The Department of Defense (DOD) has announced its 2023 Climate Resilience Workshop to convene defense stakeholders and facilitate discussion around climate change and its impact on the warfighter.  The workshop, hosted by DOD’s Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment (ASD (EI&E)), will be held from July 10 – 13 in St. Louis, Missouri and will center around efforts towards DOD’s Climate Adaptation Plan.  You can read the full article here. 

Registration Opens for HBCU/MI Opportunities Workshop
The Department of Defense (DOD) will host the Historically Black College and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI) Opportunities Workshop, “Expanding the Competitiveness and Research Capacity at HBCUs and MIs” from July 26 - July 28 in Arlington, Virginia.  More information and registration for the event the event is available here; you can read the full article here.
  WHAT WE'RE READING

More than Half of the Pentagon’s Major Arms Efforts Are Late, GAO Finds
Defense One highlighted this month the Government Accountability Office (GAO)’s recent report stating that more than half of the Department of Defense’s major acquisition efforts are late.  The report found that one of the main causes of this is uneven adoption of commercial practices which are causing delays for key weapons and technologies.  However, GAO stated that some programs are going well due to the implementation of the “Middle Tier of Acquisition” pathway which includes principles to produce innovative capabilities faster.  It is clear to GAO which programs have used the principles in their development, but it is believed that as the Department becomes more ambitious in technology wants and needs, there could still be delays despite the implementation of the Middle Tier of Acquisition. 

The Pentagon Wants to Create an Internet in Space
Currently, there is no internet access in space; however, Defense One reported this month that DOD will begin testing the new capability this year.  The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has been leading the charge and awarded contracts to begin thinking through a hybrid space architecture with on-orbit demonstrations planned for the coming year.  With countless applications, both for defense and civil space activities, a new infrastructure will need to be erected in space to allow for internet connections.  With many technical questions still unanswered, including how to establish internet connections without being able to anchor towers as is done terrestrially, there will be opportunities to engage in the rapid scale up of this new capability.