10 U.S.C. § 8039 — Deputy Commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command for the Supervision of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair

(a) In General — The Secretary of the Navy must create and fill the position of Deputy Commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command for the Supervision of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair (called the "Deputy Commander"). (b) Qualifications — The Deputy Commander must be a Navy flag officer or a Senior Executive Service employee with the right expertise for this job. (c) Reporting — The Deputy Commander reports directly to the Commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command. (d) General Responsibilities — The Deputy Commander must oversee: (1) independently running and managing Defense Department contracts given to private companies for shipbuilding, conversion, and repair at those companies' own facilities; (2) the office assigned to handle contract administration for those contracts; (3) enforcing contract requirements so companies meet all their obligations; (4) the work done under those contracts, to improve quality and value; and (5) on-site government quality checks for those contracts, including inspections. (e) Non-Contract Administration Services Functions — Besides contract administration, the Deputy Commander must manage the special demands of shipbuilding, conversion, and repair by overseeing, for Navy program offices, fleet commanders, and Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters: (1) Project oversight, including (A) coordinating responses to unexpected non-contract problems as assigned by the Commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, (B) coordinating between precommissioning crews, ship's crews, and other government activities, (C) communicating with customers and higher authorities about anything that could affect a project, and (D) planning contracts and procurement, including helping plan acquisitions and checking contractor qualifications before awarding a contract. (2) Technical authority, including (A) the Waterfront Chief Engineer's technical decision-making, and (B) the Naval Sea Systems Command's waterfront technical authority to direct and coordinate solving technical problems. (f) Comprehensive Contract Management — The Deputy Commander must stay in direct contact with the Defense Contract Management Agency's Director and the Defense Contract Audit Agency's Director, to fully manage and oversee the private companies and subcontractors (at any level) working on these contracts. (g) Subcontractor Audits — The Deputy Commander must ask the Defense Contract Audit Agency's Director to regularly audit subcontractors doing cost-type or incentive subcontracts (1) worth $50,000,000 or more, and (2) for which the Deputy Commander oversees the assigned contract administration office. (h) Annual Written Assessment — (1) By March 1 each year, the Deputy Commander must give Congress's defense committees a written assessment summarizing the activities and results tied to the contracts the Deputy Commander oversees. (2) Each yearly assessment must include: (A) a summary of shipbuilding performance, including (i) key performance measures tracked by the relevant Navy shipbuilding supervisor for each company, (ii) corrective action requests for serious defects and plans to fix them, (iii) any waivers approved for acceptance trials, combined trials, or accepting delivery of a ship, and why each was needed, and (iv) how much letters of delegation are used in each shipbuilding program to let the Defense Contract Management Agency oversee subcontractor quality; (B) a summary of any serious problems in contractor business systems or other major contract issues found by the Navy shipbuilding supervisor, the Defense Contract Management Agency, or the Defense Contract Audit Agency, and any response taken or planned; (C) a summary of results from Naval Sea Systems Command's audits and inspections evaluating how well the Navy shipbuilding supervisors are doing their quality and contract administration jobs; and (D) a summary of any special review — like one by a task force or working group — of the organization, staffing, and resources supporting shipbuilding, conversion, and repair supervision, including (i) key findings, recommendations, and implementation plans, and (ii) what extra support, such as from the Defense Contract Audit Agency or Defense Contract Management Agency, is needed to carry it out.