10 U.S.C. § 8634 — Submarine safety programs: participation of NATO naval personnel

(a) To help make submarine safety and rescue systems work the same way across allied navies, the Secretary of the Navy may run a program — starting on or after the 2024 defense authorization law was enacted — that brings naval personnel from NATO member countries to work at U.S. Navy commands on these safety and rescue systems and procedures. (b) This isn't a two-way exchange program. The foreign country doesn't have to send its people to the U.S. in exchange for sending U.S. sailors to them, or vice versa — there's no reciprocity requirement. (c) The United States generally can't pay for a foreign sailor's participation. It may not cover their salary, daily living allowance (per diem), cost of living, travel, or language or other training costs — or any other costs, generally. There are three exceptions, though: the U.S. can pay for temporary duty that the Secretary or an authorized Navy officer directs; for training programs meant to familiarize, orient, or certify the foreign personnel about the specific parts of their assignment; and for costs tied to using Navy facilities while doing their assigned work. (d) This section works alongside whatever authority the Secretary of the Navy already has to make agreements with foreign governments — agreements that require the State Department's agreement — to bring their naval personnel into a Navy submarine safety program. The Secretary can write regulations spelling out exactly how this section applies when using that authority.