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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4894 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4894
To establish a pilot program on safety and qualification of printable
energetic feedstocks for additive manufacturing.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 24, 2026
Mr. Cruz (for himself and Mr. Kaine) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a pilot program on safety and qualification of printable
energetic feedstocks for additive manufacturing.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Feedstocks. Uniformity, Safety, and
Energetics Act'' or the ``FUSE Act''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON SAFETY AND QUALIFICATION OF PRINTABLE
ENERGETIC FEEDSTOCKS FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Defense shall establish a
pilot program, to be carried out by the Under Secretary of Defense for
Research and Engineering, in coordination with the Capability Program
Executive, Ammunition and Energetics (or successor organization) and
appropriate service acquisition executives, to evaluate the safety,
quality, and qualification pathways of printable energetic feedstocks
for controlled additive manufacturing applications.
(b) Purpose.--The purposes of the pilot program are--
(1) to determine whether the use of printable energetic
feedstocks can improve handling safety, process stability, lot-
to-lot consistency, and supply chain resilience relative to
traditional energetics manufacturing and handling methods;
(2) to analyze logistics impact on throughput, waste,
defect rate, and constituent material availability versus
state-of-the-art legacy processes;
(3) to develop and validate new test and evaluation
methods, if necessary, including metrology and digital quality
assurance, suitable for assessing printable energetic
feedstocks for Department of Defense use;
(4) to assess applicability of printable energetic
feedstocks to existing or planned munition and energetics
modernization efforts, consistent with explosive safety,
security, and environmental requirements, that provide an
advantage in performance or logistics; and
(5) to identify barriers to adoption, including
infrastructure, standards, certification, and workforce
requirements.
(c) Activities.--Activities under the pilot program may include--
(1) identification, assessment, and characterization of
representative printable energetic feedstocks and their
performance consistency under controlled conditions;
(2) development of qualification criteria and data packages
to inform safety releases, waivers, or certifications as
appropriate;
(3) limited demonstrations at Government facilities or
contractor facilities that meet all applicable explosive safety
and security requirements;
(4) development of nonproprietary standards, metrology
approaches, and digital thread quality controls for printable
energetic feedstocks; and
(5) analysis of operational impacts via wargaming or
mission/campaign modeling and experimental performance data.
(d) Comparative Safety Assessment Required.--As a core element of
the pilot program, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct a comparative
assessment of the safety of the use of printable energetic feedstocks
relative to traditional energetics manufacturing and handling,
including, at a minimum--
(1) hazards and risks associated with storage, transport,
handling, and processing;
(2) sensitivity and response to credible stimuli (including
thermal and mechanical stimuli) using appropriate test
standards;
(3) process safety considerations, including potential
failure modes and mitigations for controlled additive
manufacturing workflows;
(4) accident and incident risk modeling (including
qualitative and quantitative risk assessment where feasible);
and
(5) recommended safety controls, facility requirements, and
operational constraints for any future operational use.
(e) Safety and Security Requirements.--The Secretary of Defense
shall ensure that activities under the pilot program--
(1) are conducted only at facilities compliant with
applicable explosive safety siting, storage, handling, and
operating requirements;
(2) incorporate counter-diversion safeguards, inventory
accountability, and chain-of-custody controls;
(3) apply cybersecurity and access controls for any digital
manufacturing files, process parameters, and quality records;
and
(4) do not authorize dissemination of restricted
manufacturing parameters outside approved Government and
cleared-industry channels.
(f) Reporting.--Not later than 180 days after initiation of the
pilot program, and annually thereafter for the duration of the pilot
program, the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense
committees (as that term is defined in section 101(a) of title 10,
United States Code) a report that includes--
(1) pilot objectives, participants, test locations, and
safety governance structure;
(2) test methodologies, standards used, and key safety and
quality metrics;
(3) results of activities conducted under subsection (c),
including identification, assessment, and characterization of
representative printable energetic feedstocks, demonstrations,
qualification criteria, data packages, and standard
development;
(4) results of the comparative safety assessment required
under subsection (d), including identified hazards,
mitigations, and residual risk;
(5) an assessment of cost, schedule, and scalability
relative to traditional energetics manufacturing and handling;
(6) recommended qualification and certification pathways,
including any standards gaps; and
(7) any recommended legislative, regulatory, or resourcing
actions required to enable safe adoption.
(g) Duration.--The pilot program shall be carried out for not more
than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this section.
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