10 U.S.C. § 6136 — Earned value management and technology readiness levels for life extension programs

**(a) Review of Contractor Earned Value Management Systems.—** The Administrator shall enter into an arrangement with an independent entity under which that entity shall— (1) review and validate whether the earned value management systems of contractors of the Administration for life extension programs meet the earned value management national standard; and (2) conduct periodic surveillance reviews of such systems to ensure that such systems maintain compliance with that standard through program completion. **(b) Benchmarks for Technology Readiness Levels.—** The Administrator shall— (1) establish specific benchmarks for technology readiness levels of critical technologies for life extension programs at key decision points; and (2) ensure that critical technologies meet such benchmarks at such decision points. **(c) Applicability.—** This section shall apply to programs that, as of January 1, 2021, have not entered phase 3 of the nuclear weapons acquisition process or phase 6.3 of a nuclear weapons life extension program. **(d) Definition.—** In this section, the term “earned value management national standard” means the most recent version of the EIA-748 Earned Value Management System Standard published by the National Defense Industrial Association.