(a) The Director of Defense Research and Engineering, under the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (USD(AT&L)), shall:

(1) Provide technical leadership and oversight, issue guidance for plans and programs; develop policies; conduct analyses and studies; and make recommendations for DoD basic research.

(2) Recommend approval, modification, or disapproval of the DoD Components' basic research programs and projects to eliminate unpromising or unnecessarily duplicative programs, and to stimulate the initiation or support of promising ones.

(3) Recommend, through the USD(AT&L) to the Secretary of Defense, appropriate funding levels for DoD basic research.

(4) Develop and maintain a metrics program to measure and assess the quality and progress for DoD basic research, a required element of which is an independent technical review:

(i) At least biennially; and

(ii) With participation by all the Military Departments and all the other DoD Components that have basic research programs.

(5) Monitor the implementation of this part and issue any additional direction and guidance that may be necessary for that purpose.

(b) The Directors of the Defense Agencies supporting basic research and the Secretaries of the Military Departments, within their organizational purview, shall implement this part.