1. Establishment of Office of Strategic Capital (a) In general Chapter 4 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 148. Office of Strategic Capital (a) Establishment There is in the Office of the Secretary of Defense an office to be known as the Office of Strategic Capital (in this section referred to as the Office ). (b) Director The Office shall be headed by an Executive Director (in this section referred to as the Director ), who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Defense from among employees of the Department of Defense in Senior Executive Service or equivalent positions (as defined in section 3132 of title 5). (c) Duties The Office shall— (1) identify, accelerate, and sustain the establishment, research, development, construction, procurement, leasing, consolidation, alteration, improvement, or repair of tangible and intangible assets vital to national security; (2) protect vital tangible and intangible assets from theft, acquisition, and transfer by countries that are adversaries of the United States; and (3) provide capital assistance to eligible entities engaged in eligible investments. (d) Applications An eligible entity seeking capital assistance for an eligible investment shall submit to the Director an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director may require. (e) Selection of investments The Director shall establish criteria for selecting among eligible investments for which applications are submitted under subsection (d). Such criteria shall include— (1) the extent to which an investment is significant to the national security of the United States; (2) the creditworthiness of an investment