https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated November 23, 2022
Defense Primer: The NDAA Process
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) provides
authorization of appropriations for the Department of
Defense (DOD), nuclear weapons programs of the
Department of Energy, and other defense-related activities.
In addition to serving as an authorization of appropriations,
the NDAA establishes defense policies and restrictions, and
addresses organizational administrative matters related to
the DOD. Unlike an appropriations bill, the NDAA does
not provide budget authority for government activities.
Nevertheless, historically it has provided a fairly reliable
indicator of congressional sentiment on subsequent
appropriations for particular programs.
FY2022 was the 61
st
consecutive fiscal year for which a
defense authorization was enacted. This regular enactment
of legislation for six decades depends upon adherence to
process and consistency in procedures, schedules, and
protocols.
Committees of Jurisdiction
The House Committee on Armed Services (also known as
the House Armed Services Committee, or HASC) and the
Senate Committee on Armed Services (also known as the
Senate Armed Services Committee, or SASC) have
jurisdiction over all bills, resolutions, and other matters
relating to the common defense under the Rules of the
House and Senate. Referred to as the authorizers or the
authorizing committees, the HASC and the SASC each has
subcommittees that are assigned jurisdictional
responsibilities by the full committee. In the 117
th
Congress, the HASC established seven subcommittees:
Tactical Air and Land Forces;
Military Personnel;
Readiness;
Seapower and Projection Forces;
Strategic Forces;
Intelligence and Special Operations; and
Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information
Systems.
The SASC established seven subcommittees:
Airland;
Cybersecurity;
Emerging Threats and Capabilities;
Personnel;
Readiness and Management Support;
Seapower; and
Strategic Forces.
The NDAA Timeline
The NDAA process begins on or about the first Monday in
February of each year, with the submission of the
President’s budget request to Congress. The Administration
often submits policy proposals (i.e., requests for legislation)
to the committees of jurisdiction in conjunction with the
budget request.
The authorizing committees begin their work on the NDAA
in parallel with one another. Both committees conduct a
series of hearings on the budget request and related matters,
which typically lead to the drafting and markup of separate
bills in the House and the Senate.
Hearings
Upon receipt of the President’s budget request, the HASC
and the SASC begin a series of posture hearings in which
the senior civilian and military leadership of the DOD, the
military services, and certain defense agencies are invited to
testify before the committees on the budget request. The
subcommittees also conduct related hearings, with a focus
on issues specific to that subcommittee’s jurisdiction. For
example, the SASC may hold a hearing with the Secretary
and Chief of Staff of the Army on that year’s budget
request for the Army, and the Airland Subcommittee might
follow with a hearing specifically looking at the Army’s
ground vehicle procurement programs.
Markup
In a typical year, the committees will have reviewed the
President’s budget request and associated policy proposals
and prepared authorizing legislation for markup in
committee by late April or May. These meetings are called
markups, because committee members mark up the
legislation by considering, debating, and voting on
amendments to the authorizing bill.
Subcommittee Markup
In current practice, both the HASC and the SASC begin the
markup process in subcommittee, with each of the
subcommittees considering the subcommittee Chairman’s
Mark, which is a draft legislative proposal with funding
recommendations for matters in the bill under that
subcommittee’s jurisdiction. At completion of markup, each
subcommittee votes to report the proposal, as amended, to
the full committee.
Full Committee Markup
Once the subcommittees have all finalized their markups,
the full committee convenes to consider, debate, and vote
on amendments to each of the subcommittee marks. During
full committee markup, the full committee Chairman’s
Mark, which contains legislation and funding
recommendations for matters that are not assigned to a
specific subcommittee, is also considered, debated, and
voted on. The full committee Chairman’s Mark addresses a
variety of cross-cutting issues such as general defense
policy, matters related to the organization and management
of the DOD, acquisition and industrial base policy, and
