https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated November 23, 2022
Defense Primer: Navigating the NDAA
The annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
has a legacy of regular passage. FY2022 marked the 61
st
consecutive year for which an annual defense authorization
was enacted. Many defense policymakers and officials see
the bill as a reliable legislative vehicle for a range of policy
matters.
The FY2022 NDAA (P.L. 117-81) included 910 pages of
policy provisions and discretionary authorizations totaling
$768.2 billion. Unlike an appropriations bill, the NDAA
does not provide budget authority for the Department of
Defense (DOD). Instead, the NDAA establishes or
continues defense programs, policies, projects, or activities
at DOD and other federal agencies, and provides guidance
on how the appropriated funds are to be used in carrying
out those authorized activities. This primer provides an
overview of the structure and organization of the NDAA.
Organization of the NDAA
The NDAA establishes policy and authorizes appropriations
for the DOD, nuclear weapons programs of the Department
of Energy, and other defense-related activities. Typically,
there is a House legislative vehicle (e.g., H.R. 7900, 117
th
Congress) as well as a separate Senate vehicle (e.g., S.
4543, 117
th
Congress); the Senate committee alternative is
often proposed as an amendment to the House bill (or vice
versa). The bills typically include four divisions related to
defense authorizations:
Division A. Department of Defense Authorizations;
Division B. Military Construction Authorizations;
Division C. Department of Energy National Security
Authorizations and Other Authorizations; and
Division D. Funding Tables.
Partly because the NDAA is consistently enacted, the bill is
frequently used as a vehicle for legislation under the
jurisdiction of committees other than the House and Senate
Committees on Armed Services (sometimes attached as
other divisions).
Legislative Provisions
Divisions A, B, and C are organized by title, subtitle, and
section. For example, in Division A, Title I covers
Procurement; Title II Research, Development, Test, and
Evaluation (RDT&E); Title III Operation and Maintenance
(O&M); Title IV Military Personnel Authorizations, and so
forth. Individual legislative provisions are assigned section
numbers according to title and subtitle. A detailed table of
contents (organized by division, title, subtitle, and section
number) provides a complete list of items in the bill.
Funding Tables
Division D provides funding tables that specify dollar
amounts authorized to be appropriated. The tables are
organized by appropriation account and correspond to the
associated legislative provisions.
What’s in a Committee Report?
In addition to providing the legislative text and funding
tables that comprise the NDAA, 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) each typically produce a committee
report to accompany its version of the bill. The reports
provide rationales for the committee bill, explain committee
actions, and provide further guidance and directives to
government agencies. The committee may also prepare a
classified annex to the report. Unlike the bill text,
committee reports are not considered or amended during
floor proceedings.
In practice, the HASC and SASC reports mirror the
organization of the bills, providing a section-by-section
description of the bill text (by division, title, subtitle, and
section). They also include the results of committee roll call
votes, additional views of members of the committee, items
of special interest (ISIs), cost estimates, and other relevant
information, such as a comparison to current law.
Section-by-Section Summaries
The HASC and SASC reports each provide summaries of
what each section of the proposed bill would do. Such
summaries may provide additional context for the provision
and may also express committee concerns or rationales
behind inclusion of the provision.
Items of Special Interest
There are generally two types of items of special interest:
(1) ISIs that are directive; and (2) Those that are not
directive. Directive ISIs, often referred to as directive
report language, direct an individual (such as a senior DOD
official) to take a specified action by a date certain.
Although directive report language is not legally binding,
agency officials generally regard it as a congressional
mandate and respond accordingly.
Nondirective ISIs are statements of the committee’s views,
concerns, opinions, or rationales for acting. For example, a
nondirective ISI may explain why the committee
recommends an increase in funding for a particular project,
or may note the committee’s support for (or concern over)
actions taken by the DOD or military services.
