https://crsreports.congress.gov
November 9, 2021
Defense Primer: Department of Defense Unfunded Priorities
Introduction
Department of Defense (DOD) unfunded priorities
generally refer to reports submitted to Congress pursuant to
United States Code provisions (10 U.S.C. §222a and 10
U.S.C. §222b) listing military programs, activities, or
mission requirements that were not included in the
President’s annual budget request but that the department
would fund with additional appropriations. The highest-
ranking officers of the U.S. military services, combatant
commands (COCOMs), and Missile Defense Agency
(MDA) submit the reports, which are sometimes called
unfunded priorities lists or unfunded requirements.
Some observers have described DOD unfunded priorities as
“wish lists” that reduce budget discipline and increase
unnecessary spending. Others have described them as “risk
lists” that identify items intended to support strategic
objectives.
For FY2022, DOD identified $23.85 billion in unfunded
priorities, according to CRS analysis of the documents.
Congress is debating whether to increase funding in
FY2022 defense authorization and appropriation legislation,
in part to fund DOD unfunded priorities.
Background
For decades, reports accompanying defense authorization
and appropriation legislation have sometimes referenced
“unfunded requirements” of the military. The conference
report (H.Rept. 97-749) to accompany the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1983 (NDAA; P.L. 97-
252) authorized appropriations within the Operation and
Maintenance, Air National Guard accounts for certain
“unfunded requirements” (i.e., cold weather gear and
chemical defense equipment). By the mid-1990s, according
to some accounts, the services routinely submitted lists of
unfunded priorities to Congress. In the 2000s, conference
reports accompanying defense authorization and
appropriation legislation sometimes referenced the
“unfunded priority list” of DOD or a military service, or the
“unfunded requirements list” of a military service.
Selected Legislative History
FY2013 NDAA. Section 1003 of P.L. 112-239 included a
sense of Congress provision expressing the position that
certain military officers should submit to Congress, through
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) and the
Secretary of Defense (SECDEF), “a list of any priority
military programs or activities under the jurisdiction of such
officer for which, in the estimate of such officer additional
funds, if available, would substantially reduce operational
or programmatic risk or accelerate the creation or fielding
of a critical military capability.”
FY2017 NDAA. Section 1064 of P.L. 114-328 established
the statutory requirement of 10 U.S.C. §222a for annual
reports on unfunded priorities of the services and
COCOMs. In particular, the statute requires the service
chiefs and combatant commanders to submit within 10 days
of the President’s budget request to Congress a report on
the unfunded priorities of the service or command under
their jurisdiction. The statute requires the officers to submit
the documents to the SECDEF, CJCS, and congressional
defense committees (i.e., the House and Senate Committees
on Armed Services and Appropriations). The reports are to
include items in order of priority and such information as
the line item number in procurement accounts, program
element number in research and development accounts, and
the sub-activity group in operation and maintenance
accounts. The statute defines an unfunded priority, in part,
as a program, activity, or mission requirement that “is not
funded in the budget of the President” and “is necessary to
fulfill a requirement associated with an operational or
contingency plan of a combatant command or other
validated requirement.” Section 1696 of the act established
a similar statutory requirement (10 U.S.C. §222b) for an
annual report on unfunded priorities of MDA.
FY2020 NDAA. Section 1005 of P.L. 116-92 amended 10
U.S.C. §222a to include certain military construction
projects in annual reports on DOD unfunded priorities. The
section further defined a “covered military construction
project” as a project included in any fiscal year of the five-
year Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) submitted with
the President’s budget request or considered by a combatant
commander “to be an urgent need.”
FY2021 NDAA. Sections 924 and 1006 of P.L. 116-283
amended 10 U.S.C. §222a to include among the officers
required to submit reports on unfunded priorities the Chief
of Space Operations and the Chief of the National Guard
Bureau, respectively. Section 1005 established the statutory
requirement of 10 U.S.C. §240i for the DOD Comptroller to
submit a report on unfunded priorities related to audit
readiness and remediation. Section 1867 renumbered the
statutory requirement for the Under Secretary of Defense
for Acquisition and Sustainment to submit a report on
unfunded priorities of the national technology and industrial
base to 10 U.S.C. §4815.
FY2022 Unfunded Priorities
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin has said the FY2022
President’s budget request meets DOD requirements.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark A. Milley has
said unfunded priorities lists provide a “flexibility option”
for lawmakers. The military services, combatant
commands, and MDA submitted a total of $23.85 billion in
unfunded priorities for FY2022 (see Table 1).
