CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

INSIGHTi

FY2025 NDAA: Status of Legislative Activity

Updated December 10, 2024

On March 11, 2024, President Joe Biden submitted initial documentation supporting the FY2025 budget request, including proposed funding for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), atomic energy defense activities primarily of the U.S. Department of Energy, and other national defense-related activities. The annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) typically sets policy and authorizes appropriations for the majority of these activities. This product provides the status of key legislative activity and documentation associated with proposals for a National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025 NDAA; H.R. 8070; S. 4638; House amendment to Senate amendment to H.R. 5009).

In the House, on May 20, 2024, Representatives Mike Rogers, Chair of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), and Adam Smith, Ranking Member, released draft legislative proposals (described as prints) for matters in the FY2025 NDAA under the jurisdictions of the seven subcommittees. They also released a draft legislative proposal (described as a Chairman’s mark and also known as a Chair’s mark) for portions of the bill not in the subcommittee marks. Unlike in previous years, each HASC subcommittee did not consider and report a mark to the full committee. Instead, to expedite committee consideration of the proposed legislation, each subcommittee released a print (containing both bill language and directive report language). On May 22, the full committee took up a previously introduced text, H.R. 8070, and considered the subcommittee prints, the Chair’s mark, and additional amendments. The same day, HASC voted 57-1 to order H.R. 8070 reported to the House with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, reflecting the product of the committee markup. On May 31, the committee reported the bill (the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025) and filed its accompanying report, H.Rept. 118-529. On June 11, the House Rules Committee met to report a structured special rule, H.Res. 1287, and accompanying report, H.Rept. 118-551, for the House to consider H.R. 8070. On June 12-14, the House adopted the special rule and then considered amendments to the bill. On June 14, the House passed the measure, as amended, by a vote of 217-199.

In the Senate, on June 11-12, 2024, the seven subcommittees of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) marked up draft legislative proposals with recommendations for matters in the FY2025 NDAA under their respective jurisdictions. Two of the markups were held in an open session (Subcommittees on Personnel and Seapower), and the remaining five were held in closed sessions. On June 12-13, the full committee considered the legislation in closed sessions. On June 14, Senators Jack Reed and Roger Wicker, Chair and Ranking Member, respectively, of SASC, announced that the committee had voted 22- 3 to order reported an original bill reflecting the product of the committee markup. On July 8, the original

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Figure 1. Days between Start of Fiscal Year and Enactment of Annual Defense

Authorization Acts, FY1977-FY2024

(in days)

Source: CRS analysis of dates of enactment of public law from CRS Report 98-756, Defense Authorization and Appropriations Bills: FY1961-FY2021, by Barbara Salazar Torreon and Sofia Plagakis; P.L. 117-81; P.L. 117-263; and P.L. 118- 31. Notes: Positive values indicate number of days between start of the fiscal year and enactment of annual defense authorization acts. Negative values indicate number of days between enactment of annual defense authorization acts and start of fiscal year. Thus, the figure shows that since FY1977 annual defense authorization legislation has been enacted, on average, 43 days after the beginning of the fiscal year (i.e., early November). Annual defense authorization legislation for the fiscal years 1979, 1989, 1996, 2008, 2016, and 2021 was enacted over a presidential veto. An FY2025 NDAA has not been enacted and is not shown in the figure.

Author Information

Brendan W. McGarry Specialist in U.S. Defense Budget

^{Valerie Heitshusen}

Specialist on Congress and the Legislative Process

Disclaimer

This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.