Updated November 9, 2018
Defense Primer: The NDAA Process
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) provides
The authorizing committees begin their work on the NDAA
authorization of appropriations for the Department of
in parallel. Both committees conduct a series of hearings on
Defense (DOD), nuclear weapons programs of the
the budget request and related matters, which typically lead
Department of Energy, DOD elements of the Intelligence
to the drafting and markup of separate bills in the House
Community, and defense-related activities at other federal
and the Senate.
agencies. In addition to serving as an authorization of
Hearings
appropriations, the NDAA establishes defense policies and
Upon receipt of the President’s budget request, the HASC
restrictions, and addresses organizational administrative
and the SASC begin a series of posture hearings in which
matters related to the DOD. Unlike an appropriations bill,
the senior civilian and military leadership of the DOD, the
the NDAA does not provide budget authority for
military services, and certain defense agencies are invited to
government activities.
testify before the committees on the budget request. The
Enactment of the annual NDAA has come to be expected,
subcommittees will also conduct related hearings, with a
as FY2019 was the 58th consecutive fiscal year for which an
focus on issues specific to that subcommittee’s jurisdiction.
annual defense authorization was enacted. This regular
For example, the SASC may hold a hearing with the
enactment of complex legislation for more than five
Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Army on that year’s
decades depends upon close adherence to process and
budget request for the Army, and the Airland Subcommittee
consistency in procedures, schedules, and protocols.
might follow with a hearing specifically looking at the
Committees of Jurisdiction
Army’s ground vehicle procurement programs.
The House Committee on Armed Services (HASC) and the
Markup
Senate Committee on Armed Services (SASC) are provided
In a typical year, the committees will have reviewed the
jurisdiction over all bills, resolutions, and other matters
President’s budget request and associated policy proposals
relating to the common defense under the Rules of the
and prepared authorizing legislation for markup in
House and Senate. Referred to as the authorizers or the
committee by late April or May. These meetings are called
authorizing committees, the HASC and SASC each has
markups because committee members mark up the
subcommittees that are assigned jurisdictional
legislation by considering, debating, and voting on
responsibilities by the full committee. In the 115th
amendments to the authorizing bill.
Congress, the HASC established seven subcommittees:
Subcommittee Markup
Tactical Air and Land Forces;
In current practice, both the HASC and the SASC begin the
Military Personnel;
markup process in subcommittee, with each of the
Seapower and Projection Forces;
subcommittees considering the subcommittee Chairman’s
Mark, which is a draft legislative proposal with funding
Strategic Forces;
recommendations for matters in the bill under that
Readiness;
subcommittee’s jurisdiction. At completion of markup, each
Emerging Threats and Capabilities; and
subcommittee votes to report the proposal, as amended, to
Oversight and Investigations.
the full committee.
Similarly, the SASC established seven subcommittees:
Full Committee Markup
Airland;
Once the subcommittees have all finalized their markups,
Cybersecurity;
the full committee will convene to consider, debate, and
vote on amendments to each of the subcommittee marks.
Personnel;
During full committee markup, the full committee
Seapower;
Chairman’s Mark, which contains legislation and funding
Strategic Forces;
recommendations for matters that are not assigned to a
specific subcommittee, is considered, debated, and voted
Readiness and Management Support; and
on. The full committee Chairman’s Mark addresses a
Emerging Threats and Capabilities.
variety of cross-cutting issues such as general defense
The NDAA Timeline
policy, matters related to the organization and management
of the DOD, acquisition and industrial base policy, and
The NDAA process begins on or about the first Monday in
matters related to foreign nations and Overseas
February of each year, with the submission of the
Contingency Operations (OCO).
President’s budget request to Congress. The Administration
often submits policy proposals (requests for legislation) to
Common HASC Committee Practices
the committees of jurisdiction in conjunction with the
The NDAA has recently included several hundred pages of
budget request.
legislation and authorization of more than $700 billion. In
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Defense Primer: The NDAA Process
order to shepherd a bill of this magnitude successfully
received and considers amendments to it (including the
through the legislative process, the HASC has adopted
proposal reported by SASC).
several common practices in drafting and marking up the
NDAA.
Conference
The Constitution requires that the House and Senate
Practice at HASC markup typically has not allowed for the
approve the same bill in precisely the same form before it is
consideration of certain amendments. For example:
presented to the President. To this end, each house must
Earmarks. House rules currently prevent consideration
pass its own version of the same measure and then attempt
of a bill reported by a committee unless the report
to reach agreement with the other house about its
includes a list of congressional earmarks or a statement
provisions. An agreement may be reached by the exchange
that there are none. Moreover, it is the current policy of
of alternatives between the chambers. Alternatively, the
the House Republican Conference that no Member shall
House and Senate can each agree to create a conference
offer an amendment with an earmark; therefore, the
committee to propose a package settlement of the
HASC Chairman will not allow Members to offer any
competing proposals.
amendment containing an earmark.
A conference committee is traditionally used to resolve
Sequential referral. The HASC Chairman typically
differences between the houses on the NDAA. Conferees
requires members of the committee to provide, before
are House and Senate members, drawn mainly from the
offering any amendment that involves the jurisdiction of
HASC and SASC, who are expected to resolve
other House committees, a letter from the respective
disagreements between the House and Senate positions and
committee chairman indicating a waiver of the right of
provide an agreement in the form of a conference report.
referral. This requirement is also imposed on legislation
Conferees may also be appointed from other committees
in the underlying mark. Doing so avoids potential delay
with jurisdiction over components of the bill; the chamber
that could result from a sequential referral of the bill to
may limit the provisions on which these conferees may
other committees.
negotiate. The conference committee will typically begin its
work as soon as possible following passage of a proposal in
Offsets. In long-standing practice, the HASC Chairman
each chamber. Completion of the conference report is not
also requires that amendments that would increase
on a specified timeline, but many of the authorities
spending for one item should identify suitable offsets.
provided by the NDAA expire at the end of the fiscal year.
Common SASC Committee Practices
Therefore, considerable effort is put toward completing the
NDAA conference prior to October 1 of each year.
Under Senate rules, committees and their subcommittees
may vote to hold closed meetings for specific reasons (e.g.,
Once reported by the conference committee, a conference
to avoid disclosing certain national security information). In
report is subject to debate during floor consideration, but is
recent practice, the SASC full committee markup (and most
not amendable. (In the Senate, reaching a vote on the
subcommittee markups) typically has been conducted in
conference report may require three-fifths of the Senate to
closed session. In addition, the SASC proposal is typically
invoke cloture.) If the House and Senate each agree to the
reported to the Senate as an original bill (that is, its text has
conference report, the NDAA is enrolled for presentation to
not been previously formally introduced).
the President.
Floor Consideration
Once reported favorably out of committee, the NDAA may
CRS Products
be scheduled for floor consideration. In the House, current
CRS Report R42843, Introduction to the Legislative Process in the
practice is to consider the bill under the provisions of a
U.S. Congress
special rule that structures the conditions of debate and
CRS Infographic IG10005, From Bill to Law: Stages of the
possible floor amendments to the bill. In recent years, the
Legislative Process
rule has sometimes made more than 100 amendments in
CRS In Focus IF10514, Defense Primer: Defense Appropriations
order (many of which are offered and agreed to en bloc).
Process
After being considered, debated, and amended in the
House, the House-passed version of the NDAA is sent to
the Senate and typically either referred to SASC or placed
Note: For questions on the legislative process, contact
on the Senate calendar.
Valerie Heitshusen; for questions on the NDAA, contact
In the Senate, after SASC has reported its proposal, any
Brendan W. McGarry. Acknowledgment: This primer was
floor debate and amendment consideration is typically
originally co-authored by Lynn M. Williams, former CRS
structured pursuant to multiple unanimous consent
Specialist in Defense Readiness and Infrastructure.
agreements. In recent practice, it is not uncommon for the
Senate to consider well over 100 floor amendments.
However, one or more cloture processes (by which three-
Valerie Heitshusen, Specialist on Congress and the
fifths of the Senate, typically 60 Senators, votes to limit
Legislative Process
consideration) may be necessary to reach a final vote on
Brendan W. McGarry, Analyst in US Defense Budget
certain amendments, and on the bill itself.
IF10515
If the Senate passes its own bill first, it is sent to the House;
often, instead, the Senate takes up the House bill it has
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Defense Primer: The NDAA Process
Disclaimer
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