Updated January 8, 2020
Defense Primer: The NDAA Process
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) provides
the committees of jurisdiction in conjunction with the
authorization of appropriations for the Department of
budget request.
Defense (DOD), nuclear weapons programs of the
The authorizing committees begin their work on the NDAA
Department of Energy, DOD elements of the Intelligence
in parallel. Both committees conduct a series of hearings on
Community, and defense-related activities at other federal
the budget request and related matters, which typically lead
agencies. In addition to serving as an authorization of
to the drafting and markup of separate bills in the House
appropriations, the NDAA establishes defense policies and
and the Senate.
restrictions, and addresses organizational administrative
matters related to the DOD. Unlike an appropriations bill,
Hearings
the NDAA does not provide budget authority for
Upon receipt of the President’s budget request, the HASC
government activities. Nevertheless, historically it has
and the SASC begin a series of posture hearings in which
provided a fairly reliable indicator of congressional
the senior civilian and military leadership of the DOD, the
sentiment on subsequent appropriations for particular
military services, and certain defense agencies are invited to
programs.
testify before the committees on the budget request. The
subcommittees will also conduct related hearings, with a
Enactment of the NDAA has come to be expected annually,
focus on issues specific to that subcommittee’s jurisdiction.
as FY2020 was the 59th consecutive fiscal year for which a
For example, the SASC may hold a hearing with the
defense authorization was enacted. This regular enactment
Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Army on that year’s
of complex legislation for more than five decades depends
budget request for the Army, and the Airland Subcommittee
upon close adherence to process and consistency in
might follow with a hearing specifically looking at the
procedures, schedules, and protocols.
Army’s ground vehicle procurement programs.
Committees of Jurisdiction
Markup
The House Committee on Armed Services (HASC) and the
In a typical year, the committees will have reviewed the
Senate Committee on Armed Services (SASC) are provided
President’s budget request and associated policy proposals
jurisdiction over all bills, resolutions, and other matters
and prepared authorizing legislation for markup in
relating to the common defense under the Rules of the
committee by late April or May. These meetings are called
House and Senate. Referred to as the authorizers or the
markups because committee members mark up the
authorizing committees, the HASC and SASC each has
legislation by considering, debating, and voting on
subcommittees that are assigned jurisdictional
amendments to the authorizing bill.
responsibilities by the full committee. In the 116th
Congress, the HASC established six subcommittees:
Subcommittee Markup
In current practice, both the HASC and the SASC begin the
Tactical Air and Land Forces;
markup process in subcommittee, with each of the
Military Personnel;
subcommittees considering the subcommittee Chairman’s
Readiness;
Mark, which is a draft legislative proposal with funding
Seapower and Projection Forces;
recommendations for matters in the bill under that
subcommittee’s jurisdiction. At completion of markup, each
Strategic Forces; and
subcommittee votes to report the proposal, as amended, to
Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities.
the full committee.
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.
Emerging Threats and Capabilities;
During full committee markup, the full committee
Personnel;
Chairman’s Mark, which contains legislation and funding
Readiness and Management Support;
recommendations for matters that are not assigned to a
Seapower; and
specific subcommittee, is considered, debated, and voted
on. The full committee Chairman’s Mark addresses a
Strategic Forces.
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
President’s budget
Contingency Operations (OCO).
request to Congress. The Administration
often submits policy proposals (requests for legislation) to
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Defense Primer: The NDAA Process
Common HASC Committee Practices
If the Senate passes its own bill first, it is sent to the House;
The most recent NDAA includes more than 1,000 pages of
often, instead, the Senate takes up the House bill it has
legislation and authorization of more than $700 billion. In
received and considers amendments to it (including the
order to shepherd a bill of this magnitude successfully
proposal reported by SASC).
through the legislative process, the HASC has adopted
Conference
several common practices in drafting and marking up the
The Constitution requires that the House and Senate
NDAA.
approve the same bill in precisely the same form before it is
Practice at HASC markup typically has not allowed for the
presented to the President. To this end, each house must
consideration of certain amendments. For example
pass its own version of the same measure and then attempt
to reach agreement with the other house about its
Earmarks. House rules currently prevent consideration
provisions. An agreement may be reached by the exchange
of a bill reported by a committee unless the report
of alternatives between the chambers. Alternatively, the
includes a list of congressional earmarks or a statement
House and Senate can each agree to create a conference
that there are none. Committee practice does not permit
committee to propose a package settlement of the
Members to offer during markup any amendment
competing proposals.
containing an earmark.
A conference committee is traditionally used to resolve
Sequential referral. The committee typically also
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
Offsets. The committee’s typical past practice also has
work as soon as possible following passage of a proposal in
required that amendments that would increase spending
each chamber. Completion of the conference report is not
for one item should identify suitable offsets.
on a specified timeline, but many of the authorities
provided by the NDAA expire at the end of the fiscal year.
Common SASC Committee Practices
Therefore, considerable effort is put toward completing the
Under Senate rules, committees and their subcommittees
NDAA conference prior to October 1 of each year.
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 markups (and
not amendable. (In the Senate, reaching a vote on the
most subcommittee markups) typically have been
conference report may require three-fifths of the Senate to
conducted in closed session. In addition, the SASC proposal
invoke cloture.) If the House and Senate each agree to the
is typically reported to the Senate as an original bill (that is,
conference report, the NDAA is enrolled for presentation to
its text has not been previously formally introduced).
the President.
Floor Consideration
CRS Products
Once reported favorably out of committee, the NDAA may
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,
on the Senate calendar.
congressional clients may contact Valerie Heitshusen; for
In the Senate, after SASC has reported its proposal, any
questions on the NDAA, congressional clients may contact
floor debate and amendment consideration is typically
Brendan W. McGarry. Acknowledgment: This primer was
structured pursuant to multiple unanimous consent
originally coauthored by Lynn M. Williams, former CRS
agreements. In recent practice, the Senate has sometimes
Specialist in Defense Readiness and Infrastructure.
considered over 100 floor amendments. However, one or
more cloture processes (by which three-fifths of the Senate,
typically 60 Senators, votes to limit consideration) may be
Valerie Heitshusen, Specialist on Congress and the
necessary to reach a final vote on certain amendments, and
Legislative Process
on the bill itself.
Brendan W. McGarry, Analyst in US Defense Budget
IF10515
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Defense Primer: The NDAA 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.
https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF10515 · VERSION 10 · UPDATED