FY2025 NDAA: Status of Legislative Activity

FY2025 NDAA: Status of Legislative Activity

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

INSIGHTi

FY2025 NDAA: Status of Legislative Activity

Updated January 8, 2025

On December 23, 2024, President Joe Biden signed into law the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY2025 NDAA; P.L. 118- 159). This product provides the status of key legislative activity and documentation associated with proposed and enacted versions of the FY2025 NDAA (H.R. 8070; S. 4638; House amendment to Senate amendment to H.R. 5009).

On March 11, 2024, President 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 NDAA typically sets policy and authorizes appropriations for the majority of these activities.

In the House, on May 20, 2024, Representatives Mike Rogers, Chair of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), and Adam Smith, HASC 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

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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 bill, S. 4638, was reported to the Senate with an accompanying report, S.Rept. 118-188. On September 19, Senator Reed filed (for himself and Senator Wicker) S.Amdt. 3290, an amendment (described as a managers’ package) that incorporated the text of 93 amendments filed by Senators to S. 4638. SASC leadership indicated that the package had bipartisan committee and Senate leadership support and would, along with the text of S. 4638, be the basis for negotiations with the House to enact an FY2025 NDAA.

As with the FY2022 NDAA (P.L. 117-81) and the FY2023 NDAA (P.L. 117-263), the House and Senate did not establish a conference committee to resolve differences between the two versions of the bill. Instead, HASC and SASC leaders negotiated a bicameral agreement based on the two versions. On December 7, HASC and SASC announced the release of the agreement, drafted as a House amendment to a Senate amendment to H.R. 5009 (an unrelated bill). An accompanying explanatory statement (that had the same effect as if it were a joint explanatory statement of a conference committee) was published in the House section of the December 10 edition of the Congressional Record. On December 11, pursuant H.Res. 1612, the House debated and agreed to the proposal, 281-140, and returned the bill to the Senate. The Senate took up the House amendment on December 12 and completed a cloture process on December 16. On December 18, the Senate agreed to the House amendment without any changes, 85-14. On December 23, President Biden signed the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 into law (P.L. 118-159).

Table 1 shows key legislative activity and documentation associated with proposed and enacted versions of the FY2025 NDAA.

Table 1. FY2025 NDAA Selected Legislative Activity and Documentation

House Senate

Public

Law

Bill #, Date Introduced

Report #, Date

Vote # (yeas- nays), Date Passed

HASC- SASC Negotiated Proposal

Bill #, Date Introduced

Report #, Date

Vote # (yeas- nays), Date Passed

HASC- SASC Negotiated Proposal

P.L. #, Date Signed

H.R. 8070, 4/18/24

H.Rept. 118-529, 5/31/24

279 (217- 199), 6/14/24

S. 4638, 7/8/24

S.Rept. 118-188, 7/8/24

House amendment to Senate amendment to H.R. 5009, 12/7/24

500 (281- 140), 12/11/24

Explanatory statement published in the 12/10/24 Congressional Record

325 (85- 14), 12/18/24

Explanatory statement published in the 12/10/24 Congressional Record

P.L. 118- 159, 12/23/24

Source: CRS analysis of selected actions on Congress.gov. Notes: Each row reflects a unique bill that could serve as the legislative vehicle for an enacted version of the annual NDAA.

Figure 1 shows the number of days between the start of the fiscal year and enactment of the annual defense authorization act since FY1977, when the federal government transitioned to a fiscal year beginning October 1, 1976.

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

Authorization Acts, FY1977-FY2025

(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; P.L. 118-31; and P.L. 118-159. 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, 44 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.

Author Information

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

Valerie Heitshusen

Specialist on Congress and the Legislative Process

Disclaimer

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