National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016
Latest action. Vetoed by President.
Highlights:
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 authorizes FY2016 appropriations and sets forth policies regarding the military activities of the Department of Defense (DOD), military construction, and the national security programs of the Department of Energy (DOE).
The bill authorizes appropriations, but does not provide appropriations, which are considered in subsequent appropriations legislation.
The bill authorizes appropriations to DOD for:
Procurement;
Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation;
Operation and Maintenance;
Cooperative Threat Reduction;
Working Capital Funds;
the National Defense Sealift Fund;
Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction;
Defense-Wide Drug Interdiction and Counter-Drug Activities;
the Defense Inspector General;
the Defense Health Program; and
the National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund.
This bill also authorizes appropriations for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), which are exempt from discretionary spending limits. OCO appropriations authorized in the bill support base budget requirements as well as OCO activities.
The bill authorizes the FY2016 personnel strengths for active duty and reserve forces and sets forth policies regarding military personnel; compensation and other personnel benefits; health care; acquisition policy and management; DOD organization and management; civilian personnel matters; matters relating to foreign nations; cooperative threat reduction; and strategic programs, cyber, and intelligence matters.
The bill authorizes appropriations and sets forth policies regarding military construction for the Army, Navy, Air Force, defense agencies, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program, and Guard and Reserve Forces facilities.
The bill authorizes appropriations for base realignment and closure (BRAC) activities and prohibits an additional BRAC round.
The bill also authorizes appropriations and sets forth policies for DOE national security programs, including the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Full Summary:
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016
(Sec. 3) Defines "congressional defense committees" as the House and Senate Armed Services and Appropriations Committees.
(Sec. 4) Specifies procedures for determining the budgetary effects of this bill for compliance with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act of 2010.
DIVISION A--DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATIONS
TITLE I--PROCUREMENT
Subtitle A--Authorization of Appropriations
The summary continues for 824 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Conference report filed in House" stage on September 29, 2015. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
1 step remains before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on October 22, 2015: Vetoed by President.
- A two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate to override the veto
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 1 step is still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
WILLIAM THORNBERRY (R-TX) introduced it on April 13, 2015, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 13, 2015, 4168 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3976 days ago, on October 22, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HousePassed
- SenatePassed
- PresidentVetoed on October 22, 2015