National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018
Latest action. Became public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) No: 115-91.
Highlights:
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 authorizes FY2018 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.
Among other things, 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; and
the Defense Health Program.
This bill also authorizes FY2018 appropriations for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), which are exempt from limits on discretionary spending. OCO appropriations authorized in the bill support base budget requirements as well as OCO activities.
The bill authorizes the FY2018 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; strategic programs; and cyber and intelligence matters.
The bill authorizes FY2018 appropriations and sets forth policies regarding military construction for the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, defense agencies, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program, and Guard and Reserve Forces facilities.
The bill authorizes FY2018 appropriations for base realignment and closure (BRAC) activities.
The bill also authorizes FY2018 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 2018
(Sec. 3) This bill defines "congressional defense committees" as the House and Senate Armed Services and Appropriations Committees.
(Sec. 4) The bill specifies procedures for determining the budgetary effects of this bill for compliance with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.
DIVISION A--DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATIONS
TITLE I--PROCUREMENT
Subtitle A--Authorization of Appropriations
The summary continues for 903 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 "Public Law" stage on December 12, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
This bill has been enacted. It is law.
The record's latest action, on December 12, 2017: Became Public Law No: 115-91.
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 June 7, 2017, 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.
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
- PresidentSigned into law