Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1981
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Armed Services.
Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1981 - Title I: Procurement - Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1981 for use by the armed forces for the procurement of aircraft, missiles, naval vessels, tracked combat vehicles, torpedoes, and other weapons. Authorizes appropriations for the United States' share of the cost of NATO's Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS). Amends the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1980, to make permanent the authority for the Secretary of Defense to: (1) waive reimbursement for certain administrative expenses and surcharges in carrying out the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding Between the Ministers of Defense of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on the NATO E-3A Cooperative Program; and (2) assume contingent liability for other specified expenses incurred in connection with such program. Title II: Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation - Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1981 for military research, development, test and evaluation. Title III: Active Forces - Establishes the authorized end strength for active duty personnel for fiscal year 1981 for each of the armed forces. Title IV: Reserve Forces - Prescribes the average strengths for the reserve components of the armed forces for fiscal year 1981. Title V: Civilian Personnel - Sets forth the authorized end strength for civilian personnel within the Department of Defense for fiscal year 1981. Allows the Secretary of Defense to apportion such personnel among the various military departments. Title VI: Military Training Student Loads - Prescribes the average military training student loads for each of the armed forces for fiscal year 1981. Title VII: General Provisions - Raises from $2,000,000 to $4,000,000, and from $250,000 to $500,000, the dollar amounts at which certain requirements regarding companies doing independent research and development for the Department of Defense shall come into effect. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to review and adjust such amounts once every three years (beginning on October 1, 1983).
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on February 18, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 18, 1980: Referred to Senate Committee on Armed Services.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
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 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are 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?
JOHN STENNIS (D-MS) introduced it on February 18, 1980, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
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 February 18, 1980, 17006 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17006 days ago, on February 18, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers