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National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024

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National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleAn Act to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense and for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)NDAA
Enacted bythe 118th United States Congress
Citations
Public lawPub. L. 118–31 (text) (PDF)
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House as H.R. 2670 by Mike Rogers (R–AL) on April 18, 2023
  • Committee consideration by House Armed Services
  • Passed the House on July 14, 2023 (219–210)
  • Passed the Senate on July 27, 2023 (with an amendment by unanimous consent)
  • Reported by the joint conference committee on December 6, 2023; agreed to by the Senate on December 13, 2023 (87-13) and by the House on December 14, 2023 (310-118)
  • Signed into law by President Joe Biden on December 22, 2023

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (NDAA 2024) is a United States federal law which specifies the budget, expenditures, and policies of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for fiscal year 2024.[1]

Background

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The National Defense Authorization Act is an annual bill proposed in the United States Congress that redefines the United States military budget for the following fiscal year.[2][3] Each chamber of Congress introduced a version of the NDAA: H.R. 2670 in the House and S. 2226 in the Senate.

History

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The House passed their version on July 14, 2023 by a vote of 219–210. Led by Chuck Schumer and Mike Rounds, the Senate passed theirs on July 27, 2023 by a vote of 86–11. The Senate then replaced H.R. 2670 with the text of S. 2226 and passed it by unanimous consent, and indefinitely postponed S. 2226.[4][5] The House disagreed to the Senate amendment and asked to hold conference on September 19,[6] with the Senate insisting on its amendment and agreeing to conference on November 15.[7] The subsequent conference report was filed on December 6 (H. Rept. 118-301).[8] The bill was approved by the Senate and House and sent to President Joe Biden on December 14.[9] Biden signed it into law on December 22.[1][10] In his signing statement, Biden expressed reservations about provisions that restrict the executive branch's discretion in Guantanamo detainee transfers and raised constitutional concerns regarding congressional oversight and foreign policy authority.[11]

Provisions

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Unidentified flying objects (UFOs)

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Sections 1841 et seq. outline the creation and management of a comprehensive collection of government records on UFOs or unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) at the National Archives (NARA), detailing the processes for assembling, preserving, and providing public access to these records, along with specific protocols for their review, disclosure, and secure handling. NARA subsequently provided guidance to federal agencies to identify, organize, and disclose UAP records for the new collection.[12]

Sections 1687 and 7343 disallow use of funds or independent research and development (IRAD) indirect expenses for UFOs or UAP unless such material and information is made available the appropriate congressional committees and congressional leadership.

Language on the topic of UFO/UAP was also included in the previous 2023 NDAA (e.g. 50 U.S.C. § 3373b), the 2022 NDAA (e.g. 50 U.S.C. § 3373), the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (e.g. 50 U.S.C. § 3373a), as well as an accompanying Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report for the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (i.e. S. Rept. 116-233).

Foreign Extortion Prevention Act

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Main article: Foreign Extortion Prevention Act

The Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) enables US authorities to prosecute foreign officials who demand or accept bribes from a US citizen, US company, or within a US jurisdiction. Analysts stated that FEPA addresses a longstanding gap in US anti-bribery legislation by tackling the "demand" side of bribery. At the same time, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) focuses on the "supply" side of bribery.[13][14]

Counter-extremist working group defunded

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Republicans vigorously opposed the anti-extremism working group created by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. That working group had been created by Austin after it became apparent that some service members and veterans had participated in the attack on the US Capitol January 6, 2021. That working group released recommendations at the end of 2021. Implementation, however, appeared to stall as Republicans increasingly opposed diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the military, which Republicans derided as "wokeness".

Meanwhile, a recent inspector general report found dozens of troops, who appeared to be advocating violent overthrow of the US government.[15]

The seriousness of this issue seems apparent from the fact that military and veterans have participated in other violent extremist events. For example, the Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh, had served with distinction in Operation Desert Storm but had earned a reputation as a sergeant for assigning undesirable work to black servicemen and using derogatory language.[16]

NATO withdrawal

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Section 1250A (22 U.S.C. § 1928f) prevents the President from withdrawing from NATO without approval of a two-thirds Senate supermajority or an act of Congress.[17]

Original proposals

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The original House bill contained provisions to:

  • Space Force Personnel Management Act: Disestablish the regular Space Force in order to integrate both active duty and reserve personnel into one Space Force entity. This is to allow for better flexibility for the Space Force by replacing "active duty" with "sustained duty" or "full-time" status, and replacing "reserve" with "part-time" status.[18] This change would only pertain to the Space Force and not to the other armed services.[18]
  • Elevate the position of vice chief of the National Guard Bureau to hold a statutory rank of general.[19]
  • Permanently establish the titles of commissioned officer ranks of the Space Force to be the same as the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force.
  • Authorize a $886 billion spending budget for national defense programs including:[20][21]
  • Authorize the sale and transfer of defense articles and services relating to the implementation of the AUKUS partnership, including:
    • Up to three Virginia-class submarines, one year after this act is passed, however the Navy doesn't intend implement this until 2032.[24][25]

The Senate amendment contained:

  • UAP Disclosure Act:[26] The Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2023 would direct the National Archives and Records Administration to collect and disclose records on unidentified flying objects (UFOs) or unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) no later than 25 years after enactment with a presumption of immediate disclosure. The U.S. president can certify that continued postponement can be made necessary by an identifiable harm to military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement or conduct of foreign relations. The federal government would have eminent domain over recovered technologies of unknown origin (TUO) and biological evidence of non-human intelligence (NHI) that may be controlled by private persons or entities, such as aerospace companies. Legislation was necessary in part because UAP records had not been subject to mandatory declassification review due to exemptions under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as well as an over-broad interpretation of "transclassified foreign nuclear information".[27]
  • The Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) requires people currently or formerly under contract with the federal government to make all UFO/UAP material and information and a comprehensive list of all extraterrestrial or exotic UAP material available to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).[28]
  • A provision that prevents the President of the United States from withdrawing the U.S. from NATO without approval of a two-thirds Senate supermajority or an act of Congress.[29]

References

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  1. ^ a b Waldenberg, Samantha (December 22, 2023). "Biden signs $886.3 billion defense policy bill into law | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  2. ^ Demirjian, Karoun (July 14, 2023). "House Narrowly Passes Defense Bill, Setting Up Showdown Over Social Issues". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  3. ^ Demirjian, Karoun (July 11, 2023). "Hard Right Presses Culture War Fights on Defense Bill, Imperiling Passage". The New York Times. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  4. ^ 2023 Congressional Record, Vol. 169, Page S3725 (27 July 2023)
  5. ^ 2023 Congressional Record, Vol. 169, Page S3730 (27 July 2023)
  6. ^ 2023 Congressional Record, Vol. 169, Page H4401 (19 September 2023)
  7. ^ 2023 Congressional Record, Vol. 169, Page S5529 (15 November 2023)
  8. ^ 2023 Congressional Record, Vol. 169, Page S5837 (7 December 2023)
  9. ^ CONNOR O'BRIEN (December 14, 2023). "House sends defense bill to Biden, despite conservative anger over spy powers, culture wars". Politico.
  10. ^ The White House (December 22, 2023). "Bill Signed: H.R. 2670". The White House. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  11. ^ Biden, Joseph R. (December 26, 2023). "Statement on Signing the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024". Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents. Office of the Federal Register. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Brewer, Laurence (February 7, 2024). "AC 13.2024". National Archives and Records Administration.
  13. ^ Sun, Mengqi (January 2, 2024). "U.S. Prosecutors Can Charge Foreign Officials With Bribery Under New Provision". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  14. ^ "Congress Passes the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act". The National Law Review. December 19, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  15. ^ Rebecca Kheel (December 11, 2023). "Congress Set to Extinguish Pentagon's Anti-Domestic Extremism Working Group Created After Jan. 6". military.com. Wikidata Q130314187.
  16. ^ Bruce Hoffman; Jacob Ware (2024). God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-21122-2. LCCN 2023024186. Wikidata Q130315309.
  17. ^ Gould, Joe; Detsch, Jack; O'Brien, Connor (November 8, 2024). "The law is 'not airtight': Trump may have a way out of NATO". Politico.
  18. ^ a b Lohr, Alexandra (June 19, 2023). "House Armed Services Committee endorses new management structure for Space Force". Federal News Network. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  19. ^ Goheen, John (December 13, 2023). "Guard Gets Some Wins in Compromise Defense Bill | National Guard Association of the United States". www.ngaus.org. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  20. ^ a b Foran, Clare; Talbot, Haley (July 14, 2023). "House passes defense bill after adopting controversial amendments targeting abortion policy and other issues". CNN Politics. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  21. ^ a b Foran, Clare; Rimmer, Morgan; Wilson, Kristin (July 28, 2023). "Senate passes defense policy bill, setting up showdown with the House". CNN Politics. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  22. ^ Lopez, C. Todd (December 14, 2023). "Congress Passes Fiscal 2024 Defense Spending Bill, Pay Raise for Service Members". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  23. ^ Cataneo, Julia (December 19, 2023). "Five Notable Items for Asia Watchers in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act". American Enterprise Institute - AEI. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  24. ^ Katz, Justin (December 14, 2023). "House passes NDAA, ducking culture wars, sending bill to White House". Breaking Defense. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  25. ^ Harris, Bryant (December 14, 2023). "Senate passes final defense policy bill". Defense News. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  26. ^ "Schumer, Rounds Introduce New Legislation To Declassify Government Records Related To Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena & UFOs – Modeled After JFK Assassination Records Collection Act – As An Amendment To NDAA" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: Senate Democratic Caucus. July 14, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  27. ^ 2023 Congressional Record, Vol. 169, Page S2953 (13 July 2023)
  28. ^ Vincent, Brandi (June 27, 2023). "Senate's intelligence authorization bill questions 'reverse engineering' of government-recovered UAP". DefenseScoop. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  29. ^ Harris, Bryant (July 19, 2023). "With eyes on Trump, Senate votes to make NATO withdrawal harder". Defense News. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
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