The Senate Armed Services Committee voted 23-3 Thursday to report its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to the full chamber following the panel’s closed markup this week. A summary released Thursday notes that the $602 billion bill, which authorizes funding at the level of President Obama’s budget request, includes $543 billion for base functions in the Department of Defense and the atomic energy activities of the Department of Energy, as well as $59 billion for overseas contingency operations funding.
The legislation “fully supports” modernization of the nuclear triad to keep U.S. nuclear forces “survivable, well-exercised, and increasingly ready to counter Russian nuclear provocations while reassuring allies,” according to the bill summary. It says the NDAA supports the DOE’s warhead life-extension, nuclear modernization, and global nuclear security programs, but does not offer details about specific provisions. The full bill and committee report are expected to be released next week.
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said Friday that the Senate legislation includes a provision that removes the overheard burden for laboratory-directed research and development at National Nuclear Security Administration labs; $15 million to build a replacement NNSA Albuquerque Complex; an increase of $10 million for environmental cleanup at the Los Alamos National Laboratory; and a $10 million increase in funding for Waste Isolation Pilot Plant operations.
The House Armed Services Committee passed its version of the NDAA at the end of last month by a 60-2 vote. The $610.5 billion House bill would authorize $13.3 billion for the NNSA and includes amendments tying funding restrictions to mandates for periodic reports on adversary military capabilities and nuclear concerns. The chairman’s mark would authorize $9.6 billion for NNSA weapons activities and $1.9 billion for defense nuclear nonproliferation.
House lawmakers approved a number of amendments under the strategic forces portion of the mark, including proposals to: suspend U.S. payments to China for cooperative threat reduction activities until it is certified that China has not proliferated nuclear weapons to non-nuclear-weapon states; block $10 million worth of Department of Defense support to the Executive Office of the President until the president submits updated plans on nuclear proliferation verification and monitoring; block funding for the extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty unless military and intelligence officials report on developments in Russian military capabilities and nuclear doctrine; and increase funding by $20 million for defense nuclear nonproliferation research and development through a corresponding reduction in NNSA federal salaries and expenses.
The full House will consider its version of the legislation next week, with over 360 amendments already filed, including:
- A Republican amendment that would sanction entities that have played a role in another country’s violation of arms control agreements with the U.S. by blocking transactions in property and interests of an entity if the property is in the U.S. and prohibiting the head of any executive agency from initiating or extending procurement contracts with the entity;
- A Democrat amendment that would require the secretary of defense to submit an updated report on the Pentagon’s strategy for countering weapons of mass destruction;
- A Democrat amendment on the prohibition of atomic energy defense funding for work with Russia that allows the secretary of energy to waive the prohibition if the activity “will significantly reduce the nuclear threat, regardless of [deferred maintenance] backlog at DOE defense nuclear facilities”;
- A Republican amendment that directs the secretary of energy to issue regulations on mitigating the threat of unmanned aircraft to the security of NNSA facilities that host special nuclear material;
- A bipartisan amendment that directs the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to submit a report on the Open Skies Treaty and Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, to assess whether the latter agreement remains in the U.S. national security interest and offer a plan to address Russian violation of the accord; and
- A bipartisan amendment that would create a Global Engagement Center to track “foreign government information warfare efforts,” develop strategies to counter those campaigns, and offer $20 million in funding for outside groups to support this work.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated this week that the House NDAA would reduce net direct spending by $206 million between fiscal 2017 and 2026, if enacted.
The Senate on Thursday passed its $37.5 billion Energy and Water appropriations bill for fiscal 2017, including $31 billion for the Department of Energy. The House has yet to start floor action on its bill. Both the Senate and House versions of the legislation provide $12.9 billion for the NNSA.
