National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024
Long title
An 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.
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 theHouse on December 14, 2023 (310–118)
Signed into law by PresidentJoe Biden on December 22, 2023
The House passed their version on July 14, 2023 by a vote of219–210. Led byChuck Schumer andMike Rounds, the Senate passed theirs on July 27, 2023 by a vote of86–11. 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 subsequentconference report was filed on December 6 (H. Rept. 118-301).[8] The bill was approved by the Senate and House and sent to PresidentJoe Biden on December 14.[9] Biden signed it into law on December 22.[1][10] In hissigning 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]
Subtitle C of the act, named the "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2023", outlines the creation and management of a comprehensive collection of government records onunidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) at theNational Archives (NARA).[12] The provisions detail the processes for assembling, preserving, and providing public access to these records. Following the act's passage, NARA provided guidance to federal agencies to identify and disclose UAP records for the new collection.[13]
Additionally, the act restricts the use of funds for any government or contractor activity, includingindependent research and development (IRAD), related to UAP that has not been formally disclosed to the appropriate congressional committees and leadership.[14][15]
TheForeign 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, theForeign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) focuses on the "supply" side of bribery.[17][18]
Republicans vigorously opposed the anti-extremism working group created by Secretary of DefenseLloyd Austin. That working group had been created by Austin after it became apparent that some service members and veterans had participated in theattack 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 opposeddiversity, 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.[19]
The seriousness of this issue seems apparent from the fact that military and veterans have participated in other violent extremist events. For example, theOklahoma City bomber,Timothy McVeigh, had served with distinction inOperation Desert Storm but had earned a reputation as a sergeant for assigning undesirable work to black servicemen and using derogatory language.[20]
Space Force Personnel Management Act: Disestablish the regularSpace 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.[22] This change would only pertain to the Space Force and not to the otherarmed services.[22]
Authorize the sale and transfer of defense articles and services relating to the implementation of theAUKUS partnership, including:
Up to threeVirginia-class submarines, one year after this act is passed, however the Navy doesn't intend implement this until 2032.[28][29]
The Senate amendment contained:
UAP Disclosure Act:[30] The Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act of 2023 would direct theNational Archives and Records Administration to collect and disclose records onunidentified 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 tomilitary defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement or conduct offoreign relations. The federal government would haveeminent domain over recovered technologies of unknown origin (TUO) and biological evidence ofnon-human intelligence (NHI) that may be controlled by private persons or entities, such asaerospace companies. Legislation was necessary in part because UAP records had not been subject tomandatory declassification review due to exemptions under theAtomic Energy Act of 1954 as well as an over-broad interpretation of "transclassified foreign nuclear information".[31]
TheIntelligence 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 theAll-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).[32]
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.[33]
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