The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is any of a series of United States federal laws specifying the annual budget and expenditures of the U.S. Department of Defense. The first NDAA was passed in 1961.[1] [2] The U.S. Congress oversees the defense budget primarily through two yearly bills: the National Defense Authorization Act and defense appropriations bills. The authorization bill is the jurisdiction of the Senate Armed Services Committee and House Armed Services Committee and determines the agencies responsible for defense, establishes recommended funding levels, and sets the policies under which money will be spent.[3] The appropriations bill provides funds.
The passage of a Defense Authorization Act is often used by Congress to honor a senior congress member or other individual. For example, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 is known as the "Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001" in honor of Representative Floyd D. Spence of South Carolina.[4]
| Year | Short or popular title | Public law | Statute compilation | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1981 | ||||
| 1982 | Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1982 | ||||
| 1983 | Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1983 | ||||
| 1984 | Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1984 | COMPS-483 (details) | |||
| 1985 | Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1985 | COMPS-13734 (details) | |||
| 1986 | Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1986 | COMPS-10454 (details) | |||
| 1987 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987 | COMPS-1483 (details) | |||
| 1988 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 | COMPS-10572 (details) | |||
| 1989 | National Defense Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1989 | COMPS-634 (details) | |||
| 1990 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 | COMPS-10634 (details) | |||
| 1991 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 | COMPS-10716 (details) | |||
| 1992 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 | COMPS-10656 (details) | |||
| 1993 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 | COMPS-10665 (details) | |||
| 1994 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 | COMPS-10823 (details) | |||
| 1995 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 | COMPS-10826 (details) | |||
| 1996 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 | COMPS-10709 (details) | |||
| 1997 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 | COMPS-10712 (details) | |||
| 1998 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 | COMPS-10714 (details) | |||
| 1999 | Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 | COMPS-10715 (details) | |||
| 2000 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 | COMPS-10423 (details) | |||
| 2001 | Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 | COMPS-10420 (details) | |||
| 2002 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 | COMPS-10411 (details) | |||
| 2003 | Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 | COMPS-10410 (details) | |||
| 2004 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 | COMPS-10407 (details) | |||
| 2005 | Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 | COMPS-10404 (details) | |||
| 2006 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 | COMPS-10388 (details) | |||
| 2007 | John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 | COMPS-10387 (details) | Formally named after John Warner, a U.S. war veteran, long-term Senator, Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, and Secretary of the Navy from Virginia. | ||
| 2008 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 | COMPS-10386 (details) | |||
| 2009 | Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 | COMPS-11478 (details) | "Expresses the sense of Congress that the Honorable Duncan Hunter, Representative from California, has discharged his official duties with integrity and distinction, has served the House of Representatives and the American people selflessly, and deserves the sincere gratitude of Congress and the Nation".[5] Title 8, Subtitle G: Governmentwide Acquisition Improvements, is known as the "Clean Contracting Act",[6] and focused on improvements to government procurement such as limiting the term of non-competitive contracts to one year (section 862) and prohibiting excessive use by contractors of sub-contractors or "tiers of sub-contractors" (section 866). | ||
| 2010 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 | COMPS-11477 (details) | Contains important hate crimes legislation. | ||
| 2011 | Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 | COMPS-11476 (details) | Formally named after Ike Skelton, a long-term Congressman and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee from Missouri. | ||
| 2012 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 | COMPS-10045 (details) | Contains several controversial sections, the chief being §§ 1021–1022, which affirm provisions authorizing the indefinite military detention of civilians, including U.S. citizens, without habeas corpus or due process, contained in the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), .[7] | ||
| 2013 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 | COMPS-10359 (details) | |||
| 2014 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 | COMPS-11141 (details) | A United States federal law that specified the budget and expenditures of the United States Department of Defense (DOD) for Fiscal Year 2014. The law authorized the DOD to spend $607 billion in Fiscal Year 2014.[8] On December 26, 2013, President Barack Obama signed the bill into law.[9] This was the 53rd consecutive year that a National Defense Authorization Act has been passed. | ||
| 2015 | COMPS-11977 (details) | One of the proposed NDAA bills for fiscal year 2015. On May 8, 2014, the House Armed Services Committee ordered the bill reported (amended) by a vote of 61-0.[10] The Committee spent 12 hours debating the bill and voting on hundreds of different amendments before voting to pass it.[11] | |||
| 2016 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 | COMPS-11831 (details) | |||
| 2017 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 | COMPS-13740 (details) | |||
| 2018 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 | COMPS-13932 (details) | |||
| 2019 | John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 | COMPS-15483 (details) | Formally named after John S. McCain III, a U.S. war veteran, prisoner of war, long-term Senator, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and 2008 Republican Presidential Nominee. | ||
| 2020 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 | COMPS-15772 (details) | Formally established the United States Space Force as an independent branch of the Armed Forces. | ||
| 2021 | William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 | COMPS-16736 (details) | Formally named after William McClellan "Mac" Thornberry, a long-term Congressman, and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. | ||
| 2022 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 | COMPS-16861 (details) | |||
| 2023 | James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 | COMPS-17475 (details) | Named after James M. Inhofe, a long-term Senator, and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. | ||
| 2024 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 | COMPS-17632 (details) | |||
| 2025 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 |