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1 1 (November 9, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveeua0001 and id is 1 raw text is: r~~ssicnt4 Research Sentn ml rrnin~ die 14d dnte irt4e ~MW~ W~4 November 9, 2021 Defense Primer: Department of Defense Unfunded Priorities Introduction Department of Defense (DOD) unfunded priorities generally refer to reports submitted to Congress pursuant to United States Code provisions (10U.S.C. §222a and 10 U.S.C. §222b) listing military programs, activities, or mission requirements thatwere not included in the President's annual budgetrequestbut that the department would fund with additional appropriations. The highest- ranking officers of the U.S. military services, combatant commands (COCOMs), and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) submit the reports, which are sometimes called unfunded priorities lists or unfunded requirements. Some observers have described DOD unfunded priorities as wish lists thatreducebudget discipline andincrease unnecessary spending. Others have described themas risk lists that identify items intended to support strategic objectives. For FY2022, DOD identified $23.85 billion in unfunded priorities, according to CRS analysis of the documents. Congress is debating whether to increase funding in FY2022 defense authorization and appropriation legislation, in part to fund DOD unfunded priorities. Background For decades, reports accompanying defense authorization and appropriation legislation have sometimes referenced unfundedrequirements ofthe military. The conference report (H.Rept. 97-749) to accompany the NationalDefense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1983 (NDAA; P.L. 97- 252) authorized appropriations within the Operation and Maintenance, Air National Guard accounts for certain unfundedrequirements (i.e., cold weather gear and chemicaldefense equipment). By the mid-1990s, according to some accounts, the services routinely submitted lists of unfunded priorities to Congress. In the 2000s, conference reports accompanying defense authorization and appropriation legislation sometimes referenced the unfundedpriority list ofDOD or a military service, or the unfundedrequirements list ofamilitary service. Selected Legislative History FY2013 NDAA. Section 1003 of P.L. 112-239 included a senseofCongress provision expressingthe positionthat certain military officers should submit to Congress, through the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) and the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF), a list ofany priority military programs or activities under the juris diction of such officer for which, in the estimate of such officer additional funds, if available, would substantially reduce operational or programmatic riskor accelerate the creationor fielding of a critical military capability. FY2017 NDAA. Section 1064 of P.L. 114-328 established the statutory requirement of 10 U.S.C. §222a for annual reports onunfunded priorities ofthe services and COCOMs. In particular, the statute requires the service chiefs and combatantcommanders to submit within 10 days of the President's budget request to Congress a report on the unfunded priorities of the serviceor command under theirjurisdiction. The statute requires theofficers to submit the documents to the SECDEF, CJCS, and congressional defensecommittees (i.e., the House and Senate Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations). The reports are to include items in order of priority and such information as the line item number in procurement accounts, program element number in research and development accounts, and the sub-activity group in operation and maintenance accounts. The statute defines an unfunded priority, in part, as aprogram, activity, ormis sion requirement thatis not funded in the budget of the President and is necessary to fulfill a requirement associatedwith an operational or contingency plan of a combatant command or other validated requirement. Section 1696 of the act established a s imilar s tatutory requirement (10 U.S.C. §222b) for an annual report on unfundedpriorities of MDA. FY2020 NDAA. Section 1005 of P.L. 116-92 amended 10 U.S.C. §222a to include certain military construction projects in annualreports onDOD unfunded priorities. The section furtherdefmeda covered military construction project as a project included in any fiscal year of the five- year Future Years Defense Program(FYDP) submitted with the President's budgetrequest or considered by a combatant commander to be an urgentneed. FY2021 NDAA. Sections 924 and 1006 ofP.L. 116-283 amended 10 U.S.C. §222a to include among the officers required to submit reports on unfunded priorities the Chief of Space Operations and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, respectively. Section 1005 established the s tatutory requirement of 10 U.S.C. §240i for the DOD Comptroller to submit a report on unfunded priorities related to audit readiness and remediation. Section 1867 renumbered the statutory requirementfor the Under Secretary ofDefense for Acquisition and Sustainmentto submit areport on unfunded priorities of the national technology and industrial baseto 10U.S.C. §4815. FY2022 Unfunded Priorities Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin has said the FY2022 President's budget request meets DOD requirements. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark A. Milley has s aid unfunded priorities lis ts provide a flexibility option for lawmakers. The military services, combatant commands, and MDA submitted a total of $23.85 billion in unfundedpriorities forFY2022 (see Table 1).

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