Congress Passes FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act and Promotes Defense-Related Engineering at Minority Institutions

Last week, Congress passed the $768 billion FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The final compromise bill authorizes an additional $25 billion for the Pentagon, but rejects President Biden’s request for $715 billion to address national concerns with China. The NDAA is considered a must-pass piece of legislation since it funds our military, and this is the 61st consecutive year that it has been passed. This year’s version reaffirms the administration’s commitment to furthering emerging technologies such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and microelectronics.

While much of the bill remains the same as the previous year’s, this bill does explicitly focus on new, emerging technologies. For example, it directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop a plan that will “promote defense-related engineering, research, and development activities at minority institutions for the purpose of elevating the capacity of such institutions in those areas.”

In the area of biotechnology, the bill creates a “National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology” to study technological advances and emerging threats in the field. The Commission is modeled on the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence and will make recommendations to impact biotechnology policy moving forward.

In an effort to continue to pursue advances in artificial intelligence research, the bill directs DOD to “review the potential applications of artificial intelligence and digital technology to DOD platforms, processes, and operations.” Again, continuing the work of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, this new directive creates a clear path for DOD to adopt more AI technologies into its programs. Specifically, DOD will embark on a pilot program to build libraries of data for AI training that companies can use to make further developments.

For more information, see the FY 22 NDAA Summary Document, FY 22 NDAA Bill Text, and FY 22 NDAA Joint Explanatory Statement.