House Armed Services Committee Optimistic About Passing the FY2021 NDAA by October 1

Last month, House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) announced that the Committee would likely be unable to reach a compromise on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by October 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the top Republican on the Committee, Mac Thornberry (R-TX), recently said that he is optimistic that the Committee will be able to pass the Fiscal Year 2021 NDAA by the start of the next fiscal year as planned. This statement comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that expects the House will return to work very soon. The defense authorization bill sets funding levels and military policy

Ranking Member Thornberry says that the defense authorization bill will likely be among the first measures the House will consider when lawmakers return to the Capitol. The NDAA is sets funding levels and military policy and is one of the few pieces of legislation that passes each year, given its importance. The bill often contains legislative provisions of interest to the ASME community. Relevant sections of last year’s bill include:

Sec. 227. Administration of Manufacturing Innovation Institutes Funded By the Department of Defense
Sec. 229. Diversification of the Research and Engineering Workforce of the Department of Defense
Sec. 1735. Extension of National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence
Sec. 1741. Improvements to Manufacturing USA Program
Sec. 1742. Regional Innovation Program
Sec. 1281. Modification of initiative to support protection of national security academic researchers from undue influence and other security threats.
Sec. 1746. Securing American Science and Technology
Sec. 5706. Comprehensive economic assessment of investment in key United
States technologies by companies or organizations linked to China.
Sec. 5713. Oversight of foreign influence in academia

ASME will continue to monitor the development of the NDAA and report on any relevant legislative text as it is made available.