Update on the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act

The House Armed Services Committee considered the FY24 NDAA (H.R. 2670) with Chair Rogers' initial draft calling for $842.3 billion for the Defense Department, plus $32.4 billion for atomic weapons programs in the Energy Department. The draft bill aligns with the $886.35 billion in defense spending proposed in the president's budget, but it would rearrange how that money is spent.

The Senate Armed Services Subcommittees concluded their NDAA ahead of the full committee markup. The Emerging Threats and Capabilities; Seapower; Readiness and Management Support; and Cybersecurity panels plan to meet behind closed doors, while the Personnel panel's work is open.  Also, senators are set to consider a stand-alone bill (S. 822) alongside the NDAA that aims to placate Senator Tuberville, amid his continued block of Pentagon nominees over a Defense Department memorandum reimbursing servicemembers who must travel to obtain reproductive care.

The Pentagon said it will be able to spend $6 billion more than originally expected on arms for Ukraine due to what it called accounting errors. The Defense Department overstated the value of weapons sent from its stockpiles by $2.6 billion in FY22 and $3.6 billion in FY23, for a total of $6.2 billion. The error was attributed to “inconsistencies in equipment valuation,” with military services using “replacement cost” for equipment transferred to Ukraine rather than the “net book value.”