Amendments to Watch: FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act

June 5, 2024

Authors: Mariam Malik, Senior Foreign Policy Associate (mariam@progressivecaucuscenter.org); Catherine Rowland, Legislative Affairs Director (catherine@progressivecaucuscenter.org)

Introduction

The House Rules Committee may meet the week of June 10, 2024, to determine the rule for H.R. 8070, the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).* The rule will set parameters for House Floor debate and determine which amendments the House will vote on. Amendments that the House approves are incorporated into the House bill. 

Members of Congress have submitted more than 1,200 amendments for the Rules Committee’s consideration. The table below (Table A) summarizes amendments regarding high-profile progressive priorities, including the Pentagon budget, nuclear weapons spending, arms sales, Congressional war powers, and more.

Table A: Amendments to Watch

Conclusion

The FY2025 NDAA offers Congress an opportunity to rein in the U.S. war machine’s excessive spending, boost Pentagon transparency and accountability, reform arms sales and transfers, and much more. If considered and adopted, the amendments above would allow for overdue oversight into the Defense Department and limit the proliferation of deadly weapons to save lives in the U.S. and around the world. 

Adopting H.R. 8070 does not ensure these amendments will be signed into law. The Senate must also approve its version of the NDAA, after which the House and Senate must agree to a final compromise for the President to sign into law. This process will likely conclude in late 2024. 

*Note: This year, the full title of the House NDAA is the “Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act.”