1. Make Permanent Section 1264 of the FY18 NDAA
Requires the President to continue to report to Congress regarding the legal and policy frameworks for the use of military force and related national security operations.
2. Codification & Elevation of the Defense Innovation Unit
This provision was included in the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act and codifies the Defense Innovation Unit, an organization in the Department of Defense that specializes in identifying, investing in, and adopting commercial dual-use technology at speed and scale and clarifies its Director as the principal staff assistant to the Secretary of Defense on the issues under its jurisdiction.
3. Organization & Management of the Defense Innovation Unit
Included in the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act, this subsection authorizes the Defense Innovation Unit to identify and support multi-stakeholder research and innovation across the whole of society, including institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, for-profit commercial enterprises, and departments or agencies of the federal government.
4. Critical Mineral Independence Act (S. 2031)
This provision tasks the Department of Defense to assess vulnerabilities in its supply chain, identify and recommend changes to acquisition laws, regulations and policies, and prioritize recommendations to achieve critical mineral supply chain independence.
5. Intellectual Property Strategy
This provision was included in the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act and directs the Department of Defense to establish a pilot program to use innovative intellectual property strategies to acquire the necessary data rights required for the swift acquisition and sustainment of fieldable technologies.
6. Plan for an Integrated and Resilient Satellite Communications Architecture for the Space Force
This provision was included in the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act and tasks the Department of the Air Force with developing a plan to integrate nuclear-survivable communications satellite constellations for the United States into Space Force capabilities.
7. Joint Energetics Transition Office
This provision was included in the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act and directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a Joint Energetics Transition Office responsible for evaluating the current regulatory environment and acquisition processes and speeding up the development and fielding of advanced energetic materials used in explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics.
8. Matters Pertaining to Hypersonic Capabilities and Testing Strategies
This provision was included in the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act and tasks the Department of Defense with regularly updating and providing a report to Congress on the Department’s hypersonics testing strategy.
9. Insider Threat Assessment Act (H.R. 4265)
Directs the Director of National Intelligence to conduct assessments and audits of compliance of each aspect of the intelligence community’s insider threat detection mechanisms, including those in the Department of Defense, and to identify gaps and shortfalls and the resources needed to address them.
10. Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R.6201)
Provides paid parental, family caregiving and medical leave to more than 2.1 million civil servants across America.
11. Fairness for Federal Firefighters
This provision was included in the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act and creates a presumption of service-connected disabilities stemming from serious diseases. This ensures that an estimated 10,000 federal firefighters receive the same access to job-related disability and retirement benefits as state, county, and municipal firefighters.
12. Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (S.2938)
Closes legal loopholes that allow domestic abusers to obtain guns and commits over $13 billion to expand mental health services, improve after-school programs, and create new training for mental health professionals. This major piece of legislation is the first gun reform and mental health bill to pass Congress in recent history.