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1 [1] (June 2, 2026)

handle is hein.crs/goveumf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Se informing the legisiitive debate since 1914 0 Updated June 2, 2026 Defense Primer: Defense and Intelligence Unfunded Priorities Introduc on By law, certain U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) officials and other executive branch agency officials are required to submit reports to Congress describing defense and intelligence-related priorities that were not included in the President's annual budget request. (DOD is using a secondary Department of War designation under Executive Order (E.O.) 14347 dated September 5, 2025.) These reports, known as unfunded priorities lists (UPLs), identify certain programs, activities, or mission requirements for which appropriations were not requested, along with the funding amounts that may be necessary to resource them. Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. §222a, the highest- ranking officers of the U.S. military services and combatant commands (COCOMs) are to submit UPLs (also called unfunded requirements, or UFRs) to the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF, who is using a secondary Secretary of War designation under E.O. 14347), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), and congressional defense committees. Some Members have described DOD unfunded priorities as wish lists that reduce budget discipline and increase unnecessary spending. Others have described them as risk lists that identify items intended to support strategic objectives. With the value of such items sometimes totaling tens of billions of dollars a year (e.g., DOD submitted $53.7 billion in FY2026 UPLs), Congress has typically debated authorization and appropriation of funding for certain unfunded priorities. Background For decades, reports accompanying defense authorization and appropriation legislation have sometimes referenced unfunded requirements of the military. For instance, the conference report (H.Rept. 97-749) to accompany the National Defense Authorization Act for FY1983 (NDAA; P.L. 97-252) authorized appropriations within the Operation and Maintenance, Air National Guard accounts for certain unfunded requirements (i.e., cold weather gear and chemical defense equipment). By the mid-1990s, according to some accounts, the services routinely submitted lists of unfunded priorities to Congress. In the 2000s, conference reports accompanying defense authorization and appropriation legislation sometimes referenced the unfunded priority list of DOD or a military service, or the unfunded requirements list of a military service. In 2009, in preparation of the FY2010 President's budget request to Congress, then-SECDEF Robert M. Gates limited access to information about proposals to decrease funding for certain defense programs-a move that he acknowledged generated congressional concerns over transparency into the department's budget development process. In 2021, then- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark A. Milley said unfunded priorities lists provide a flexibility option for lawmakers. In 2023, then-SECDEF Lloyd J. Austin III said he would support removing statutory requirements for UPLs. Selected Le s aton FY2013 NDAA. Section 1003 of P.L. 112-239 included a provision expressing the sense of Congress that certain military officers should submit to Congress, through the CJCS and the SECDEF, a list of any priority military programs or activities under the jurisdiction of such officer for which, in the estimate of such officer additional funds, if available, would substantially reduce operational or programmatic risk or accelerate the creation or fielding of a critical military capability. FY2017 NDAA. Section 1064 of P.L. 114-328 established the statutory requirement of 10 U.S.C. §222a for annual reports on unfunded priorities of the services and COCOMs. In particular, the statute requires the service chiefs and combatant commanders to submit within 10 days of the President's budget request to Congress a report on the unfunded priorities of the service or command under their jurisdiction. The statute requires the officers to submit the documents to the SECDEF, CJCS, and congressional defense committees (i.e., the House and Senate Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations). The reports are to include items in order of priority and such information as the line-item number in procurement accounts, program element number in research and development accounts, and the sub-activity group in operation and maintenance accounts. The statute defines an unfunded priority, in part, as a program, activity, or mission requirement that is not funded in the budget of the President and is necessary to fulfill a requirement associated with an operational or contingency plan of a combatant command or other validated requirement. Section 1696 of the act established a similar statutory requirement (10 U.S.C. §222b) for an annual report on unfunded priorities of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). FY2021 NDAA. Sections 924 and 1006 of P.L. 116-283 amended 10 U.S.C. §222a to include among the officers required to submit reports on unfunded priorities the Chief of Space Operations and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, respectively. Section 1005 established the statutory requirement of 10 U.S.C. §240i for the DOD Comptroller to submit a report on unfunded priorities related to audit readiness and remediation. FY2024 NDAA. Section 1003 of the FY2024 NDAA (P.L. 118-31) amended 10 U.S.C. §222a to include additional reporting requirements related to UPLs of the Armed Forces and combatant commands.