H.R. 4016
Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2026
Sponsor: Ken Calvert · 0 cosponsors
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2026
This bill provides FY2026 appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for military activities.
(The bill excludes military construction, military family housing, civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers, and nuclear warheads, which are all included in other appropriations bills.)
Within the DOD budget, the bill provides appropriations for
- Military Personnel;
- Operation and Maintenance;
- Procurement;
- Research, Development, Test and Evaluation; and
- Revolving and Management Funds.
The bill provides appropriations for Other Department of Defense Programs, including
- the Defense Health Program,
- Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction,
- Drug Interdiction and Counter-Drug Activities, and
- the Office of the Inspector General.
In addition, the bill provides appropriations for Related Agencies, including (1) the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System Fund, and (2) the Intelligence Community Management Account.
The bill also sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations acts.
Text of the bill
I MILITARY PERSONNEL
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(a) None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to establish a new Department of Defense (department) federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), either as a new entity, or as a separate entity administrated by an organization managing another FFRDC, or as a nonprofit membership corporation consisting of a consortium of other FFRDCs and other nonprofit entities.
(b) Except when acting in a technical advisory capacity, no member of a Board of Directors, Trustees, Overseers, Advisory Group, Special Issues Panel, Visiting Committee, or any similar entity of a defense FFRDC, or any entity that contracts with the Federal government to manage or operate one or more FFRDCs, or any paid consultant to a defense FFRDC shall receive funds appropriated by this Act as compensation for services as a member of such entity: Provided, That a member of any such entity shall be allowed travel expenses and per diem as authorized under the Federal Joint Travel Regulations, when engaged in the performance of membership duties: Provided further, That except when acting in a technical advisory capacity, no paid consultant shall receive funds appropriated by this Act as compensation by more than one FFRDC in a calendar year.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds available to the department from any source during the current fiscal year may be used by a defense FFRDC, through a fee or other payment mechanism, for construction of new buildings not located on a military installation, for payment of cost sharing for projects funded by Government grants, for absorption of contract overruns, or for certain charitable contributions, not to include employee participation in community service and/or development.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, of the funds appropriated in this Act, not more than $2,886,300,000 may be funded for professional technical staff-related costs of the defense FFRDCs: Provided, That within such funds, not more than $461,300,000 shall be available for the defense studies and analysis FFRDCs: Provided further, That this subsection shall not apply to staff years funded in the National Intelligence Program and the Military Intelligence Program: Provided further, That the Secretary of Defense shall, with the submission of the department’s fiscal year 2027 budget request, submit a report presenting the specific amounts of staff years of technical effort to be allocated for each defense FFRDC by program during that fiscal year and the associated budget estimates, by appropriation account and program.