Final Year End Item: Defense Bill

Congress faces one remaining major task before year’s end: passing the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Both the House and Senate have approved their respective versions of the bill, and negotiations are underway to reconcile differences. The Trump administration advocated for a disputed provision that would override state laws regarding artificial intelligence standards, but this idea was eliminated. Similarly, plans to limit the export of advanced AI chips to China and create a new system for regulating US semiconductor exports were also excluded from the final bill. However, the package does contain some restrictions on products sold to China with national security concerns.

Because the NDAA is a must-pass bill, lawmakers often try to add their top priorities to it; one unresolved issue is whether the Senate’s housing bill will be included, but most unrelated items have been left out. One key area of debate is the overall spending amount: the Senate proposes more than $30 billion above the House’s $882 billion bill. Although bipartisan support may be weaker compared to previous years, Congress will wrap up work on the NDAA over the coming two weeks. As a reminder, the NDAA contains numerous procurement issues important to the construction industry, which we are tracking.