The William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 () is a

United States federal law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as ...

which specifies the budget, expenditures and policies of the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

(DOD) for

fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many j ...

2021. Analogous NDAAs have been passed annually for 59 years. The act is named in honor of Representative

Mac Thornberry William McClellan "Mac" Thornberry (born July 15, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 13th congressional district from 1995 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Thornberry represented the mo ...

, who served as either the chair or the

ranking member In United States politics, a ranking member is the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. On many committees the ranking minority member, along with the Chair, serve as ''ex officio'' members ...

of the

House Armed Services Committee The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of De ...

. Thornberry retired from

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

at the end of the congressional session. The $740 billion bill includes pay raises for America's soldiers, modernizations for equipment, and provisions to require more scrutiny before troops are withdrawn from Germany or Afghanistan. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

had threatened to veto the bill because it did not include a repeal of 1996 legislation shielding internet companies from being liable for what is posted on their websites by third parties. The bill also includes a provision to limit the president's use of emergency declarations to divert military construction funds to finance the expansion of the

Mexico–United States barrier The Mexico–United States barrier ( es, barrera Estados Unidos–México), also known as the border wall, is a series of Border barrier, vertical barriers along the Mexico–United States border intended to Immigration reduction in the Unit ...

. Another provision within the act would require the military to rename bases that were named after figures from the Confederacy. The act also contains multiple

anti-money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

provisions and effectively bans anonymous shell companies. The bill passed both the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

with veto-proof majorities on December 11, 2020. On December 23, President Trump

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto p ...

ed the bill. The House and Senate voted on December 28, 2020, and January 1, 2021, respectively, to override the veto; this was the only veto override of Trump's presidency.

Legislative history

Passage

Senator

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusett ...

's (R-UT) amendment to restrict President Trump's ability to reduce U.S. military presence in Germany failed. Senator Jeff Merkley's (D-OR) amendment requiring federal law enforcement uniforms to identify an individual and their agency, limit their activities to federal property and the immediate surrounding area unless a governor or mayor requests more assistance and to publicly disclose the number of personnel deployed and what activities they are carrying out did not get a vote. The Senate voted 23–77 against a proposal by Senator

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 200 ...

(I-VT) to reduce the defense budget by $74 billion. The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill with a veto-proof 295–125 vote on July 21, 2020. Two days later, the Senate passed its version of the bill () 86–14. The final version of the bill was agreed on by the House on December 8, 2020, and the Senate on December 11, 2020.

Veto

The bill was presented to President Trump on December 11, who vetoed it on December 23, because it renames military bases that honor Confederate officers, and because it does not repeal

Section 230 Section 230 is a section of Title 47 of the United States Code that was enacted as part of the United States Communications Decency Act and generally provides immunity for website platforms with respect to third-party content. At its core, Sect ...

of the 1996

Communications Decency Act The Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) was the United States Congress's first notable attempt to regulate pornographic material on the Internet. In the 1997 landmark case ''Reno v. ACLU'', the United States Supreme Court unanimously stru ...

, which shields internet companies from being liable for what is posted on their websites by third parties.

Veto override

The House of Representatives voted 322–87 to override the president's veto on December 28. After Majority Leader

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...

said the Senate would vote on December 30 on whether to override the president's veto, Senators Sanders and

Josh Hawley Joshua David Hawley (born December 31, 1979) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the junior United States senator from Missouri since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Hawley served as the 42nd attorney general of M ...

said they would delay this using a

filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...

, in hopes of forcing a vote on the CASH Act (which would increase stimulus check amounts). The motion in the Senate to take a vote on a veto override passed 80–12 on December 30, followed by

cloture Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ' ...

by Senator McConnell, preventing further debate. The Senate voted 81–13 to override the veto on January 1, 2021.

Provisions

The $740.5 billion bill authorizes $636.4 billion for the Pentagon's base budget, $25.9 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy, and $69 billion for the

Overseas Contingency Operations Overseas may refer to: * ''Overseas'' (album), a 1957 album by pianist Tommy Flanagan and his trio *Overseas (band), an American indie rock band * "Overseas" (song), a 2018 song by American rappers Desiigner and Lil Pump * "Overseas" (Tee Grizzley ...

account, a war fund that is not subject to budget caps. As an

authorization bill Authorization or authorisation (see spelling differences) is the function of specifying access rights/privileges to resources, which is related to general information security and computer security, and to access control in particular. More f ...

, these amounts are non-binding. The bill also includes a provision to limit the use of emergency declarations to divert military construction funds to an annual $100 million. The bill also contains numerous

provisions. The Corporate Transparency Act introduces a requirement for companies to disclose their ultimate beneficial owners to the

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, t ...

(FinCEN), thus effectively banning anonymous

shell corporation A shell corporation is a company or corporation that exists only on paper and has no office and no employees, but may have a bank account or may hold passive investments or be the registered owner of assets, such as intellectual property, or s ...

s. The act also strengthened anti-money laundering regulations for the antiquities trade. The bill approved by the House included a provision to require the executive to consult with Congress before invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807, and blocked appropriations from being used for nuclear testing. It also included an amendment introduced by Rep.

Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was the fir ...

(D-HI) and passed by the House 336–71 which "would let soldiers use cannabis derivatives like CBD", and would have reversed the Department of Defense's policy against cannabis derivatives if it became law. The cannabis-related changes were not retained in the

enrolled bill In the United States Congress, an enrolled bill is the final copy of a bill or joint resolution which has passed both houses of Congress in identical form. In the United States, enrolled bills are engrossed—prepared in a formally printed copy ...

passed by both houses of Congress. It also called for the establishment of a commission to rename military assets that honor Confederate officers. The bill also included an amendment originally offered by Senator

Jim Inhofe James Mountain Inhofe ( ; born November 17, 1934) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma, a seat he was first elected to in 1994. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the U.S. Senate Commit ...

(R-OK) in the Senate version with a limited ban on the transfer of bayonets, grenades, weaponized tracked combat vehicles, and weaponized drones to police departments, as well as requiring law enforcement to be trained in de-escalation and citizens' constitutional rights. The bill includes a provision creating a Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense that Commemorate the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily with the Confederate States of America to develop a plan to "remove all names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confede ...

or any person who served voluntarily with the Confederate States of America from all assets of the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippi ...

." The bill includes the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America (CHIPS) Act, which aims to promote semiconductor research, development and manufacturing.

References

External links

William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021
as amended
PDFdetails
in the GPObr>Statute Compilations collection

William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021
as enacted
PDFdetails
in the US Statutes at Large {{National Defense Authorization Acts U.S. National Defense Authorization Acts Acts of the 116th United States Congress