§119a Programs Managed Under Alternative Compensatory Control Measures: Congressional Oversight

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must send yearly reports to the congressional defense committees about programs run under alternative compensatory control measures. By March 1 each year, the Secretary must report how much money for those programs is in the President’s budget and, for each program, give a short description, the main milestones, past actual costs, the estimated total cost, and cost estimates for the current year, the budget year, and the next four years. If the Department uses multiyear budgeting and the President’s budget does not show a full request, the report must say what was already appropriated for the next year, any additional amount requested, and the same program details above. By February 1 each year, the Secretary must also report any new program added to this category, explain why it was designated, give a current total cost estimate, and point to existing similar programs or technologies. If a program’s classification is about to change or be declassified, the Secretary must notify the committees, explain the change, and give at least 14 days’ notice before the change or public announcement unless exceptional circumstances exist, in which case the Secretary must explain why. The Secretary may withhold specific report details if revealing them would hurt national security, but must give the withheld information and the waiver reason to the chairman and ranking member of each defense committee. A program in this category generally cannot start until the committees are notified and 30 days pass, unless an urgent national security need lets the Secretary begin sooner; then the Secretary must tell the committees within 10 days and explain. New program = one not previously reported under the new-program rule. Classified program = includes special access programs, alternative compensatory control measures, or other controlled-access programs. Congress’s access to classified programs the committees could see as of the date of enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, and to programs later under their jurisdiction, cannot be limited.