Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73not60

§222a Unfunded Priorities of the Armed Forces and Combatant Commands: Annual Report

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— General Military Law › Part I— ORGANIZATION AND GENERAL MILITARY POWERS › Chapter 9— DEFENSE BUDGET MATTERS › § 222a

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

Within 10 days after the President’s budget goes to Congress, each of these leaders must send a report to the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the congressional defense committees about their service’s or command’s unfunded priorities: the Army Chief of Staff, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Air Force Chief of Staff, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Chief of Space Operations, the combatant commanders, and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau (in the role described by law). Each report must list every unfunded priority and say what it is, how it would help carry out the national defense and military strategies, how much money is needed, and the account identifiers if applicable (for example LIN, PE, or SAG). It must explain what risk would be lowered if funded, the requirement it fills, why it was left out of the President’s budget, any money provided this year and last, and how funding it would affect the future-years defense plan. The reports must rank priorities by urgency and risk reduced overall, then among non-construction items, and then among covered military construction projects. The National Guard Bureau chief may only include priorities for non-federal homeland or civil support that were not already included in an Army or Air Force report in any of the five prior fiscal years, unless the Secretary of Defense approves and tells Congress in writing. Within 10 days after getting all those reports, the Secretary of Defense, with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, must send Congress a single prioritized list of all unfunded priorities based on how much risk each would reduce. An “unfunded priority” is a program, activity, or mission need that is not in the President’s budget, is needed for an operational plan or validated requirement, and would have been recommended if extra funds had been available or if the need appeared after the budget was made. A “covered military construction project” is a construction project in the future-years defense program that can be done in the fiscal year, or a project a combatant commander calls urgent and is executable that year.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §222a

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Not later than 10 days after the date on which the budget of the President for a fiscal year is submitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, each officer specified in subsection (b) shall submit to the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and to the congressional defense committees, a report on the unfunded priorities of the armed force or forces or combatant command under the jurisdiction or command of such officer.
(b)The officers specified in this subsection are the following:
(1)The Chief of Staff of the Army.
(2)The Chief of Naval Operations.
(3)The Chief of Staff of the Air Force.
(4)The Commandant of the Marine Corps.
(5)The Chief of Space Operations.
(6)The commanders of the combatant commands established under section 161 of this title.
(7)The Chief of the National Guard Bureau in the role assigned to that position in section 10502(c)(1) of this title.
(c)(1)Each report under this subsection shall specify, for each unfunded priority covered by such report, the following:
(A)A summary description of such priority, including the objectives outlined in the national defense strategy required under section 113(g) of this title and the National Military Strategy required under section 139(b) of this title to be advanced if such priority is funded (whether in whole or in part).
(B)The additional amount of funds recommended in connection with the objectives under subparagraph (A).
(C)Account information with respect to such priority, including the following (as applicable):
(i)Line Item Number (LIN) for applicable procurement accounts.
(ii)Program Element (PE) number for applicable research, development, test, and evaluation accounts.
(iii)Sub-activity group (SAG) for applicable operation and maintenance accounts.
(D)A detailed assessment of each specific risk that would be reduced in executing the national defense strategy required under section 113(g) of this title and the National Military Strategy required under section 139(b) of this title if such priority is funded (whether in whole or in part).
(E)The requirement to be addressed by the unfunded priority.
(F)The reason why funding for the priority was not included in the budget of the President.
(G)A description of any funding provided for the requirement for the current and preceding fiscal year.
(H)An assessment of the effect that providing funding for the priority would have on the future-years defense plan.
(2)Each report shall present the unfunded priorities covered by such report as follows:
(A)In overall order of urgency of priority according to the amount of risk reduced.
(B)In overall order of urgency of priority among unfunded priorities (other than covered military construction projects).
(C)In overall order of urgency of priority among covered military construction projects.
(3)(A)The officer specified under subsection (b)(7) shall only include in a report submitted under subsection (a) such priorities that—
(i)relate to equipping requirements in support of non-federalized National Guard responsibilities for the homeland defense or civil support missions; and
(ii)except as provided in subparagraph (B), were not included in a report under this section submitted by an officer specified in subsection (b)(1) or (3) for any of five fiscal years preceding the fiscal year for which the report is submitted, on behalf of National Guard forces to address a warfighting requirement.
(B)The officer specified under subsection (b)(7) may include in a report submitted under subsection (a) an unfunded priority covered by subparagraph (A)(ii) if the Secretary of Defense—
(i)determines that the inclusion such unfunded priority reasonably supports the priorities of the Department under the national defense strategy under section 113(g) of this title; and
(ii)submits to the congressional defense committees written notice of such determination.
(d)Not later than 10 days after the receipt of all of the reports referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report that prioritizes each specific unfunded priority across all unfunded priorities submitted by officers specified in (b) according to the risk reduced in executing the national defense strategy required under section 113(g) of this title and the National Military Strategy required under section 139(b) of this title.
(e)In this section:
(1)The term “unfunded priority”, in the case of a fiscal year, means a program, activity, or mission requirement, including a covered military construction project, that—
(A)is not funded in the budget of the President for the fiscal year as submitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31;
(B)is necessary to fulfill a requirement associated with an operational or contingency plan of a combatant command or other validated requirement; and
(C)would have been recommended for funding through the budget referred to in subparagraph (1) by the officer submitting the report required by subsection (a) in connection with the budget if—
(i)additional resources had been available for the budget to fund the program, activity, or mission requirement; or
(ii)the program, activity, or mission requirement has emerged since the budget was formulated.
(2)The term “covered military construction project”, in connection with a fiscal year, means a military construction project that—
(A)is included in any fiscal year of the future-years defense program under section 221 of this title that is submitted in connection with the budget of the President for the fiscal year, and is executable in the fiscal year; or
(B)is considered by the commander of a combatant command referred to in subsection (b)(5) to be an urgent need, and is executable in the fiscal year.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2024—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 118–159 struck out “the” before “all of the reports”. 2023—Subsec. (c)(1)(E) to (H). Pub. L. 118–31 added subpars. (E) to (H). 2022—Subsec. (c)(1)(A). Pub. L. 117–263, § 1051(1)(A)(i), substituted “outlined in the national defense strategy required under section 113(g) of this title and the National Military Strategy required under section 139(b) of this title to be advanced” for “to be achieved”. Subsec. (c)(1)(D). Pub. L. 117–263, § 1051(1)(A)(ii), added subpar. (D). Subsec. (c)(2)(A). Pub. L. 117–263, § 1051(1)(B), inserted “according to the amount of risk reduced” after “priority”. Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 117–263, § 384(b), substituted “subsection (b)(7)” for “subsection (b)(6)” in introductory provisions of subpars. (A) and (B). Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 117–263, § 1051(2), (3), added subsec. (d) and redesignated former subsec. (d) as (e). 2021—Subsec. (b)(5), (6). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(10), added par. (5) and redesignated former par. (5) as (6). Subsec. (b)(7). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1006(1), added par. (7). Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1006(2), added par. (3). Subsec. (d)(1)(C)(i). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1081(a)(12), inserted “had” before “been available”. 2019—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 116–92, § 1005(b), amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “Each report shall present the unfunded priorities covered by such report in order of urgency of priority.” Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–92, § 1005(a), amended subsec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (d) defined the term “unfunded priority”. Subsec. (d)(3)(A). Pub. L. 116–92, § 1731(a)(12), inserted “had” before “been” prior to the general amendment of subsec. (d). See Amendment note above and Coordination of

Amendments

by Pub. L. 116–92 note below.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Coordination of

Amendments

by Pub. L. 116–92

Amendments

to this section by section 1731 of Pub. L. 116–92 to be treated as having been enacted immediately before

Amendments

by other provisions of Pub. L. 116–92, see section 1731(f) of Pub. L. 116–92, set out as a Coordination of Certain Sections of an Act With Other Provisions of That Act note under section 101 of this title. Annual Report on Unfunded Requirements for Laboratory Military

Construction

Projects Pub. L. 115–91, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2806, Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1847, as amended by Pub. L. 116–92, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2807, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1885, provided that: “The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, shall submit to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] each year, at the time the budget of the President for the fiscal year beginning in such year is submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, a report listing unfunded requirements on major and minor military

Construction

projects for Department of Defense science and technology laboratories and facilities and test and evaluation facilities, in prioritized order, with specific accounts and program elements identified, and shall include a Department of Defense Form DD1391 for each major and minor military

Construction

project included in the report.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 222a

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 3, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60