Title 50War and National DefenseRelease 119-73not60

§2756 Unfunded Priorities of the Administration

Title 50 › Chapter 42— ATOMIC ENERGY DEFENSE PROVISIONS › Subchapter VII— BUDGET AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT MATTERS › Part A— Recurring National Security Authorization Provisions › § 2756

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Within 10 days after the President’s budget is sent to Congress, the Administrator must give the Secretary of Energy and the congressional defense committees either a report on the Administration’s unfunded priorities or a personal certification and explanation that there are none. The Administrator must sign that certification personally and cannot pass that duty to someone else. Each report must list each unfunded priority in order of urgency and, for each one, say what it would do or what risk it would reduce, how much additional money is needed, and which account the money would come from. An “unfunded priority” means a program, activity, or mission need that is not in the President’s budget, is needed for the agency’s mission, and would have been proposed for funding if extra resources had been available or if it had existed before the budget was made.

Full Legal Text

Title 50, §2756

War and National Defense — 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(a) of title 31, the Administrator shall submit to the Secretary of Energy and the congressional defense committees either—
(1)a report on the unfunded priorities of the Administration; or
(2)if the Administrator determines that there are no unfunded priorities to include in such a report, a certification and explanation by the Administrator, without delegation, of the determination.
(b)(1)Each report under subsection (a)(1) shall specify, for each unfunded priority covered by the report, the following:
(A)A summary description of that priority, including the objectives to be achieved or the risk to be mitigated if that priority is funded (whether in whole or in part).
(B)The additional amount of funds recommended in connection with the objectives or risk mitigation under subparagraph (A).
(C)Account information with respect to that priority.
(2)Each report under subsection (a)(1) shall present the unfunded priorities covered by the report in order of urgency of priority.
(c)In this section, the term “unfunded priority”, in the case of a fiscal year, means a program, activity, or mission requirement that—
(1)is not funded in the budget of the President for that fiscal year as submitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105(a) of title 31;
(2)is necessary to address a requirement associated with the mission of the Administration; and
(3)would have been recommended for funding through the budget referred to in paragraph (1) by the Administrator—
(A)if additional resources were available for the budget to fund the program, activity, or mission requirement; or
(B)in the case of a program, activity, or mission requirement that emerged after the budget was formulated, if the program, activity, or mission requirement had emerged before the budget was formulated.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2023—Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 118–31, § 3121(1)(A), inserted “or the risk to be mitigated” after “objectives to be achieved”. Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 118–31, § 3121(1)(B), inserted “or risk mitigation” after “objectives”. Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 118–31, § 3121(2), substituted “address” for “fulfill”. 2019—Pub. L. 116–92, § 3139(b)(7)(A), substituted “Administration” for “National Nuclear Security Administration” in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–92, § 3115(1), added subsec. (a) and struck out former subsec. (a). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “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(a) of title 31, the Administrator shall submit to the Secretary of Energy and the congressional defense committees a report on the unfunded priorities of the Administration.” Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–92, § 3115(2), substituted “report under subsection (a)(1)” for “report required by subsection (a)” in introductory provisions of par. (1) and in par. (2). Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 116–92, § 3115(3), (4), struck out subsec. (c) and redesignated subsec. (d) as (c). Prior to amendment, text of subsec. (c) read as follows: “If the Administrator fails to submit to the congressional defense committees a report required by subsection (a) for any of fiscal years 2020 through 2024 that includes the matters specified in subsection (b)(1) for at least one unfunded priority by the deadline specified in subsection (a), not more than 65 percent of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available for the fiscal year in which such failure occurs for travel and transportation of persons under the Federal salaries and expenses account of the Administration may be obligated or expended until the date on which the Administrator submits such report.” 2018—Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 115–232 added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

50 U.S.C. § 2756

Title 50War and National Defense

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60