To provide for the common defense is one of the primary constitutional responsibilities of the federal government. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is a federal law that annually specifies the budget and expenditures of the Department of Defense (DOD). In addition to funding, this law can also be a vehicle for good and bad policies. Therefore, lawmakers abuse the NDAA by occasionally adding funding for wasteful programs.

The chart below describes the current policy positions in both the House and Senate NDAA along with Heritage's suggested policy positions. Before Congress acts, it should closely consider how each section improves our national defense.

—Michaela Bendikova is Research Associate for Strategic Issues in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, a division of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, at The Heritage Foundation.