# Summary of Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2024
This document is the full text of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2024, containing numerous provisions governing the allocation, restriction, and transfer of defense funding.
Key elements include:
1. **Funding allocations**: The act appropriates billions of dollars for various defense programs including:
- $3.3 billion for military readiness improvements
- $1.5 billion for revised economic assumptions
- $2 billion for addressing unfunded priorities of armed forces
- $1 billion for defense industrial base capacity
- $1.1 billion to support Taiwan's defense
2. **Restrictions on funding use**:
- Prohibits funds for certain activities (e.g., construction of facilities for Guantanamo Bay detainees)
- Restricts funding for specific entities (e.g., Rosoboronexport, EcoHealth Alliance in China)
- Prohibits funds for certain equipment (e.g., C-40 aircraft retirement, specific components for TAO and FFG(X) programs)
- Bans funding for activities related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology
3. **Specific program funding**:
- $300 million for Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative
- $1.316 billion for International Security Cooperation Programs
- $370 million for border security support to Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, and Oman
- $5 million for reimbursement to key cooperating nations for support to counter-ISIL operations
4. **Transfer authorities**:
- Numerous provisions allowing transfers between accounts with requirements for congressional notification
- Specific restrictions on transfers for certain programs
- Emergency designation for several funding amounts
5. **Compliance requirements**:
- Notification requirements for fund transfers
- Reporting requirements to Congress
- Specific prohibitions related to national security interests
The act contains numerous specific restrictions on how funds may be used, with many provisions designed to ensure funds are spent in ways that align with U.S. national security interests and foreign policy objectives.
This bill aims to improve veterans' access to timely health care through the VA Community Care Program. It sets specific timeframes for scheduling appointments (7 days for non-urgent care, 48 hours for urgent care), modifies access standards to require care within certain driving times (30 minutes for primary care, 60 minutes for specialty care), and allows telehealth appointments to count toward access standards if veterans consent. The bill also establishes new requirements for providers to submit data, creates a "High-Compliance" rating program for providers, and includes provisions for dental care and mental health residential treatment programs. These changes directly affect veterans seeking care outside VA facilities, VA medical facilities, and non-VA providers participating in the Community Care Program.
This bill prohibits law enforcement and intelligence agencies from purchasing personal data from third-party data brokers, including location information, communication contents, and online activity records. It defines "covered records" as information about people inside the U.S. or U.S. persons outside the U.S., and requires government requests for such information to follow the same legal standards as requests from telecommunications providers. The bill prohibits using illegally obtained information as evidence in court and establishes that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is the exclusive legal process for collecting certain types of data for foreign intelligence purposes. It also prevents agencies from sharing information obtained through improper means with other government entities.
This bill requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection to maintain all northern border ports of entry (between the U.S. and Canada) open for equal or more hours daily than they operated before the pandemic. It directly affects CBP operations and travelers/businesses using these ports, mandating that hours return to pre-COVID-19 levels. The key provision specifies that operating hours must match those in effect immediately before the March 2020 public health emergency declaration related to the pandemic. The bill does not change border security policies but reverses pandemic-era reductions in port availability.
The CDFI Fund Transparency Act (S 2674) requires the Treasury Secretary (or their designee) to provide annual testimony to Senate and House financial committees about the operations of the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. This testimony would cover the previous fiscal year's activities and is scheduled at the discretion of the relevant committee chairs. The bill directly affects how the CDFI Fund, which supports community development lenders, reports its work to Congress. It adds a transparency mechanism without altering the fund's programs or funding levels.
S 2561 (Close the Revolving Door Act of 2023) prohibits former members of Congress and congressional staff from lobbying the government for a lifetime or 6 years after leaving office, respectively. It also bans registered lobbyists or foreign agents from joining congressional offices within 6 years of lobbying those offices. The bill creates a public database called "lobbyists.gov" to track lobbying activities and requires lobbying firms with multiple registered lobbyists to report employees who are former lawmakers or senior congressional staff. These provisions aim to increase transparency and limit the movement between lobbying firms and Congress.
This bill amends the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to prioritize projects that provide multiple environmental and community benefits. It requires at least 50% of annual funding to go toward "multibenefit works of improvement," defined as projects that provide two or more specific benefits like improved fish habitat, better water quality, water conservation, or flood-risk reduction. The bill ensures that at least 20% of project benefits directly support agriculture or conservation in rural communities, while establishing new definitions for terms like "water conservation" and "multibenefit work of improvement." It also creates new notification requirements for Congress regarding major projects exceeding certain cost thresholds.
S 2671, the DRIVE Act, prohibits the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from requiring large trucks (over 26,000 pounds gross weight) operating in interstate commerce to install speed limiting devices. This directly affects commercial trucking companies and operators transporting goods across state lines with qualifying vehicles. The bill prevents the agency from creating a new rule mandating these devices, effectively maintaining the current regulatory status for such vehicles. The legislation focuses solely on blocking this specific requirement, without altering other safety regulations.
The LEAD Act of 2023 establishes new accountability systems within the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve oversight, management, and transparency. It creates a new Office of Transparency, Engagement, Accountability, and Management (TEAM Office) to track recommendations from oversight bodies and an Office of the Medical Inspector to review healthcare quality and safety. The bill requires biennial employee surveys on accountability and management, creates a centralized database to track accountability actions and investigations, and strengthens whistleblower protections. These changes directly affect VA employees and aim to improve healthcare delivery and accountability across the Department.
This bill (S 2647, SHINE for Autumn Act of 2023) provides federal funding to improve stillbirth data collection, research, and education. It authorizes $5 million annually for states to collect stillbirth data using existing health records while protecting privacy, $1 million for developing standardized data collection guidelines and public educational materials, and $3 million for specialized training programs in perinatal pathology and stillbirth research. The bill directly affects state health departments, medical professionals (like obstetricians and pathologists), and families impacted by stillbirth through improved data systems and educational resources. Key provisions require standardized data reporting, consultation with affected families and healthcare providers, and mandatory reports on program progress within five years of enactment.
The INDEX Act requires investment advisers managing passively managed funds (like index funds) to follow voting instructions from the fund's actual investors for non-routine corporate proposals (e.g., major mergers, governance changes). It applies when an adviser controls over 1% of a company's voting shares through such funds, mandating they distribute voting materials and wait 5 business days for instructions. Advisers may still vote freely on routine matters (e.g., board elections) or use a "mirror voting" exception for majority-approved proposals. This directly affects retail investors in index funds and the advisers managing them, ensuring investor preferences shape votes on significant corporate issues.
This bill creates a centralized online portal for appraisers and appraisal management companies (AMCs) to handle licensing, certification, and registration processes. It requires the Appraisal Subcommittee to establish a cloud-based system where users submit applications, pay fees, and complete background checks, while connecting state licensing agencies to access all relevant applicant information. The portal streamlines state agency access to education records, experience logs, and criminal history checks processed through the FBI, with states retaining final licensing authority. Fees for portal use are set to be revenue-neutral, and states may receive grants to connect their systems to the portal.
