What Happened?

The Pentagon submitted $53.7 billion in military needs left out of the president's annual budget request, reigniting a debate over whether these lists help Congress understand military risk or simply let the Defense Department seek extra money beyond what the White House already approved. ​

The Congressional Research Service (CRS), the nonpartisan research arm of Congress, published a report laying out the competing arguments. Unfunded priorities lists (UPLs) are annual reports that military service chiefs and combatant commanders submit to Congress, identifying needs the president's budget did not cover. The requirement dates to the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act and has since expanded to include the Space Force chief, the National Guard Bureau chief, and the Defense Department comptroller.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

A September 2025 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found the Defense Department submitted roughly $134 billion in UPLs from fiscal years 2020 through 2025. Their combined value rose 73 percent over that period. The enacted fiscal year 2026 spending law "was unable to fully fund most of these unfunded requirements and priorities," CRS found.

Both Sides, Now

Supporters say UPLs give Congress an honest picture of military risk that the president's budget alone does not provide. Critics argue the lists act as "wish lists" that weaken budget discipline. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in March 2023, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren argued that submitting an additional list lets the Defense Department "boost their overall budget allocation."

The GAO review found that Defense Department components did not consistently address required statutory elements and used different methodologies to rank 87 lists submitted from fiscal years 2020 through 2025. Two bills to repeal the UPL requirement were introduced but never advanced: a Senate bill in the 117th Congress and a House bill in the 118th Congress. The CRS analysis presents both views without recommending which side is right, framing the question as one for Congress to resolve.

What Happens Next?

CRS identifies several open questions for Congress: how to address inconsistent UPL methodologies, what to make of the lists' rising dollar value, how UPLs interact with defense funding provided by the 2025 reconciliation law, and whether classified lists limit congressional oversight. Two earlier bills to repeal the requirements, S. 5255 and H.R. 4740, were referred to committee but not reported.

Will Congress use the annual defense policy bill to rein in the lists — or keep letting the Pentagon submit billions in requests that the budget never fully funds?

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