This bill requires the Secretary of Defense to conduct a comprehensive review of America's drone capabilities and strategy across all domains—including aerial, ground, surface, and underwater unmanned vehicles along with their supporting systems. The review must identify gaps in U.S. military capabilities and vulnerabilities to foreign unmanned systems threats. The Secretary of Defense must submit a detailed report of the findings to Congress's defense committees by March 1, 2027. The bill affects the Department of Defense and relevant congressional committees, and no specific funding amount is mentioned in the legislation.

This bill requires the Secretary of the Army to study whether the Army National Guard should establish a "Drone Center of Excellence" at one of its training sites. Within 180 days of the bill's enactment, the Secretary must submit a report to Congress evaluating the advisability and feasibility of creating this center. The report must address what functions the center would perform, including training and certifying drone operators, developing military strategies and tactics for unmanned aircraft, testing artificial intelligence for drone systems, and conducting large-scale drone exercises with other military units. The legislation does not authorize funding or mandate that the center be built, but rather directs a study to help Congress and military leadership decide whether such a facility would be beneficial and practical. This affects the Army National Guard and other military branches that might participate in training at the proposed center.

The Military Leadership Removal Transparency Act of 2026 requires the Secretary of Defense to notify Congress within five days whenever a general or admiral officer in a senior position leaves their post earlier than expected, whether through removal, reassignment, resignation, or retirement. The detailed notification must include the officer's name and rank, the reason for departure, whether the military department or the officer initiated the action, and whether any investigations were involved. Within 30 days, the Secretary must also submit a comprehensive report to Congress certifying whether the action was based on legitimate grounds like misconduct or performance issues, rather than retaliation for providing honest military assessments. The bill applies to all general and admiral-level officers in positions designated by the Secretary of Defense as important and significant. The legislation does not limit the President's constitutional authority as Commander in Chief but ensures that Congress receives transparency about senior military leadership changes and the reasons behind them.

This bill requires the Secretary of the Army to submit a report by April 15, 2027, detailing the military's efforts to produce, test, and maintain autonomous maneuver systems and low-cost interceptors. The report must cover how the Army plans to accelerate production and deployment of these next-generation drone and counter-drone systems, strengthen domestic supply chains for critical components like motors and batteries, and use advanced manufacturing techniques to scale up production quickly. The legislation also directs the Army to explain how testing and development activities are coordinated across the Department of Defense and how advanced manufacturing could improve repair and maintenance of these systems. The bill affects the Army and relevant military organizations involved in autonomous systems development, including the Ground Vehicle Systems Center and Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. No specific funding is allocated in the bill; it simply requires the Secretary to provide Congress with information about current and planned efforts in these areas.

This bill requires the Department of Defense to establish a new contracting requirement for any AI systems it purchases or develops. Contractors must submit a detailed "artificial intelligence functional bill of materials" before receiving a contract and maintain it for quick updates within 48 hours of DOD requests. These bills of materials must document the AI software (including all models and dependencies), data sources (including training data and where it's stored), and hardware infrastructure the system uses, in a machine-readable format that allows DOD to quickly assess vulnerabilities and security risks. The Secretary of Defense has 180 days to update federal acquisition regulations and 180 days to issue cybersecurity guidance on storing these documents, with a full implementation report due within one year. This measure aims to give the DOD complete visibility into the components and supply chain of artificial intelligence systems it relies on for national defense purposes.

The MERIT Act of 2025 modifies federal law to require that anyone serving as Director of National Intelligence in an acting capacity must meet the same qualifications and possess the same extensive national security expertise as someone confirmed to the permanent position. Currently, acting officials filling this role are not subject to the same experience requirements, which the bill addresses by amending the National Security Act of 1947. The legislation affects the intelligence community and the executive branch's ability to fill this critical national security position during transitions or vacancies. The bill does not specify new funding or implementation timelines, but rather establishes a legal requirement that applies whenever someone temporarily performs the Director of National Intelligence duties.

The Protect Our Polls Act requires explicit Congressional approval before federal troops or armed law enforcement officers can be deployed to polling places, even in extreme circumstances. Currently, federal law has prohibited armed personnel at polls for over 150 years with only one narrow exception: when troops are needed to repel armed enemies of the United States, but this exception has never been used. Under this bill, any agency seeking to use troops at polling locations would need to notify Congress at least 48 hours in advance with detailed information about the threat, number of personnel, and why state and local forces cannot handle the situation, after which Congress must pass a joint resolution authorizing the deployment before any troops can be sent. The expedited review process gives Congress strict timelines, with committees having 20 hours to report on the authorization request and each chamber having 10 to 6 hours respectively to vote, ensuring rapid but deliberate Congressional consideration. The bill also restricts federal funds from being used by troops or agencies to access election records and includes a sunset provision that expires the changes on January 20, 2029.

This bill prohibits connected vehicles (cars with wireless communication systems) from countries designated as foreign adversaries—China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran—from being imported into the United States. The prohibition also applies to vehicles designed in these countries or manufactured by companies in which these countries hold more than 15 percent ownership or control. The ban takes effect 30 days after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner publishes implementing regulations, which must be completed within 90 days of the bill's enactment. The bill allows limited exceptions for vehicles imported solely for testing purposes by U.S.-based companies and permits the Commerce Secretary to authorize specific vehicles if they pose no risk to national security, data privacy, or critical infrastructure, subject to a 60-day congressional review period. The Secretary must publish a list of authorized vehicles by January 1, 2027, and establish a procedure by that same date for manufacturers to request authorization for their vehicles.

This bill prohibits federal officials and employees from trading prediction market contracts (financial bets on future events) using insider information gained from their government positions. The ban applies to the President, Vice President, members of Congress, congressional staff, political appointees, and all Executive and independent agency employees. Anyone who violates this rule faces a fine of up to $500 or double their profits from the illegal trade, whichever is greater. Within 180 days of the bill's enactment, each congressional and agency ethics office must establish procedures, forms, and guidelines to enforce the prohibition and work with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on implementation. Officials must also report any prediction market transactions valued over $250 to their supervising ethics office within 30 days and file follow-up reports showing final profits or losses once their positions close.

The AI Guardrails Act of 2026 establishes restrictions on how the Department of Defense can use artificial intelligence while supporting broader military adoption of AI technology. The bill prohibits the DoD from using AI to launch or detonate nuclear weapons, to monitor or target individuals or groups within the United States without legal justification, and to deploy lethal autonomous weapons without meaningful human control and oversight. The Secretary of Defense can waive the restrictions on autonomous weapons for up to one year if extraordinary national security circumstances require it and the system's error rate doesn't exceed that of trained human operators; any such waiver must be reported to Congress within five days with detailed information about the system's capabilities, safeguards, testing results, and operational plans. This legislation aims to balance the military's need to advance AI capabilities with constitutional and operational protections for Americans and safeguards against uncontrolled autonomous weapons.

The amendment introduces new provisions that enhance oversight and reporting requirements for federal agencies, ensuring greater transparency in their operations. Additionally, it allocates additional funding for specific programs aimed at improving efficiency and accountability within these agencies.

The amendment proposes to introduce new provisions that enhance existing regulations by expanding eligibility criteria and increasing funding allocations for specific programs. Additionally, it aims to streamline the application process for beneficiaries, making it more accessible and efficient.