Bill · H.R. 5167· House(119-HR-5167)
Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- Introduced
- 9/8/2025
- Last activity
- 11/28/2025 — Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 339.
- Sponsored by
- Eric Crawford
- Cosponsors
- None
- Introduced
- On Calendar
What this bill would do
This legislation authorizes funding for fiscal year 2026 for government intelligence activities, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System. It establishes a National Counterintelligence Center and the National Counterintelligence Program to oversee and direct counterintelligence operations across the federal government. The bill creates requirements for the intelligence community regarding the acquisition, governance, and training surrounding open-source and commercially available information. It also places restrictions on the use of specific foreign software applications on intelligence systems and prohibits forcing intelligence workers to engage in political activism. Additionally, the measure sets rules for reporting intelligence matters to Congress and addresses foreign threats, particularly concerning biotechnology and the People's Republic of China.
Yes· 3 of 9
Does this better protect the country from computer attacks?+5
The bill directs the development of an AI Security Playbook to defend against technology theft by threat actors.
Does this increase the pay, pensions or support veterans receive?+5
The bill treats certain agency service as active-duty service for the purposes of benefits administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Would veterans be better off under this, taking everything together?+5
The bill expands eligibility for certain veterans' benefits by treating specific agency service as active-duty service.
The opposite
Does this narrow racial gaps in how people are treated?-2
The bill prohibits personnel actions motivated by a desire to reverse the impacts of societal discrimination.
Would Black Americans be better off under this?-1
The bill prohibits using race as a motivating factor in personnel decisions intended to reverse societal discrimination.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Purging Information on U.S. Persons: Section 607 explicitly requires the head of each intelligence agency to purge any publicly available or commercially available information relating to a United States person that is incidentally collected. This provision protects the privacy rights of everyday citizens by ensuring their data is not unnecessarily retained by spy agencies.
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Prohibiting Political Activism Mandates: Section 702 prohibits intelligence agency heads from requiring workers or applicants to engage in political or ideological activism as a condition for employment, promotions, or other positive personnel actions. This ensures that career advancement within our government is based purely on merit rather than political alignment.
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Merit-Based Personnel Protections: Section 703 ensures that personnel decisions within the intelligence community cannot be motivated by a desire to reverse societal discrimination or rely on assumptions about individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, or national origin. This provision helps guarantee fair and equal treatment for all workers.
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Unclassified Performance Appraisals: Section 701 requires the Defense Intelligence Agency to provide employees with performance appraisals, ratings, and narrative input in unclassified form. This brings transparency and accountability to workplace evaluations so employees can plainly understand their job performance reviews.
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Transparency on Federal Watchlists: Section 907 mandates annual reports detailing the number of known or presumed United States persons placed on terrorist watchlists, broken down by specific lists and nominating agencies. This oversight provides clearer visibility into how government watchlists impact American citizens.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Prohibition of Specific Software: Section 405 directs the removal of the DeepSeek application and any successor applications developed by High Flyer from all national security and intelligence systems. While aimed at security, restricting access to certain technologies could potentially burden researchers or developers who rely on a wide variety of tools for technological comparisons.
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Travel Reporting and Restrictions: Section 522 requires Department of Energy personnel to report travel to countries of risk ahead of time, participate in briefings or debriefings, and prohibits them from bringing agency-provided or network-accessible electronic devices to those countries without specific approval. This places strict administrative burdens and personal restrictions on employees planning travel.
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Mandatory Training Requirements: Section 606 requires all intelligence personnel whose duties involve collecting publicly available or commercially available information to complete a standardized training course within strict timelines. This adds mandatory compliance and training workloads to personnel already tasked with intelligence duties.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- National Security And Foreign Policy
- Improves Cybersecurity Defense+5Improves Veterans Benefits+5Improves International Alliances+3
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+4Improves Privacy Rights+3
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Veterans+5Good For African Americans-1
- Education And Technology
- Increases Scientific Research Funding+2
- Economy And Finance
- Increases Job Creation+1
- Social Issues And Justice
- Improves Policing Reform+2Improves Racial Equity-2
- 11/28/2025
- Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Intelligence. H. Rept. 119-389.
- Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 339.
- 9/10/2025
- Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- 9/8/2025
- Referred to the House Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select).
- Introduced in House
5 bills Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.