How the NDAA invests in America’s defense: A conversation with HASC Chairman Adam Smith

With the administration’s proposed defense budget moving through Congress, the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has already highlighted considerable differences between and within the two parties on key dimensions of America’s defense strategy. While China, and to a lesser extent Russia, are increasingly the focus of military planning, other long-term challenges such as counterterrorism, North Korea, and Iran will remain important priorities, too. And with an uncertain fiscal outlook, Congress must consider how — or whether — to pay for numerous long-term programs and platforms while also assuring near-term readiness.

On August 31, Brookings hosted a conversation on the defense budget with House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.), moderated by Brookings Senior Fellow Michael O’Hanlon. Questions from the audience followed.

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