Senate Armed Services Committee

Alongside its nearly mirror-image committee in the House, the Senate Armed Services Committee oversees the Department of Defense and National Nuclear Security Administration, and it updates U.S. defense policy, primarily by drafting the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Of the panel’s six subcommittees, the Strategic Forces Subcommittee and the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittees are the ones principally concerned with R&D and technology policy:

• The Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee’s jurisdiction includes Department of Defense R&D and technology acquisition activities, except for those related to nuclear weapons.
• The Strategic Forces Subcommittee is responsible for nuclear weapons and associated delivery systems and has jurisdiction over the National Nuclear Security Administration and the national labs it oversees.