House Armed Services Committee

Alongside its counterpart committee in the Senate, the House 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 seven subcommittees, the Strategic Forces Subcommittee; Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems Subcommittee; and Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee are the ones principally concerned with R&D and technology policy:

• The Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems 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.
• The Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee oversees efforts to counter chemical, biological, and radiological weapons.