H.R. 2471, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, became law on March 15, 2022 as Public Law No. 117-103. It bundles all 12 regular federal spending bills for FY2022, adds supplemental funding to support Ukraine, and reauthorizes or modifies a wide range of programs. It was introduced by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
What does the bill fund?
The bill covers all 12 regular appropriations bills that keep federal agencies running through FY2022. That includes funding for defense, homeland security, agriculture, transportation, health, education, and more. It also sets aside emergency money to help Ukraine respond to Russia's attack, covering food aid, refugee assistance, defense equipment, economic support, and sanctions enforcement.
What programs does it reauthorize or change?
The bill extends several programs that were set to expire, including the National Flood Insurance Program, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, the Violence Against Women Act programs, and the Drug Enforcement Administration's temporary scheduling of fentanyl-related substances. It also reauthorizes intelligence activities and NASA's enhanced-use leasing authority, among others.
What does it require on UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena)?
Section 413 is the key UAP provision. It requires the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense to jointly direct every intelligence community element and Defense Department component that holds UAP data to share that data immediately with the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center. The Task Force must then submit quarterly reports to the congressional intelligence committees and the Armed Services committees, starting no later than 90 days after enactment. Each report must cover all UAP-related events from the reporting period and any prior events not yet reported. All reports are to be submitted in classified form.
What other intelligence and security provisions are included?
The bill establishes a Chaplain Corps at the Central Intelligence Agency, modifies personnel management at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to attract science and engineering experts, and requires the FBI to conduct security assessments before buying any products or services from Chinese-connected entities. It also directs the FBI to set up counterintelligence units inside non-intelligence federal departments, starting with the Department of Agriculture.