Overview

• Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 2026 for intelligence activities of the U.S. Government
• Bill type: Annual intelligence authorization act
• Status: Reported by House Intelligence Committee on November 28, 2025; placed on Union Calendar

Who does this affect?

• Main groups: Intelligence community employees (100,000+ personnel across 18 agencies), CIA retirees, congressional oversight committees
• Who benefits: Intelligence agencies receive funding certainty; counterintelligence operations get centralized coordination; CIA retirees maintain pension funding
• Teen impact score: 2/10 (symbolic/awareness—authorizes government intelligence spending with no direct teen interaction)

What This Bill Does

• Authorizes $674.5M for Intelligence Community Management Account for fiscal year 2026
• Authorizes $514M for CIA Retirement and Disability Fund
• Creates National Counterintelligence Center within Office of Director of National Intelligence, headed by Senate-confirmed director
• Establishes National Counterintelligence Program within National Intelligence Program for strategic counterintelligence activities
• Requires Director of National Counterintelligence Center to submit national counterintelligence strategy every 3 years and outlook report every 5 years
• Prohibits use of DeepSeek application on intelligence community systems; requires removal within 60 days
• Requires intelligence community to use Transnational Organized Crime Identity Intelligence Platform for information sharing on international cartels
• Authorizes CIA Director to detect, track, and disable unmanned aircraft systems over specially designated CIA properties through December 31, 2029
• Requires Defense Intelligence Agency to provide unclassified performance appraisals to employees
• Prohibits intelligence agencies from requiring political or ideological activism as condition for promotion or positive personnel action
• Requires FBI Director to notify congressional leadership within 5 days of counterintelligence investigations of federal candidates, officeholders, or senior congressional staff
• Requires annual audits of intelligence community expenditures on publicly available and commercially available information for fiscal years 2024-2029
• Extends Intelligence Community Coordinator for Russian Atrocities Accountability through December 31, 2028
• Requires Director of National Intelligence to ensure intelligence support to Ukraine for operations to defend and retake territory from Russia

Legislative Status

• Introduced September 8, 2025 by Rep. Crawford
• Reported with amendments by House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on November 28, 2025
• Committed to Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union

In short

• Congress sets intelligence spending levels for fiscal year 2026 at $674.5M for management account and $514M for CIA pensions.
• Bill creates new National Counterintelligence Center with Senate-confirmed director to coordinate counterintelligence across all 18 intelligence agencies.
• Bans Chinese AI app DeepSeek from intelligence systems and gives CIA authority to disable drones over agency properties through 2029.
• Requires FBI to notify Congress within 5 days when investigating federal candidates or officeholders for counterintelligence concerns.
• Prohibits intelligence agencies from requiring employees to engage in political activism for promotions or positive performance reviews.

Why should I care?

This bill shapes how the U.S. intelligence community operates and spends taxpayer money. The creation of a National Counterintelligence Center centralizes efforts to detect and counter foreign spies, which affects national security. The ban on DeepSeek reflects concerns about Chinese technology accessing sensitive government systems. Requirements for FBI notification when investigating political candidates aim to prevent misuse of intelligence powers against elected officials. Prohibitions on requiring political activism in hiring and promotion decisions affect workplace culture in intelligence agencies. The bill also directs continued intelligence support to Ukraine, influencing U.S. foreign policy. While these changes don't directly impact daily life for most Americans, they shape government transparency, protection of civil liberties, and how intelligence agencies balance security with oversight.