A Summary of the Key Provisions in Public Law 116-92

Public Law 116-92 is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020, signed into law on December 20, 2019. This annual legislation specifies the budget, expenditures, and policies for the U.S. Department of Defense. Its fundamental purpose is to authorize funding for the nation’s military activities and establish personnel strengths for the fiscal year. The law is expansive, covering military pay, technology procurement, and foreign policy directives, and its provisions affect service members, federal employees, government contractors, and even international relations.

Major Personnel and Benefit Changes

The legislation mandated a 3.1% pay raise for members of the armed forces, continuing the tradition of annual adjustments to military compensation to keep pace with economic indicators. This increase applied to all active duty, Guard, and Reserve members, directly affecting their household income.

The law introduced a paid parental leave benefit for the federal civilian workforce. Under this provision, eligible federal employees were granted up to 12 weeks of paid leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. This benefit, which amended the Family and Medical Leave Act, represented a significant shift in federal employment policy. The leave is paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay and applies to placements occurring on or after October 1, 2020.

Another financial change was the repeal of the “Widow’s Tax.” This term referred to a long-standing offset that prevented military survivors from receiving the full benefits they were entitled to from two different programs. Specifically, when a surviving spouse received Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) from the Department of Veterans Affairs, their Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity from the Department of Defense was reduced by the same amount.

Public Law 116-92 initiated a phase-out of this offset that concluded on January 1, 2023. As a result, surviving spouses are now able to receive full, unreduced payments from both SBP and DIC. This change provides thousands of dollars in additional annual income to many military families.

Government Contracting and Supply Chain Security

The law instituted significant changes for government contractors, with a strong emphasis on securing the national supply chain from foreign adversaries. These efforts built upon provisions from the prior year’s defense bill, most notably Section 889. This section established a broad prohibition on executive agencies contracting with entities that use certain telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from specific Chinese companies, such as Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation.

The prohibition operates in two parts. Part A forbids the government itself from procuring or obtaining the covered equipment. Part B prohibits the government from contracting with any entity that uses the covered equipment, regardless of whether that use is part of a government contract. This second part required companies wishing to do business with the government to certify they do not use the banned technologies anywhere in their enterprise. The law also specifically banned the Department of Defense from procuring or using unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, manufactured in China.

Beyond targeting specific companies, the legislation pushed for broader acquisition reforms to bolster the cybersecurity of the defense industrial base. It laid further groundwork for programs designed to protect controlled unclassified information (CUI) that resides on the networks of private defense contractors. The law emphasized that contractors must meet certain cybersecurity standards as a condition for contract award. These provisions required companies to conduct thorough reviews of their supply chains and internal technology to identify and remove prohibited equipment, often involving substantial costs.

Establishment of the U.S. Space Force

One of the most notable provisions within Public Law 116-92 was the formal establishment of the United States Space Force. This act created the first new independent military service since the U.S. Air Force was established in 1947. The legislation organized the Space Force as a distinct branch of the armed forces, positioned organizationally within the Department of the Air Force, similar to how the Marine Corps is situated within the Department of the Navy. This structure was chosen to provide support and integration while allowing the new service to develop its own unique culture.

The creation of the Space Force was a direct response to the growing importance of space as a national security domain. The law’s authors and defense leaders recognized that space was no longer a peaceful environment but a contested warfighting domain, with potential adversaries developing capabilities to disrupt or destroy U.S. space assets. The stated mission of the Space Force is to protect the interests of the United States in space, deter aggression, and provide space capabilities, such as satellite communications and missile warning, to the broader joint military force.

The law outlined the initial structure of the new service, establishing the Chief of Space Operations (CSO) as its senior military leader. The CSO is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ensuring the space perspective is integrated at the highest levels of military planning. The legislation also authorized the transfer of personnel from the former Air Force Space Command and other service branches into the Space Force to create an initial cadre of space professionals.

Key Foreign Policy and Sanction Provisions

The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2020 also served as a vehicle for U.S. foreign policy through the imposition of economic sanctions. A prominent example was the inclusion of sanctions targeting the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a major energy project designed to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany. The law mandated sanctions on companies providing vessels and services for the construction of the pipeline. The stated rationale was that the pipeline would increase Europe’s dependence on Russian energy, and these sanctions had an immediate effect, causing key contractors to halt their work.

The law also took a firm stance against Turkey over its acquisition of the Russian S-400 air defense system. U.S. officials argued that the S-400 system was incompatible with NATO equipment and could be used to gather intelligence on the capabilities of the F-35 fighter jet. Consequently, Public Law 116-92 mandated the imposition of sanctions on Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).