DOD disclosure policies cause controversy – every lawmaker would try to add their own provisions.

The House bill also contains a provision that would block the Pentagon from requiring prospective contractors to disclose information on their greenhouse gas emissions. Democrats and the White House have already come out in opposition to it, but it may survive the conference committee in some form because the Senate NDAA includes related language thanks to West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin. The provisions are in response to a rule the Biden administration proposed last November that, when finalized, would require large contractors with the Defense Department and certain other agencies to provide emissions inventories as a condition for getting a federal contract. House Oversight and Accountability Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), who championed the NDAA language in their chamber and co-sponsored similar legislation with Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), said in a letter to Biden administration officials last month that the rule could place undue burdens on contractors, drive up food prices and compromise military readiness. The White House has stood by its rule. The Office of Management and Budget asserted in a statement of administration policy that the provision would prevent “DoD from exercising due diligence in assessing risks to potential contract awardees, counter to the interests of U.S. taxpayers.” House Democrats mounted resistance to the rider during a markup in June. Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) noted that the proposed contractor rule offers exemptions for national security purposes and urged Republicans to wait until the rule is finalized before attempting to circumvent it. “I’m trying to figure out why in the world we would want to exempt the Department of Defense from paying attention to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions,” Garamendi said at the time. “In fact, this regulation is not yet complete. This apparently deals with a proposed regulation that is not in its final stages.” Rep. John Garamendi Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) is ranking member of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness. | Francis Chung/POLITICO Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) filed an amendment to allow the Pentagon to require prospective contractors to disclose their emissions, but the House Rules Committee did not make the amendment in order for floor debate. Across the Capitol, Senate Armed Services Republicans were able to add their own contractor provision to their bill with Manchin’s help, according to a Democratic aide familiar with negotiations. Committee Republicans indicated during a closed markup in June that they planned to offer a provision similar to the House’s as an amendment, and Manchin, chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, expressed that he would have cast the swing vote in its favor, according to the aide.