Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026

Key Points

• This bill sets the rules and funding for U.S. spy agencies for 2026. It creates a new National Counterintelligence Center to better protect the country from foreign spies and influence. It also sets aside $674.5 million for managing these agencies and $514 million for CIA retirement and disability programs.
• The policy bans the use of the DeepSeek application on any intelligence computer systems to protect national secrets. It also requires the government to create an "AI Security Playbook" to stop foreign countries from stealing American artificial intelligence technology and secrets.
• Congress is requiring new, regular reports on the economic and technological power of China compared to the United States. It also ensures that the U.S. continues to provide intelligence and satellite imagery to help Ukraine defend its territory against Russia.
• New rules are being set for how agencies buy and use "open-source" information, which is data anyone can find online or buy from companies. If an agency accidentally collects information about a U.S. citizen while looking at this public data, they are now required to delete it.
• The bill changes how people are hired and promoted within the intelligence community. It prohibits agencies from requiring employees to engage in political or ideological activism to get a job or a promotion, and it mandates that personnel decisions be based on merit.