---
kind: "section"
citation: "10 U.S.C. § 6288"
title: "10"
title_heading: "Armed Forces"
number: "6288"
heading: "Unfunded priorities of the Administration"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/10/6288"
units:
  - "Subtitle A — General Military Law"
  - "Part VI — Elements of Department of Defense and Other Matters"
  - "Subpart B — Atomic Energy Defense"
  - "Chapter 607 — Budget and Financial Management Matters"
  - "Subchapter I — Recurring National Security Authorization Provisions"
---

# §6288. Unfunded priorities of the Administration

- (a) **Annual Report or Certification.—** Not later than 10 days after the date on which the budget of the President for a fiscal year is submitted to Congress pursuant to [section 1105(a) of title 31](/usc/31/1105.md?p=a), the [Administrator](/usc/10/2700.md?p=3) shall submit to the [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) of Energy and the [congressional defense committees](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-16) either—
  - (1) a report on the unfunded priorities of the Administration; or
  - (2) if the [Administrator](/usc/10/2700.md?p=3) determines that there are no unfunded priorities to include in such a report, a certification and explanation by the [Administrator](/usc/10/2700.md?p=3), without delegation, of the determination.
- (b) **Elements.—**
  - (1) Each report under [subsection (a)(1)](#a-1) shall specify, for each unfunded priority covered by the report, the following:
    - (A) A summary description of that priority, including the objectives to be achieved or the risk to be mitigated if that priority is funded (whether in whole or in part).
    - (B) The additional amount of funds recommended in connection with the objectives or risk mitigation under [subparagraph (A)](#b-1-A).
    - (C) Account information with respect to that priority.
  - (2) Each report under [subsection (a)(1)](#a-1) shall present the unfunded priorities covered by the report in order of urgency of priority.
- (c) **Unfunded Priority Defined.—** In this section, the term “unfunded priority”, in the case of a fiscal year, means a [program](/usc/10/2101.md?p=1), activity, or mission requirement that—
  - (1) is not funded in the budget of the President for that fiscal year as submitted to Congress pursuant to [section 1105(a) of title 31](/usc/31/1105.md?p=a);
  - (2) is necessary to address a requirement associated with the mission of the Administration; and
  - (3) would have been recommended for funding through the budget referred to in [paragraph (1)](#c-1) by the [Administrator](/usc/10/2700.md?p=3)—
    - (A) if additional resources were available for the budget to fund the [program](/usc/10/2101.md?p=1), activity, or mission requirement; or
    - (B) in the case of a [program](/usc/10/2101.md?p=1), activity, or mission requirement that emerged after the budget was formulated, if the [program](/usc/10/2101.md?p=1), activity, or mission requirement had emerged before the budget was formulated.

## Source credit

(Added and amended Pub. L. 119–60, div. C, title XXXI, §§ 3111(a), (d)(2), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1435, 1462.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 2756 of Title 50, War and National Defense, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 119–60, § 3111(b)(1).

### Amendments

2025—Pub. L. 119–60, § 3111(d)(2)(B), realigned margins.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 119–60, § 3111(d)(2)(A), struck out pars. (1) and (2) headings which read as follows: “In general” and “Prioritization of priorities”, respectively.