Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026

Summary

Authorizes FY2026 intelligence activities and creates a mix of operational, oversight, reporting, and personnel rules across the U.S. intelligence community. It sets classified funding levels, provides specific appropriations for the CIA retirement fund, establishes a DNI-administered technology transition fund, tightens protections for intelligence facilities (including new criminal penalties and unmanned aircraft countermeasures), revises DNI authorities and reporting duties, and requires multiple new public and congressional reports and declassifications (including on COVID‑19 origins and anomalous health incidents). Also imposes limits on certain DHS domestic intelligence activities, strengthens unmasking procedures and reporting, expands whistleblower protections, adds definitions and authorities related to “foreign malign influence” focused on certain foreign governments, and requires agency workplace climate and sexual‑misconduct assessments. Many provisions take effect on enactment with specified deadlines (30–180 days) for rules, reports, and implementation steps.

• Authorizes FY2026 intelligence funding in a classified Schedule, plus $514M for the CIA retirement and disability fund.
• Creates criminal penalties for unauthorized entry onto clearly marked intelligence community property and expands counter‑UAS protections for covered facilities.
• Revises DNI statutory authorities and reporting duties, shifting some execution responsibilities to direction/coordination and requiring multi‑element reform plans.
• Establishes unmasking procedural requirements, 10‑year recordkeeping, and annual public reporting of unmasking requests to congressional intelligence committees.
• Limits certain DHS I&A activities and staffing increases for open‑source domestic terrorism work, while preserving legal oversight and sharing authorities.
• Defines "covered foreign country" (initially China, Russia, DPRK, Iran) and "foreign malign influence," and integrates these definitions into multiple intelligence statutes.
• Requires declassification reviews and public reports on anomalous health incidents and the origins/handling of COVID‑19 related to PRC research, with classified annexes to committees.
• Creates a DNI‑administered Intelligence Community Technology Bridge Fund to help transition IC R&D to prototype/production, prioritizing small businesses; $75M authorized annually.
• Expands whistleblower protections to include former employees/contractors for prior‑period disclosures and adds a prohibition against unauthorized disclosure of whistleblower identity.
• Imposes multiple new reporting, secure‑system, and audit requirements with specific deadlines (30–180 days and some multiyear reporting obligations).