US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

10 U.S.C. § 2808

Construction authority in the event of a declaration of war or national emergency

(a)

Construction Authorized .—

50 U.S.C. 1601In the event of a declaration of war or the declaration by the President of a national emergency in accordance with the National Emergencies Act ( et seq.) that requires use of the armed forces, the Secretary of Defense, without regard to any other provision of law, may undertake military construction projects, and may authorize the Secretaries of the military departments to undertake military construction projects, not otherwise authorized by law that are necessary to support such use of the armed forces.
(b)

Conditions on Sources of Funds .—

A military construction project to be undertaken using the construction authority described in subsection (a) may be undertaken only within the total amount of funds that have been appropriated for military construction, excluding funds appropriated for family housing, that—
(1)
remain unobligated as of the date on which the first contract would be entered into in support of the national emergency declaration described in subsection (a); and
(2)
are available because the military construction project for which the funds were appropriated—
(A)
has been canceled; or
(B)
has reduced costs as a result of project modifications or other cost savings.
(c)

Limitation on Amount of Funds Available for National Emergency .—

(1)
Except as provided in paragraph (2), in the event of a declaration by the President of a national emergency in which the construction authority described in subsection (a) is used, the total cost of all military construction projects undertaken using that authority during the national emergency may not exceed $500,000,000.
(2)
In the event of a national emergency declaration in which the construction authority described in subsection (a) will be used only within the United States, the total cost of all military construction projects undertaken using that authority during the national emergency may not exceed $100,000,000.
(d)

Waiver of Other Provisions of Law in Event of National Emergency .—

In the event of a declaration by the President of a national emergency in which the construction authority described in subsection (a) is used, the authority provided by such subsection to waive or disregard another provision of law that would otherwise apply to a military construction project authorized by this section may be used only if—
(1)
such other provision of law does not provide a means by which compliance with the requirements of the law may be waived, modified, or expedited; and
(2)
the Secretary of Defense determines that the nature of the national emergency necessitates the noncompliance with the requirements of the law.
(e)

Notification Requirement .—

(1)
section 480 of this titleWhen a decision is made to undertake military construction projects authorized by this section, the Secretary of Defense shall notify, in an electronic medium pursuant to , the appropriate committees of Congress of the following:
(A)
The reasons for the decision to use the construction authority described in subsection (a), including, in the event of a declaration by the President of a national emergency, the reasons why use of the armed forces is required in response to the declared national emergency.
(B)
The construction projects to be undertaken using the construction authority described in subsection (a), including, in the event of a declaration by the President of a national emergency, an explanation of how each construction project directly supports the immediate security, logistical, or short-term housing and ancillary supporting facility needs of the members of the armed forces used in the national emergency.
(C)
The estimated cost of the construction projects to be undertaken using the construction authority described in subsection (a), including the cost of any real estate action pertaining to the construction projects, and certification of compliance with the funding conditions imposed by subsections (b) and (c).
(D)
Any determination made pursuant to subsection (d)(2) to waive or disregard another provision of law to undertake any construction project using the construction authority described in subsection (a).
(E)
The military construction projects, including any ancillary supporting facility projects, whose cancellation, modification, or other cost savings result in funds being available to undertake construction projects using the construction authority described in subsection (a) and the possible impact of the cancellation or modification of such military construction projects on military readiness and the quality of life of members of the armed forces and their dependents.
(2)
In the event of a declaration by the President of a national emergency in which the construction authority described in subsection (a) is used, a construction project to be undertaken using such construction authority may be carried out only after the end of the five-day period beginning on the date the notification required by paragraph (1) is received by the congressional defense committees.
(f)

Termination of Authority .—

The authority described in subsection (a) shall terminate with respect to any war or national emergency at the end of the war or national emergency.

Pub. L. 97–214, § 2(a)96 Stat. 157Pub. L. 115–91, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2801(a)(6)131 Stat. 1841Pub. L. 116–283, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2801(a)134 Stat. 4317–4319(Added , , ; amended , , ; –(e), , .)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

50 U.S.C. 1601Pub. L. 94–41290 Stat. 1255section 1601 of Title 50The National Emergencies Act ( et seq.), referred to in subsec. (a), is , , , as amended, which is classified principally to chapter 34 (§ 1601 et seq.) of Title 50, War and National Defense. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under and Tables.

Prior Provisions

Pub. L. 97–99, title IX, § 90395 Stat. 1382Pub. L. 97–214, § 7(18)Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in , , , which was set out as a note under section 140 [now 127] of this title, prior to repeal by .

Amendments

Pub. L. 116–283, § 2801(b)2021—Subsec. (a). , (e)(1), inserted heading and struck out “Such projects may be undertaken only within the total amount of funds that have been appropriated for military construction, including funds appropriated for family housing, that have not been obligated.” at end.

Pub. L. 116–283, § 2801(b)Subsec. (b). , added subsec. (b). Former subsec. (b) redesignated (e).

Pub. L. 116–283, § 2801(a)(2)Subsec. (c). , added subsec. (c). Former subsec. (c) redesignated (f).

Pub. L. 116–283, § 2801(c)Subsec. (d). , added subsec. (d).

Pub. L. 116–283, § 2801(a)(1)Subsec. (e). , (d), (e)(2), redesignated subsec. (b) as (e), inserted heading and par. (1) designation before “When a decision”, substituted “of the following:” and subpars. (A) to (E) for “of the decision and of the estimated cost of the construction projects, including the cost of any real estate action pertaining to those construction projects.”, and added par. (2).

Pub. L. 116–283, § 2801(a)(1)Subsec. (f). , (e)(3), redesignated subsec. (c) as (f) and inserted heading.

Pub. L. 115–91section 480 of this title2017—Subsec. (b). inserted “, in an electronic medium pursuant to ,” after “shall notify”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

section 12(a) of Pub. L. 97–214section 2801 of this titleFor effective date and applicability of section, see , set out as a note under .

Exception for Pandemic Mitigation and Response Projects

Pub. L. 116–283, div. B, title XXVIII, § 2801(f)134 Stat. 4319

section 2808 of title 1042 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g)(1)(B)section 2808 of title 10“Subsections (b), (c), (d) of , United States Code, as added by this section, shall not apply to a military construction project commenced under the authority of subsection (a) of such section 2808 during the emergency period described in section 1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act () if the Secretary of Defense determines that the military construction project will directly support pandemic mitigation and response efforts of health care providers or support members of the Armed Forces directly participating in such pandemic mitigation and response efforts. Subsection (e) of , United States Code, as redesignated by subsection (a)(1) and amended by subsection (d) of this section, shall still apply to any such military construction project.”
, , , provided that:

Executive Documents

Executive Order No. 12734

section 1701 of Title 50Ex. Ord. No. 12734, , 55 F.R. 48099, which related to national emergency construction authority, was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 13350, , 69 F.R. 46055, listed in a table under , War and National Defense.

Ex. Ord. No. 13235. National Emergency Construction Authority

Ex. Ord. No. 13235, , 66 F.R. 58343, provided:

50 U.S.C. 1601et seqsection 301 of title 350 U.S.C. 162150 U.S.C. 163110 U.S.C. 2808By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the National Emergencies Act ( .), and , United States Code, I declared a national emergency that requires the use of the Armed Forces of the United States, by Proclamation 7463 of [ note], because of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and because of the continuing and immediate threat to the national security of the United States of further terrorist attacks. To provide additional authority to the Department of Defense to respond to that threat, and in accordance with section 301 of the National Emergencies Act (), I hereby order that the emergency construction authority at is invoked and made available in accordance with its terms to the Secretary of Defense and, at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, to the Secretaries of the military departments.

George W. Bush.