H.R. 9241: No Equipment Left Behind Act of 2026

This bill would require the Department of Defense to do more detailed tracking and reporting when U.S. forces are significantly reduced, moved, or withdrawn from certain overseas areas where there is a risk that military equipment could be lost, abandoned, sold, transferred, or captured.

What counts as a covered situation

The bill applies to a “covered theater of operations,” meaning an area where U.S. forces are conducting contingency operations, advising or assisting partner forces in combat, or operating in a place where the Secretary of Defense believes there is a meaningful risk that equipment could be lost to armed conflict, terrorist activity, collapse of a partner force, or seizure by a hostile actor.

It applies when there is a “significant force reposturing or withdrawal,” which includes events such as:

• closing, transferring, or materially reducing a Defense Department facility;
• disposing of accountable property worth more than $10 million; or
• cutting U.S. troop levels by more than 20% over 90 days in that theater.

New reporting requirements

Within 60 days after such a significant withdrawal or repositioning begins, the Secretary of Defense would have to send Congress a detailed report on the equipment involved. That report would need to include:

• a full inventory of the property, including serial numbers when practical;
• whether the equipment is still under U.S. control;
• whether it was previously sold or transferred to an ally or partner;
• what disposition is planned for it;
• the status of the equipment and, if known, where it ended up;
• an assessment of the feasibility, timeline, operational impact, and security concerns for different ways of handling the equipment;
• an explanation of any logistical or operational reasons certain options are not practical;
• an estimate of extra costs for each feasible option, including shipping, handling, storage, and sustainment;
• a plan to reduce the risk that equipment could be diverted or misused;
• details on end-use monitoring, remote disablement options, handling of sensitive technology, and plans to recover or neutralize equipment if a partner government or force collapses;
• a chain-of-custody plan for transport, storage, and transfer;
• an assessment of the partner force’s ability to maintain the equipment on its own;
• an assessment of whether the partner has been vetted, has effective command-and-control, or may be infiltrated by hostile actors;
• an evaluation of the effect on U.S. troop morale and retention;
• any history of similar equipment being diverted to unauthorized users;
• the risk that the partner force could rapidly collapse; and
• a review of lessons learned from Iraq in 2014 and Afghanistan in 2021, including where diversion risk was underestimated.

Extra notifications to Congress

The bill would also require the Pentagon to notify Congress within 30 days after certain sales or transfers of equipment, including a description of the equipment, the end user, and certification that the required assessment was completed.

It would require additional notices if:

• a partner force collapses or another event greatly increases diversion risk; or
• equipment is later diverted and used in an attack by a terrorist group or other hostile actor.

Those notices would have to describe the event, the equipment at risk or used, where and when it left U.S. or partner custody, who carried out the attack, and how many casualties resulted, if known.

Senior approval for major losses or destruction

If accountable property with a replacement value over $10 million is going to be abandoned, lost without continuous U.S. or partner custody, destroyed, or demilitarized, the Secretary of Defense or Deputy Secretary of Defense would have to approve that decision in writing.

Baseline report and longer-term oversight

Within 180 days of enactment, the Pentagon would have to submit a baseline report on how it currently tracks and disposes of equipment in these theaters, what policies and systems it uses, and what data gaps need to be fixed to comply with the new requirements.

The Secretary of Defense would also have to submit annual reports for five years covering:

• equipment dispositions in covered theaters;
• any diversion incidents;
• risk-mitigation steps taken; and
• changes in partner force resilience and diversion risk.

Accountability review and GAO oversight

Within 180 days, the Pentagon would also have to explain how it determines responsibility when equipment is mishandled during a withdrawal or repositioning, including what personnel actions may be taken and when investigations are triggered.

The Government Accountability Office would then review how the new system is working, including whether inventories are complete, whether cost estimates are reasonable, whether mitigation plans are adequate, and how often waivers are used for sales or transfers. GAO would brief Congress within one year.

Relevant Companies

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