PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
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People & committees
Rep. Cloud, Michael [R-TX-27] · R–TX
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Aug 21, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-08-06 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed DEPOTS Act would let the Defense Department clear certain internal accounting charges tied to depot or arsenal capital assets that no longer generate revenue because of federally directed mission changes. This authority would cover internal government account balances, not payments owed to commercial contractors. Any earlier cash outlay from a revolving fund would still have to be recovered.
This Act may be cited as the Defense Expenditure Planning for Optimizing Throughput and Sustainment Act or the DEPOTS Act.
With respect to any depot or arsenal of the Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense may write-off or eliminate any internal Department accounting charges, such as remaining depreciation or internal debt from an account of a military department or the Department associated with capital assets that do not generate revenue due to mission realignments directed by the Federal Government.
Write-offs under paragraph (1) shall be done in a manner than ensures any previous cash outlay from a revolving fund is recovered.
The authority under paragraph (1) applies only to financial balances within the accounts of a military department or the Department of Defense, not to payments owed to commercial contractors.
The Defense Secretary could choose to remove qualifying internal accounting charges; the bill would not require their removal. Examples include remaining depreciation—the allocation of an asset’s cost over time—and internal debt. The authority would apply to assets at Defense Department depots or arsenals that do not generate revenue because of federally directed mission changes.
With respect to any depot or arsenal of the Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense may write-off or eliminate any internal Department accounting charges, such as remaining depreciation or internal debt from an account of a military department or the Department associated with capital assets that do not generate revenue due to mission realignments directed by the Federal Government.
Any write-off would have to ensure recovery of previous cash outlays from a revolving fund—a fund whose receipts support continuing operations. Removing accounting charges would not remove that recovery requirement.
Write-offs under paragraph (1) shall be done in a manner than ensures any previous cash outlay from a revolving fund is recovered.
The authority would be limited to balances within Defense Department or military department accounts. It would not authorize writing off payments owed to commercial contractors.
The authority under paragraph (1) applies only to financial balances within the accounts of a military department or the Department of Defense, not to payments owed to commercial contractors.
The Defense Secretary could delegate the write-off authority to the secretary of a military department.
The Secretary may delegate the authority under subsection (a) to the Secretary of a military department.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated August 21, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Armed Services on August 6, 2026.
Source snapshot updated 2026-08-21T08:05:48Z. 2026-08-06: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services. 2026-08-06: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-08-06. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or appropriations policy rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; formal earmark status cannot be fully assessed without accompanying disclosure and legislative materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential treatment warranting a finding was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Aug 21, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI