Military Readiness Permitting Efficiency Act of 2026

This Act may be cited as the Military Readiness Permitting Efficiency Act of 2026.
Chapter 159 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 2672 the following new section:
Subject to the requirements of paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of a military department may enter into an agreement with the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service or the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service under which—
the Director agrees to execute a review process under a law specified in paragraph (2) for a priority military program or project, as designated by the Secretary; and
the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of a military department agrees to provide to the Director direct financial assistance in such amounts as may be necessary to hire personnel to execute the review process, provided such amounts are used only for such purpose.
The Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of a military department may enter into an agreement under this subsection with respect to a program or project only if—
the Secretary determines that it is in the interest of national defense to carry out a review process for the program or project within a particular period of time; and
the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service or the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service provides notice to the Secretary that the National Marine Fisheries Service or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, as the case may be, does not have sufficient funds or adequate personnel to carry out the review process within such period without the receipt of assistance under the agreement.
The laws specified in this paragraph are each of the following:
The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.).
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
In this section:
The term eligible expense, with respect to a review process, includes an expense for—
support of or participation in military planning activities that precede the initiation of the review process;
activities directly related to the review process, including any associated consultation process; and
development of programmatic agreements.
The term review process, with respect to a law, means the process of reviewing the potential environmental impacts of a program or project to determine whether the program or project meets the requirements of the law, including any requirement for a consultation, plan, permit, or approval.