S.Amdt. 4011

SA 4011. Mr. MERKLEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 3951 submitted by Ms. Collins and intended to be
proposed to the bill H.R. 4016, making appropriations for the
Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026,
and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS TO RENAME THE DEPARTMENT
OF DEFENSE.

(a) Prohibition.--None of the funds appropriated or
otherwise made available by this Act for the Department of
Defense may be obligated or expended to change the name of
the Department of Defense to the ``Department of War'' or any
substantially similar designation, unless such change is
expressly authorized by an Act of Congress.
(b) Applicability.--The prohibition under subsection (a)
shall apply to--
(1) any rebranding, renaming, or relabeling of official
documents, signage, websites, communications, or materials;
(2) any administrative, logistical, or contractual actions
taken to implement such a name change; and
(3) any public communications or directives that refer to
the Department of Defense by a name other than that
established under section 111 of title 10, United States
Code.
(c) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall
be construed to prohibit the informal or colloquial use of
the term ``Pentagon'' to refer to the Department of Defense
or its headquarters building in public communications, press
materials, or commentary.
(d) Reporting Requirement.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
detailing any expenditures incurred or anticipated in
connection with efforts to rename or rebrand the Department
of Defense.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on the
Budget, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on the
Budget, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
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