Pentagon to run crisis drills with Treasury, Commerce, and private firms
S. 3160 — A bill to provide for interagency tabletop exercises to assess the impacts of Department of Defense decisions during crises and evaluate United States Government tools available to augment Department of Defense capabilities in competition, crisis, and conflict, and for other purposes. · Filed by Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) · Introduced Nov 7, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires the Secretary of Defense to run tabletop exercises (simulated crisis scenarios) that bring together economic agencies (Treasury, Commerce, Transportation, Trade Representative, National Economic Council) and private-sector representatives to assess how Defense Department decisions affect the economy during crises and to identify economic tools the government can use to support military capabilities. The Secretary must brief Congress by December 31, 2025, on current and planned efforts to include these economic and private-sector participants in these exercises.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to mandate tabletop exercises and interagency coordination between Defense and economic agencies to improve crisis decision-making. It is a procedural/planning measure, not a substantive policy change or appropriation.
What the text implies
- Formalizing private-sector participation in classified/unclassified DoD crisis planning may create ongoing channels for corporate input into military strategy and economic policy during emergencies.
- The bill does not specify which private-sector representatives are invited, potentially allowing DoD discretion to favor certain industries or companies in crisis-planning access.
- Tabletop exercises may reveal or test economic coercion tools (sanctions, trade restrictions, supply-chain leverage) that the government intends to use alongside military action, signaling strategic intent to adversaries.
Who it affects
The bill promotes interagency coordination and transparency by requiring the DoD to systematically assess economic impacts of military decisions and to brief Congress on these efforts. This strengthens democratic oversight and may improve crisis decision-making by ensuring economic consequences are considered alongside military strategy.
Named in the bill
Department of Defense, Secretary of Defense, Department of the Treasury, Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation, Office of the US Trade Representative, National Economic Council, Senate Committee on Armed Services, Congressional defense committees
Where it stands
- Nov 7, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Nov 7, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Armed Services · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jun 8, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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