US House Committee Approves Georgia Security and Political Prisoner Amendments for Defense Bill
By Messenger Staff
Monday, June 8, 2026
The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services has approved two Georgia-related amendments for inclusion in the draft U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The annual, must-pass legislation will now require formal reports examining alleged political prisoners in Georgia, alongside assessments of Russian and Chinese intelligence operations within the country.
The provisions were introduced by Republican House Representative Joe Wilson, a vocal critic of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party. The legislative maneuver follows stalled progress on the standalone MEGOBARI Act, a bipartisan bill passed by the House in May 2025 that sought to impose direct sanctions on Georgian officials but subsequently stalled in the Senate.
The first approved amendment establishes a formal congressional stance on Georgia's internal political environment, directing the Pentagon to incorporate human rights concerns directly into its defense diplomacy. The text states:
"The committee expresses concern over the continued detention and imprisonment of opposition leaders, activists, and other individuals widely regarded as political prisoners in Georgia and believes this issue should be raised consistently and at appropriately senior levels in bilateral engagements with the Government of Georgia and the Armed Forces of Georgia."
To enforce this, the amendment instructs the U.S. Secretary of Defense to submit an unclassified report to the House Committee on Armed Services no later than October 1, 2026, detailing "the Department of Defense's strategy for incorporating the issue of political prisoners into military-to-military engagements with Georgia."
The second amendment targets foreign adversarial influence within Georgia's state structures. It mandates that the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of State, submit a classified report within 180 days of the law's enactment. The review must examine "the penetration of Russian and Chinese intelligence elements and their assets in Georgia" while assessing "the potential intersection of Russian and Chinese influence and cooperation in Georgia."
Beyond intelligence gathering, the provision mandates that the Secretary of State author a comprehensive five-year U.S. strategy for bilateral relations with Georgia. According to the text, this strategy must outline:
"Specific objectives for enhancing bilateral ties which reflect the current domestic political environment in Georgia, determine the extent to which the United States should continue to invest in Georgia, assess whether the country should remain a top recipient of United States funding in the Europe and Eurasia region, and whether the Government of Georgia remains committed to expanding trade ties with the United States and Europe."
International relations expert Eka Akobia, Dean of the School of Governance at Caucasus University, noted that the blockages facing the MEGOBARI Act likely forced lawmakers to leverage the NDAA mechanism.
"Despite the fact that Georgian Dream considered the blocking of the standalone bill (MEGOBARI Act) in the Senate a success, this move and obstruction triggered a backlash and paved the way for the initiation of more dangerous mechanisms in the U.S. legislature under Wilson's leadership," Akobia stated.
However, Akobia cautioned that the defense bill still faces a lengthy legislative pipeline before final enactment. She noted that "the risks are lower, as the demands are more narrowly scoped and do not call for immediate action, but rather only require information gathering and a public report."
The deployment of the NDAA comes amid intensifying contacts between Tbilisi and Washington, despite ongoing political strain. Responding to Representative Wilson's remarks, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope to "perhaps change the trajectory not just of our relationship with Georgia, but of their behavior," adding that Washington is currently "seeing some positive responses" from Tbilisi.
