The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) marked up its version of the bill on July 15, culminating with a strong bipartisan vote of 55-2 to advance the bill out of committee. This followed the Senate Armed Services Committee’s July 11 passage of its own version by a vote of 26-1. The bills are now cleared to be considered by the full House and Senate chambers, where they could be further amended.

“For the 65^th consecutive year, House Armed Services Committee Democrats and Republicans have worked across the aisle to craft a bipartisan defense bill,” said HASC Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) in a statement. “The bill as passed out of committee ensures service members and their families remain among our core priorities. It also authorizes critically needed investment in America’s industrial base so we can get to capacity in terms of critical munitions and other critical technologies. I am proud to work with my colleague and friend, Chairman Mike Rogers, in passing this package out of committee in the spirit of bipartisan compromise and with a shared commitment to ensuring that we continue to provide for the common defense. I urge Speaker Johnson to take up this legislation in that same spirit of bipartisanship and work with both sides of the aisle to ensure that it remains focused on the core priorities and needs of our armed forces and national security to ensure bipartisan passage on the House floor later this year.”

For a summary of the House version of the bill, click here. You can access additional resources on the FY 2026 NDAA here.

The Senate is poised to take up its version of the FY 2026 NDAA when it returns next month from the August recess. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) set up the chamber to vote on a motion to proceed on September 2, the day Congress resumes its session. That would surely please Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) who stated he hopes Senate work on the NDAA would be “the first agenda item when we come back from August [recess].”

In a statement on SASC’s passage of the bill, Chairman Wicker said, “Today, the United States is operating in the most dangerous threat environment we have faced since World War II. The bill my committee advanced today is a direct reflection of the severity of that threat environment, as well as the rapidly evolving landscape of war. My colleagues and I have prioritized reindustrialization and the structural rebuilding of the arsenal of democracy. Accordingly, we have set forth historic reforms to modernize the Pentagon’s budgeting and acquisition operations. Senator Reed’s partnership shows the bipartisan support for doing more to maintain deterrence and protect American interests. I look forward to advancing the bill toward final passage to secure President Trump’s ‘Peace Through Strength’ agenda.”

The Senate bill would provide more than $32 billion in national spending funding beyond the Pentagon’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2026. To view the executive summary of the Senate version, click here.