Passed
221 Yea209 Nay2 Not voting1/2 required
HR-4016-119
Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (CR S8522)
Sponsored by Ken Calvert (R-CA)
What it does
This bill would appropriate funds for the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2026 (ending September 30, 2026). It sets specific dollar amounts for military personnel pay and benefits across all service branches (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, Reserves, and National Guard), operations and maintenance, weapons and equipment procurement, shipbuilding, research and development, and environmental restoration at former military sites. It also funds counter-ISIS train-and-equip programs, cooperative threat reduction, and overseas humanitarian assistance.
Who benefits
Active-duty military personnel and their families (pay and benefits); Reserve and National Guard members; military retirees receiving retirement fund contributions; defense contractors and manufacturers (aircraft, shipbuilding, missiles, ammunition, vehicles, electronics); communities near military bases that depend on defense spending; small businesses supported through APEX Accelerator programs ($70M minimum); foreign security forces receiving counter-ISIS training and equipment; communities near former military sites receiving environmental cleanup funding; U.S. shipyards required to build naval vessels domestically.
Who is hurt
Taxpayers who bear the cost of the overall spending level; programs or agencies whose funding was reduced through the numerous line-item cuts embedded in the bill; non-defense discretionary programs that may face pressure if overall budget caps are binding; foreign security forces or groups that do not pass vetting requirements for counter-ISIS assistance; defense contractors who lose bids to competitors favored by specific line-item increases; communities near military installations that may be affected by base consolidation decisions.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that the bill funds the core constitutional obligation to provide for the common defense, ensuring military readiness at a time of heightened global competition with near-peer adversaries. They contend that funding for shipbuilding, missile procurement, and space capabilities directly addresses documented capability gaps identified in the National Defense Strategy, while the domestic shipbuilding requirement protects the U.S. industrial base and hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that the bill's overall spending level contributes to unsustainable federal deficits without sufficient accountability for how funds are spent, noting that the DoD has repeatedly failed its financial audits. They contend that the large number of line-item adjustments — many offsetting increases and decreases — obscures true spending priorities and limits meaningful congressional oversight, while funds for foreign security forces carry risks of misuse despite vetting requirements.
Passed