Amendment Rejected (47-50, 3/5 majority required)
47 Yea50 Nay3 Not voting3/5 required
S-2296-119
Held at the desk.
Sponsored by Roger Wicker (R-MS)
What it does
This bill would authorize funding levels and set policy for the Department of Defense, military construction, Department of Energy defense programs, intelligence agencies, State Department, and Coast Guard for fiscal year 2026. It sets military personnel levels, authorizes weapons procurement and research programs, establishes pay and benefits policies, and includes hundreds of provisions on acquisition rules, foreign security assistance, missile defense, nuclear forces, and administrative matters across ten divisions.
Who benefits
Active-duty and reserve military personnel and their families (through pay, housing, health care, and education provisions); defense contractors and the defense industrial base (through procurement and acquisition changes); shipbuilders and munitions manufacturers; allied nations receiving security assistance (Ukraine, Taiwan, Israel, Baltic states, Philippines); military academies and JROTC programs; and communities near military installations receiving construction funding.
Who is hurt
Taxpayers who fund the roughly $900 billion+ in authorized spending; civilian federal employees affected by workforce and hiring changes; institutions of higher education facing new restrictions on foreign research contracts and indirect cost rates; Guantanamo detainees affected by continued transfer restrictions; transgender service members affected by the restriction on gender-transition surgeries; and communities affected by PFAS-related provisions repealing certain procurement and incineration restrictions.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue the NDAA is essential to maintaining military readiness, competitive pay for service members, and a modernized industrial base capable of countering threats from China, Russia, and other adversaries. They contend provisions like expanded munitions production, shipbuilding authorities, and support for allies such as Taiwan and Ukraine directly strengthen deterrence and national security, and that the bill has passed nearly every year for over six decades with broad bipartisan support.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue the bill's enormous size and hundreds of unrelated riders — covering everything from PFAS regulation rollbacks to social policy on transgender surgeries and DEI restrictions — reflect a broken process that bundles controversial provisions with must-pass military funding, limiting genuine debate. They contend that provisions restricting military-to-civilian oversight, continuing indefinite Guantanamo detention policy, and repealing environmental safeguards impose real costs on affected communities and service members that would not survive standalone scrutiny.
Constitutional context
Congress's authority to raise and support armies and to control military appropriations derives from Article I, Section 8, clauses 12-14 and the Appropriations Clause; provisions continuing restrictions on Guantanamo detainee transfers and detention implicate the Suspension Clause and due process principles from Boumediene v. Bush (2008) and Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004).
Checks and balances
Congress exercises its core Article I war-and-spending powers by authorizing funding levels and personnel strengths, while numerous funding limitations and reporting requirements in the bill act as checks on executive discretion over military operations and detainee policy.
Historical precedent
The NDAA has been enacted annually for over 60 consecutive years, making this a routine continuation of a well-established legislative pattern rather than a novel policy departure.
Amendment Rejected (47-50, 3/5 majority required)
Amendment Rejected (46-52, 3/5 majority required)
Amendment Rejected (46-50, 3/5 majority required)
Amendment Rejected (53-43, 3/5 majority required)
Bill Passed (77-20, 3/5 majority required)
Amendment Rejected (10-88, 3/5 majority required)
Amendment Rejected (47-50, 3/5 majority required)
Amendment Rejected (51-46, 3/5 majority required)
Amendment Rejected (14-83, 3/5 majority required)
Motion to Table Agreed to (51-49)
Motion to Proceed Agreed to (83-13)
Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Agreed to (84-14, 3/5 majority required)