FY2026 NDAA: Status of Legislative Activity

On May 2, 2025, President Donald Trump submitted documentation supporting the FY2026 budget request, including proposed funding for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), atomic energy defense activities primarily of the U.S. Department of Energy, and other national defense-related activities. (DOD is "using a secondary Department of War designation," under Executive Order 14347, dated September 5, 2025.) The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) sets policy and authorizes appropriations for the majority of these activities. This product summarizes key congressional activity on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (H.R. 3838; S. 2296; P.L. 119-60), which became law on December 18, 2025.

In the House, on July 11, 2025, Representative Mike Rogers, chair of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), and Representative Adam Smith, HASC ranking member, released draft legislative proposals, or prints, for matters in the FY2026 NDAA under the jurisdictions of the seven subcommittees. They also released a draft legislative proposal (described as a chairman's mark, also known as a chair's mark) for portions of the bill not in the subcommittee marks. Unlike in some previous years, HASC subcommittees did not consider and report a mark to the full committee. Each subcommittee released a print (containing bill language and directive report language). On July 15, the full committee took up a previously introduced bill, H.R. 3838 (the Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery Act of 2025, which addressed defense acquisition issues). HASC then considered the subcommittee prints, the chair's mark, and additional amendments to H.R. 3838. HASC voted 55-2 to order H.R. 3838 reported to the House with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, reflecting the product of the markup.

On August 19, the committee reported the bill and filed its accompanying report, H.Rept. 119-231. On September 8-9, the House Rules Committee met to report a structured special rule, H.Res. 682, and accompanying report, H.Rept. 119-255, for House consideration of H.R. 3838. On September 9, the House adopted the special rule and began considering amendments. On September 10, the House completed consideration of H.R. 3838 and passed it, as amended, 231-196.

In the Senate, on July 8-9, the seven subcommittees of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) held markups of draft legislative proposals with recommendations for matters in the FY2026 NDAA under their respective jurisdictions. All but one of the markups (Subcommittee on Personnel) were in closed session. On July 9, the full committee considered the legislation in closed session and voted 26-1 to order reported an original bill reflecting the product of the markup.

On July 15, SASC reported to the Senate S. 2296, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, and filed its accompanying report, S.Rept. 119-39. On September 4, the Senate took up and began considering S. 2296, to which Senator Roger Wicker proposed an amendment in the nature of a substitute (S.Amdt. 3748) based on the text of S. 2296 and additional provisions. The Senate considered the bill, and dozens of floor amendments, on multiple days in September and early October. On October 9, the Senate agreed by unanimous consent to the amendment, as modified and amended, and passed the measure, as amended, 77-20.

As with the FY2022, FY2023, and FY2025 NDAA measures, the chambers did not establish a conference committee to resolve differences between the two versions of the bill. Instead, HASC and SASC leaders negotiated a bicameral agreement based on the text passed by each chamber. On December 8, HASC and SASC released the agreement, drafted as a House amendment to S. 1071 (an unrelated bill). An accompanying explanatory statement (with the same effect as a joint explanatory statement of a conference committee) was published in the House section of the December 10 edition of the Congressional Record.

On December 10, pursuant to the terms of a special rule, H.Res. 936, the House debated and agreed to the proposal, 312-112, and returned the bill to the Senate. The Senate took up the House amendment on December 11 and on December 17 agreed to the proposal without changes, 77-20. On December 18, President Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 into law (P.L. 119-60).

Table 1 shows key activity and documentation associated with the proposed and enacted versions of the FY2026 NDAA.

Figure 1 shows the number of days between the start of the fiscal year and enactment of the defense authorization act since FY1977, when the federal government transitioned to a fiscal year beginning October 1, 1976. For FY2026, the period was 78 days.

Figure 1. Days Between Start of Fiscal Year and Enactment of Defense Authorization Acts FY1977-FY2026 (in days)

Source: CRS analysis of CRS Report 98-756, Defense Authorization and Appropriations Bills: FY1961-FY2021, by Barbara Salazar Torreon and Sofia Plagakis; P.L. 117-81; P.L. 117-263; P.L. 118-31; P.L. 118-159; and P.L. 119-60. Notes: Positive values indicate number of days between the start of the fiscal year and enactment of annual defense authorization acts. Negative values indicate number of days between enactment of defense authorization acts and start of fiscal year. The figure shows that since FY1977 defense authorization legislation has been enacted, on average, 45 days after the beginning of the fiscal year. Defense authorization legislation for the fiscal years 1979, 1989, 1996, 2008, 2016, and 2021 was enacted over a presidential veto.