FY2027 NDAA: Status of Legislative Activity

On April 3, 2026, President Donald Trump submitted documentation supporting the President's FY2027 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 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 a National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (H.R. 8800; S. 4784).

In the House, on May 26, 2026, 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 an FY2027 NDAA under the jurisdiction of HASC's 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. Each print contained bill language and directive report language. Unlike in some previous years, HASC subcommittees did not consider and report a subcommittee mark to the full committee. On June 4, the full committee took up a previously introduced bill, H.R. 8800. HASC then considered the subcommittee prints, the chair's mark, and additional amendments to H.R. 8800. HASC voted 44-12 to order H.R. 8800 reported to the House with an amendment in the nature of a substitute (ANS), reflecting the product of the markup.

On June 15, the committee reported the bill and filed its accompanying report, H.Rept. 119-698. On June 29, the House Rules Committee met to report a structured rule, H.Res. 1398, and accompanying report, H.Rept. 119-718, for House consideration of H.R. 8800. The rule, if agreed to by the House, would result in adoption by the House of the HASC-reported ANS; the rule also proposed to make 312 floor amendments in order during consideration of H.R. 8800. Additionally, the rule provided that, upon House passage of H.R. 8800, the engrossed text sent to the Senate also include the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which passed the House as an amendment to S. 1383. The House considered H.Res. 1398 on June 30; it failed 198-224. The House Majority Leader moved to reconsider the vote, and further proceedings on the motion to reconsider were postponed.

In the Senate, on June 8-9, the seven subcommittees of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) held markups of draft legislative proposals with recommendations for matters in an FY2027 NDAA under their respective jurisdictions. All but one of the markups (Subcommittee on Personnel) were held in closed session. On June 9-10, the full committee considered the legislation in closed session and on June 10, voted 18-9 to order reported an original bill reflecting the product of the markup.

On June 15, SASC reported to the Senate S. 4784, An original bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes, and filed its accompanying committee report, S.Rept. 119-127. On June 24, the Senate Majority Leader made a motion to proceed to S. 4784 and filed cloture on that motion (setting up a vote by which the Senate may decide to limit debate on the question of taking up the bill).

Table 1 shows selected activities and documentation associated with the proposed and enacted versions of the FY2027 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 on October 1, 1976.

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

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 FY1979, FY1989, FY1996, FY2008, FY2016, and FY2021 was enacted over a presidential veto. The FY2027 NDAA has not been enacted and is not shown in the figure.