Defense Infrastructure Funding in the 119th Congress

The combination of discretionary and mandatory funding appropriations enacted for fiscal year (FY) 2026 has increased Department of Defense (DOD) infrastructure budgets to their highest level in at least 20 years. The Trump Administration's discretionary and mandatory funding request for FY2027, if enacted, would further increase infrastructure spending levels. See Figure 1 and Table 2. (DOD is "using a secondary Department of War designation," under Executive Order 14347 dated September 5, 2025.)

Figure 1. Department of Defense Infrastructure Funding, FY2007 to FY2027 Includes funding for military construction (MILCON) accounts and Facilities, Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization (FSRM), in billions of dollars.

Source: Based on CRS analysis of budget data published by the Department of Defense, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Military Construction, Family Housing, and Base Realignment and Closure Program (C-1) and Operation and Maintenance Programs (O-1), FY2007 to FY2027, available at https://comptroller.war.gov/Budget-Materials/. Data for FY2007 through FY2025 reflect "actual" funding as executed by DOD and reported after the end of the fiscal year in C-1 and O-1 documents. Data for FY2026 reflect "enacted" funding as provided by the DOD Comptroller's office, and FY2027 data show funding levels requested by the Administration. Data available at https://comptroller.war.gov/Budget-Materials/. Notes: The "MILCON" data show funding for line items with an Account Title for "Military Construction." "Family Housing" reflects account titles associated with Family Housing construction, Family Housing Operations, the Family Housing Improvement Fund and the Unaccompanied Military Housing Improvement Fund. The "Other" category includes additional line items contained within the DOD budget's Division B Military Construction and Family Housing accounts, including funding for Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) activities, the NATO Security Investment Program, and, in some instances, the Homeowners Assistance Program.

For FY2026, Congress enacted both discretionary (P.L. 119-37) and mandatory (P.L. 119-21) funding appropriations that increased total funding levels about 25% above FY2025 for Military Construction (MILCON) accounts and for Facilities Sustainment, Restoration, and Modernization (FSRM) accounts.

For FY2027, the President's budget request seeks both discretionary and mandatory funding that would, if enacted, further increase funding levels for MILCON accounts by 26% over FY2026 enacted levels and further increase FSRM by 115% compared to FY2026 enacted levels.

Background

MILCON appropriations fund construction of new military infrastructure, such as barracks, piers, training facilities, and administrative buildings. FSRM appropriations fund the repair and modernization of existing infrastructure facilities.

MILCON and FSRM are separate and distinct accounts within the DOD budget. MILCON and Family Housing funding are typically authorized by the MILCON and Family Housing section of the budget, and budget authority is derived from an annual Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MILCON-VA) Act. MILCON-VA appropriations are typically available for obligation for five years. FSRM funding is provided in the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) portion of DOD's budget and is appropriated annually in a Defense Appropriations Act. FSRM appropriations are typically available for obligation for one year.

Some infrastructure managers and budget planners may consider these two accounts as interrelated because both provide support for infrastructure and, in some instances, investment from one account may diminish the need for spending from the other. For example, when DOD identifies a need for additional infrastructure, DOD officials may evaluate whether the need is better met by planning a new MILCON project or investing FSRM funding in the improvement of an existing facility.

DOD's estimated "deferred maintenance and repairs" backlog—defined as the total estimated cost of maintenance and repairs that were not performed when needed or delayed for a future period—has increased in recent years (see Table 1). The total estimated cost of deferred maintenance and repairs more than doubled from FY2022 to FY2025.

Infrastructure in the 119^th Congress

Some Members of the 119^th Congress have asserted that military infrastructure has been underfunded in the past and have advocated for a funding increase to address a backlog in deferred maintenance and infrastructure needs. For example, at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in June 2025, Senator Mazie Hirono stated concerns about the condition of Army barracks and the Army's reported plans to "divert $1 billion of [FSRM] funding." At the same hearing, Senator Dan Sullivan said: "Simply put, our decaying facilities are causing significant issues with regard to our warfighters and the locations and resilience of our bases could serve as a detriment to our national security during wartime."

Construction projects in the FY2027 request for MILCON appropriations include a Navy drydock facility in Hawaii, authorized to cost a total of $3.6 billion, and projects related to Air Force's Sentinel nuclear-capable missile program, which may replace the Minuteman III.

One factor impacting FSRM budgets is a provision in the FY2025 NDAA (Section 2841), which set new minimum requirements for the military departments to invest certain levels of FSRM funding. The provision, codified in 10 USC §2680, requires the military departments to invest FSRM funds in an amount equal to a percentage of the total plant replacement value (PRV) of certain department facilities. The required investment is to begin in FY2027, at 1.75% of total PRV, and increase incrementally each year until FY2030, when the requirement would reach 4% of total PRV. The law requires DOD to maintain the investment level of 4% for each subsequent fiscal year.

In June 2026, the Trump Administration submitted to Congress a supplemental budget request for $87.6 billion, of which about $67 billion would address DOD needs related to Operation Epic Fury (OEF). The supplemental request did not specify a request for defense infrastructure funding.

Issues for Congress

Congress may consider various changes to the structure of the DOD budget related to infrastructure funding. During the FY2026 legislative process, the Senate-passed version of an FY2026 NDAA (S. 2296) would have moved FSRM funding out of the O&M accounts and placed it within the MILCON accounts. One effect of this change would have been to extend the window of obligation for FSRM authorizations and possibly allow DOD more flexibility to plan FSRM spending and execute contracts for multi-year construction projects.

Congress may consider moving funding for barracks (unaccompanied housing) operations in general, or FSRM for barracks in particular, into a separate appropriation line item, either within O&M accounts or within MILCON accounts. DOD officials have discussed a similar proposal, according to a 2023 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

In debating the FY2027 defense budget, Congress may consider whether or not the DOD request for discretionary and mandatory funding is sufficient to meet congressional concerns about infrastructure investments and the investment requirements under 10 USC §2680.