Congress Eyes $8B Pentagon Budget Boost in NDAA

Congressional negotiators are closing in on a fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act that would boost defense spending approximately $8 billion above the president’s Pentagon budget request, according to House Armed Services Committee ranking Democrat Adam Smith.

Spoke during an interview at the Reagan National Defense Forum, Smith indicated that leaders from the House and Senate armed services committees, along with congressional leadership, are in final negotiations on the compromise NDAA, with only “three or four issues” remaining to be resolved.

“We’re making a lot of progress. I think we’ve come pretty close,” Smith said, adding that leadership aimed to finalize the agreement “in the next 24 hours.”

The $8 billion topline increase represents a compromise position between competing congressional visions for defense spending. The House-passed NDAA adhered to the Pentagon’s budget request, while the Senate version included approximately $32 billion above the department’s request. The resulting $8 billion figure suggests a measured middle ground that may establish a template for how defense appropriators ultimately structure spending authority.

However, Smith cautioned that the final topline could still shift during negotiations. More significantly, he emphasized that congressional appropriators—not the authorizing committees—retain the ultimate power of the purse over Pentagon funding. Authorizing committees provide recommendations and set policy direction, but appropriators determine the actual budget authority Congress grants to the Defense Department.

Politico reported that the NDAA’s release was delayed as the White House and GOP leadership debated whether to attach unrelated legislative provisions, including a Senate housing package, to the defense bill. Such legislative combinations are common in end-of-year negotiations but can complicate passage.

The appropriations committees face similar decisions ahead. The House Appropriations Committee passed a bill adhering to the Pentagon’s budget request, while the Senate version included approximately $22 billion above that request. The $8 billion compromise figure in the NDAA suggests appropriators may adopt a similar middle-ground approach.

These negotiations occur as Congress works to finalize fiscal 2026 spending before the new fiscal year, with defense authorization serving as a critical first step in the appropriations process. The outcome will significantly influence Pentagon operations, military readiness investments, and strategic capability development across all service branches.

Source ID: SRCE-2025-1765058686232-1217