2 Down, 10 to Go: House Approves FY26 Defense Funding Bill in Late-Night Vote

It flew a bit under the radar — overshadowed by the rescissions package and coming in the middle of the night — so folks would be forgiven if they didn't realize that the House passed another appropriations bill, but pass it they did. Following the past-midnight vote on the rescissions package Friday, the House passed the FY26 defense appropriations bill. There are 12 in total, and they passed the first one (the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act) in June.

Bear in mind: The fiscal year starts in October. So, in theory, Congress needs to pass all 12 appropriations bills before then. So far, the House has passed two (and the Senate has not yet passed any), so they've got a long way to go. Of course, the last time Congress actually passed all appropriations bills in timely fashion, I was fresh out of law school and Bill Clinton was president. In fact, in the 50 years or so that they've followed the current budgeting system, they've only managed to do that four times.

Congress has passed all its required appropriations measures on time only four times: fiscal 1977 (the first full fiscal year under the current system), 1989, 1995 and 1997. And even those last three times, Congress was late in passing the budget blueprint that, in theory at least, precedes the actual spending bills.

That's not the most encouraging track record. Still, we've seen some promise out of the 119th Congress. And they did manage to take this important step in the right direction without a ton of Sturm und Drang (on the Republican side, at least).

The House early on Friday approved legislation allocating roughly $832 billion in funding for defense programs for fiscal year 2026, just weeks after Republicans approved a separate $150 billion plan to advance President Trump’s defense priorities.
The GOP-led chamber approved the bill 221-209, mostly along party lines. Five Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while three Republicans opposed it.
...
The bill passed Thursday would boost funding for active, reserve, and National Guard military personnel by $6.6 billion above current levels, to a total of $189 billion. It also allows for an increase of 3.8 percent in basic pay for military personnel that would take effect beginning in January.
It calls for $174 billion for procurement, up $6.5 billion from current levels, and would provide $283 billion for operation and maintenance, or a roughly $7 billion decrease below 2025 levels.
The bill also includes about $148 billion for research, development, test and evaluation, as well as boosts for Defense Department health programs and overseas humanitarian, disaster, and civic aid programs.

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Here are some of the key takeaways on the bill, which is "flat to the Fiscal Year 2025 enacted level, advances the America First agenda, and adheres to the discretionary budget topline put forward in the OMB budget request":

Champions America’s military superiority by:
Enhancing investments in 5th and 6th generation aircraft including the F-35, F-47, and F/A-XX.
Supporting the modernization of the nuclear triad: the B-21 Raider, the Columbia Class Submarine, and Sentinel.
Targeting resources for unmanned aerial systems, uncrewed maritime platforms, and land-based counter-unmanned aerial systems to advance capabilities and strengthen our national defense.
Investing in national security space, including proliferated missile warning, missile tracking satellite, and next generation intelligence collection systems to ensure national leaders have real-time global situational awareness.
Allocating approximately $13 billion for missile defense and space programs to augment and integrate in support of the Golden Dome effort.
Providing over $2.6 billion for hypersonics programs.
Reversing the “divest to invest” trend by preserving F-15s and U-2s while investing in next-generation fighters and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems.
Continuing to prioritize innovation through over $1.3 billion combined for the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT), and Office of Strategic Capital (OSC).
Supporting our close ally Israel by providing $500 million for the Israeli Cooperative Missile Defense Programs, and $122.5 million for U.S.-Israel cooperative development programs.
Cares for our troops and their families by:
Including an increase of 3.8% in basic pay for all military personnel effective January 1, 2026.
Continuing historic pay increases enacted in Fiscal Year 2025 for junior enlisted servicemembers.
Improving quality of life, readiness, and continuity for servicemembers by slowing permanent change of station moves, saving over $662 million.

You can read more about it here.

Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.

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