Reuters. The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday (December 10) passed a compromise version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a nearly $1 trillion bill setting policy for the Pentagon that Congress hopes to pass for a 65th straight year.
Because it becomes law every year, Congress uses the NDAA as a vehicle for a wide range of initiatives, from pay raises for the troops to competition with China and Russia and major weapons programs. It is closely watched by major defense companies, such as Lockheed Martin, RTX Corp , and other firms that receive Department of Defense contracts.
The bill provides $800 million for Ukraine - $400 million for each of the next two years - as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays U.S. companies for weapons for Ukraine's military. It also authorizes the Baltic Security Initiative and provides $175 million to support Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia's defense.
The bill, which now goes to the Senate, also limits the Defense Department's ability to drop the number of U.S. forces in Europe to fewer than 76,000 and bars the U.S. European Commander from giving up the title of NATO Supreme Commander.
The bill includes extensive support for Israel, including full funding for cooperative missile defense programs Iron Dome and David's Sling. And it requires an ongoing assessment of international arms embargoes against Israel, such as those responding to the war in Gaza, and an evaluation of whether the U.S. can step in to fill Israel's defense production needs.
