$901B defense bill clears key Senate debate as year-ends loom

The Senate advanced the annual defense policy bill with a majority bipartisan vote on Monday, leading to the final passage later in the week.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2026 is one of the pieces of legislation that must be passed by Congress every year, and it unlocks billions of dollars in funding for the Pentagon and several other defense-related items.

Lawmakers pushed the major authorization package through a key procedural hurdle in a 76-20 vote. Senators will get their chance to fix the package with a few amendment votes in the coming days.

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The $901 billion package, which is $8 billion more than President Donald Trump requested earlier this year, typically serves as a letter to Congress, closing out the year as one of the few things to pass the docket. And, given that there is no federal funding deadline to face, the NDAA is getting priority treatment in the Senate.

Still, there are thousands of things lawmakers hope to tackle before they head into the new year, including a fix for expiring Obamacare funding, which guarantees nearly 100 Trump appointees, and a five-bill funding package that would likely, if passed, go a long way toward staving off the prospect of another government shutdown in Jan. 30.

Scattered throughout this massive package of nearly 3,000 pages are several provisions related to decades-old military authorities, strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean, Ukraine, the lifting of sanctions, and Washington, DC’s, airspace.

This year’s NDAA would repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs) in the Gulf War and the Iraq War, respectively. Lawmakers have found a rare bipartisan middle ground in their desire to end the AUMFs, which have been used by previous administrations to engage in conflicts in the Middle East for decades.

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks to reporters on his way to the Senate’s weekly policy luncheon at the US Capitol in Washington, Dec. 6, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Then there is the policy that includes several requirements to fulfill the Pentagon’s travel budget, one of which would force the agency to hand over all the unedited videos from the Trump administration’s strikes against suspected drug boats.

It’s a specific provision that underscores bipartisan concerns from Congress about the administration’s handling of strikes, especially after a double strike on Sept. 2 saw several lawmakers calling for more transparency and access to videos.

There is also a provision that has sparked controversy between Senate Republicans and Democrats alike that would roll back safety standards at Washington, DC’s airspace. It comes after a Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger plane collided near Ronald Reagan National Airport earlier this year.

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The Pentagon building in Arlington, Va., April 21, 2023. (Tom Brenner/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the panel, pushed for the provision to be removed with her amendment, which would include safety changes made after the air crash.

Cruz said together with the family members of the victims of the accident, which killed 67, that the condition did not go according to normal.”

“Typically, if you add a provision to the NDAA that affects aviation, you would ask the chairman and the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee for approval,” Cruz said. “No consent was requested. We received this agreement when the final version of the bill came out of the house and was passed.”

There are also several provisions related to Ukraine, including the expansion of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which would authorize $400 million each year to purchase weapons from US defense companies.

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There is a provision that would prevent the US from quietly cutting off intelligence support to the country by requiring at least 48 hours notice explaining why, how long it will last and the impact on Ukraine.

There is also a provision that would improve reporting requirements for all foreign aid flowing to Ukraine from the US and other allies supporting the country in its conflict with Russia.