House Armed Services committee advances FY2026 NDAA with bipartisan subcommittee marks

The House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday adopted a series of subcommittee prints and en bloc amendment packages that together form the base text of the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.

Committee Chair Mike Rogers said the markup reflects “hundreds of hours of oversight” and stressed the panel’s push for acquisition reform and industrial-base investments. “This bill is the product of hundreds of hours of oversight done by all members and staff over the past few months,” Rogers said during opening remarks.

Chairs of the committee’s subpanels described their priorities before votes. Rep. Robert "Bobby" Whitman (R‑Va.), chair of the Tactical Air and Land Forces subcommittee, previewed provisions to elevate counter‑drone authorities, boost tactical aircraft procurement and increase transparency in munitions supply chains. Rep. Dr. David DesJarlais (R‑Tenn.), chair of Strategic Forces, outlined authorization for nuclear enterprise modernization and new rapid capabilities within the national nuclear security enterprise. Rep. Mike Kelly (R‑Miss.) described the Sea Power mark’s shipbuilding authorizations and shipyard investments. Each subcommittee print was moved, considered en bloc packages of Member amendments, and was adopted by voice vote or recorded motion at the table.

The committee repeatedly handled amendments en bloc — dozens of Member filings were included in consent packages and agreed to without individual recorded roll calls. Subcommittee chairs thanked professional staff by name; for example Whitman recognized Michael Kerlin, Heath Bope and others for drafting the Tactical Air and Land mark, while several subcommittee vice chairs and ranking members likewise credited their staffs.

Votes at the conclusion of each subcommittee’s consideration reflected bipartisan cooperation on many topic areas; where disagreement persisted, Members preserved the right to press individual amendments for separate consideration. The full committee also adopted procedural motions to treat subcommittee prints as the original text for purposes of the markup and to postpone recorded votes until the conclusion of each subcommittee block.

Members said the focus for the next step will be reconciling the committee’s authorizations with appropriations committees and reconciling the NDAA text with supplemental or reconciliation appropriations passed elsewhere. With hundreds of Member amendments in the queue and multiple en bloc packages agreed to, the panel moved the markup forward while preserving recorded‑vote options for contentious items.

Ending: The panel’s action advances the FY2026 authorization toward a full committee report and eventual House floor consideration; committee leaders said conference with the Senate and reconciliation with appropriators will follow to finalize funding levels and any cross‑cutting policy changes.