The House early Friday also approved an $831.5 billion defense spending bill for fiscal year 2026. That level of base funding is the same as enacted for the current fiscal year, though Republicans recently also provided an extra $150 billion for the Pentagon as part of their tax-and-spending package passed early this month.
The defense appropriations bill was approved in a 221-209 vote that saw five Democrats join with Republicans in support of the bill and three Republicans vote with most Democrats against it.
“We ensure our troops can deter, fight, and win,” House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole said in a statement. “Strategic investments restore military strength, accelerate innovation, and reinforce peace through strength. The bill also bolsters U.S. industrial supply chains, delivers next-generation weapons and assets, and includes a well-earned pay raise for our troops.”
The bill calls for a 3.8% basic pay raise for all military personnel. It also allocates about $13 billion for missile defense and space programs supporting President Trump’s “Golden Dome” planned national missile shield. And it includes a number of controversial and divisive culture war policy riders, including prohibitions on funding for abortion-related travel, drag queen shows and Covid vaccine and mask mandates.
Democrats warned that the GOP bill could harm military preparedness and criticized the Republicans for failing to include $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Democratic appropriators also complained that the White House had failed to submit a comprehensive budget request. “For the first time in modern history, the Defense Appropriations Act was written without the submission of the President’s budget request — that makes this bill an incomplete product,” Rep. Betty McCollum, the top Democrat on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said in a statement.
What’s next: The House bill still needs to be reconciled with the Senate’s defense appropriations bill, but the Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet released its plan. Senate Republicans are reportedly planning to bring their first annual spending bills to the floor as soon as next week, but the annual appropriations process is far behind where it needs to be for lawmakers to have their work done by the start of the next fiscal year on October 1. Another stopgap funding bill is more than likely.