House Armed Services Committee passes defense policy bill

The House Armed Services Committee voted 55-2 to pass the annual defense policy bill last night, with key provisions aimed at reforming the Pentagon’s acquisition system.

The bill authorizes $882.6 billion in national defense spending, with $848.3 billion for the Defense Department. When combined with the recently passed budget reconciliation bill, the amount of total national defense spending is somewhere around $1 trillion for fiscal year 2026, with $961 billion for DOD.

Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) said the defense policy legislation “builds on the wins” from the reconciliation bill, “revitalizing our defense industrial base, improving our servicemembers’ quality of life and building out our readiness capabilities.”

The bill includes the SPEED Act (Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery), which would, among other things, establish a new rapid acquisition authority tasked with elevating key procurement decisions to the offices of top Pentagon officials.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the committee’s ranking member, said the bill is the product of bipartisan effort.

“This year’s bill fundamentally reforms the Defense Acquisition System (DAS) to cut through red tape and deliver capabilities to service members as quickly and effectively as possible so they can respond to rapidly evolving scenarios,” he said in a statement.

The only lawmakers to vote against the bill were Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Sara Jacobs (D-CA).

The bill, among numerous amendments added during yesterday’s marathon mark-up session, includes an amendment from Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) that authorizes a $1 billion increase in funding to purchase two Virginia-class submarines.

Smith was also able to successfully offer an amendment to boost Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funding from $300 million to $400 million, redirecting $84 million from the Navy’s frigate development program and another $16 million from the service’s test and evaluation support account.

The bill was also amended to block retirement of A-10 aircraft in FY-26, while a different provision prohibits cancelation of funding for the E-7 Wedgetail program.

Democrats, meanwhile, lost votes on a range of issues, including cutting funding for the land-based leg of the nuclear triad, blocking funding for the Qatari “Air Force One” jet, and seeking accountability from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over “Signalgate.”

The committee also voted down amendments from Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) that would have blocked investments for space-based interceptors for the Golden Dome missile defense program.

The legislation will now proceed to the House Rules Committee and then the House floor for additional amendments. Should it pass, the legislation will need to be reconciled with the Senate Armed Services Committee, which has a topline that is $32 billion higher.

Watch Inside Defense for further reporting.