US Congress considers 'must-pass' defense policy bill

8/12/2025 11:57

U.S. lawmakers on Sunday unveiled an annual defense policy bill authorizing a record $901 billion in national security spending next year, billions more than President Donald Trump's request, and provides $400 million in military assistance to Ukraine.



The sweeping 3,000-page bill includes a 4% raise for enlisted troops but excludes a bipartisan effort to spur housing construction that some lawmakers had hoped to include in the final bill.



House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said in a statement that the legislation would advance Trump's agenda by "ending woke ideology at the Pentagon, securing the border, revitalizing the defense industrial base, and restoring the warrior ethos."



The measure is a compromise between versions of the National Defense Authorization Act passed earlier this year by the Senate and House of Representatives, both controlled by Trump's fellow Republicans.



Trump in May asked Congress for a national defense budget of $892.6 billion for fiscal year 2026, flat compared to 2025 spending. That includes funding for the Department of Defense, as well as other agencies and programs involved with security and defense.



The House bill set spending at that level, but the Senate had authorized $925 billion.