Political Awareness

Overview

Congress primarily considers two major annual defense bills, one for authorizing spending and another for appropriating the funds for said spending. This is due to Congress having a very strict financial two-step process wherein different legislation must be created for authorization versus appropriation. While it would seem that authorization acts must be passed before appropriations acts, in practice this is not always the case, nor is it a legal requirement. 

Authorization Act

The Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act aims to increase the overall national defense budget by a substantial margin. As the act currently stands, it would authorize roughly $1.15 trillion for national defense. For comparison, the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act authorized approximately $890 billion. This increase in budget targets expanding technological capabilities, military readiness, and servicemember compensation. While this authorization act can recommend funding levels, which is where the $1.15 trillion number comes from, it cannot actually appropriate the funds for the programs. 

Appropriations Act

The Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Appropriations Act provides a total discretionary allocation of $1.072 trillion for national defense, roughly 28% higher than the approximately $839.2 billion allocated by the 2026 Appropriations Act. Unlike the authorization bill, which moves through the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, appropriations bills move through the Defense Subcommittee of the House and the Senate Appropriations Committee. Because appropriations bills actually release the federal funds, they are subject to intense fiscal scrutiny before reaching the House or Senate floor.

Tracking Legislation

Authorization Act (H.R. 8800, S. 4784)

Both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees have approved their own respective versions of the authorization act. The House bill, known as H.R. 8800, passed the House on July 22, 2026. The bill passed with a vote of 216 to 212, with seven Republicans voting no, and six Democrats voting yes. It is currently awaiting a floor debate and subsequent vote in the Senate. The Senate bill, known as S. 4784, has faced some procedural delays; a procedural vote to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to consideration failed to reach the required vote threshold in mid-July. Invoking cloture is a procedure used to limit further debate and allow the Senate to proceed towards a vote.

Appropriations Act (H.R. 9495)

The House Appropriations Committee formally approved the House bill H.R. 9495 on June 24, 2026. The bill was approved by a 34-27 vote. It is currently awaiting placement on the House floor calendar for debate and a full vote by the chamber. The Senate Appropriations Committee has yet to mark up its formal version of the appropriations bill. This delay is due to ongoing negotiations regarding various spending allocations. 

Allocation of Funds in H.R. 9495

When analyzing the allocation of funds laid out in these bills, using what has been detailed in the appropriations bill is the most accurate measure. For instance, if the authorization bill authorizes $100 million for a particular program, while the appropriations bill only allocates $50 million for that program, the program will only receive the $50 million despite the program cap being $100 million. Therefore, all allocations highlighted below will be from the appropriations bill. Additionally, as the Senate Appropriations Committee has yet to formally pass its version of the bill, we will be looking solely at House bill H.R. 9495. 

Procurement, Munitions, and Advanced Technology

• $836 million for procurement of low-cost munition systems.
• $7.5 billion for hypersonic weapons and test infrastructure.
• $2.9 billion for Defense Production Act and Office of Strategic Capital.
• $1.7 billion for Defense Innovation Unit and Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies.
• $1 billion for the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group.
• $1.4 billion for the Joint Interagency Task Force 401.

Support for Servicemembers and Military Families

• Military pay raise of 7% for all military personnel ranked E-5 and below, 6% for E-6 to O-3, and 5% for O-4 and above.
• $15 million for the Military and Family Life Counseling Program.

Defense Management

• $250 million to accelerate the transition to an audit-ready financial management environment.
• Digitizing acquisition processes through $72.5 million for Acquisition Visibility.  
• $140.1 million for the Mission Engineering and Integration Activity.
• $92.7 million for Acquisition Integration and Interoperability.

Transnational Drug Trafficking 

• $1.2 billion for counter-drug programs.
• Increasing funding for the National Guard Counter-Drug Program.
• $464.8 million for United States Southern Command.

Prohibited Funding 

• No funding to support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, Critical Race Theory, or abortion-related travel.
• Prohibiting the use of funds to destroy surplus firearms or spent brass that are no longer of use to the United States military.

Citations

H.R.8800 – 119th Congress (2025-2026): National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027 | congress.gov | Library of Congress. (n.d.-a). https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8800

H.R.9495 – 119th Congress (2025-2026): Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2027 | congress.gov | Library of Congress. (n.d.-b). https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9495/all-info

S.4784 – 119th Congress (2025-2026): National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027 | congress.gov | Library of Congress. (n.d.-c). https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4784

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