House passes 2027 NDAA while measure remains stalled in the Senate

WASHINGTON — Down a mainly party line vote today, the House passed its version of a $1.15 trillion fiscal 2027 defense authorization bill on a 216-to-212 vote after GOP leaders succeeded with a plan to later merge it with a controversial voter eligibility measure.

“[There are] provisions in this bill that some folks disagree with, but understand that this is just a single step in a long process,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said on the chamber floor today before the final vote on the FY27 National Defense Authorization Act.

“I want everyone to know that we will continue to work in a bipartisan manner as we make our way through the conference committee,” he added before the vote that saw seven Republicans vote no and six Democrats vote in support. “We will work to produce a bill that can pass both chambers and be signed into law.”

The chamber’s final vote followed debate over an array of amendments over the past day. In the end, members attached several provisions to the legislation including those establishing the “presumption of approval” to allow US service members and civilian employees to carry firearms on bases, reauthorizing the Defense Production Act through 2031 and preventing TRICARE health care coverage from covering “certain gender related” medical procedures and treatments for uniformed personnel. 

House members also rejected several measures, including an overwhelming defeat of an amendment to restrict Ukraine Security Assistance funding.

The NDAA is separate from the defense spending bill and designed to set policy for the coming year while authorizing spending levels for the base budget. For FY27, the Pentagon has requested an unprecedented $1.5 trillion defense budget but that is split with $1.15 trillion in the base budget and an additional $350 billion in a reconciliation pot. 

The now House-approved version authorizes the Pentagon to spend $1.15 trillion next year while including “right to repair” provisions and $500 million for a second destroyer.

Meanwhile, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee approved their version of the $1.14 trillion FY27 defense policy bill back in June, but Senate Democrats have blocked it from moving to the floor over opposition to the war with Iran and concerns about the defense spending growth.

If and when the Senate approves the policy legislation, the House and Senate then typically hammer out the differences between the two versions before each chamber again votes on a final version.