House Armed Services passes NDAA measures on DoD, NNSA

The House Armed Services Committee Tuesday approved fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) provisions to, among other things, create a new Rapid Capabilities Program within the National Nuclear Security Administration.

The NDAA passed late Tuesday 55-2 and now advances to a full House markup.

The provision within the committee’s Strategic Forces subcommittee segment of the markup, is meant “to enhance our ability to respond to growing nuclear threats from China and Russia,” said Subcommittee Chair Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.).

The House Armed Services’ nuclear policy bill for fiscal 2026 would authorize $25.4 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), almost $200 million more than the White House requested in the fiscal 2026 budget. The House Armed Services bill would establish a New Advanced Nuclear Energy Working Group, and also codify NNSA plans for plutonium pit production at two locations: Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

During the hours-long markup, the committee voted down a proposed amendment by Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) that would have negated current timetables for producing 80 plutonium pits per year. NNSA is not going to reach 80 pits per year by 2030 or, for that matter, 2035, he said. 

Republicans who spoke against the measure said the California Democrat unsuccessfully proposed a similar measure last year. 

The House Committee’s NDAA bill would also support the Golden Dome, a proposed U.S. anti-missile system proposed by President Donald Trump. The system would be akin to one employed by Israel.

There was skepticism expressed about the case for and implementation of the Golden Dome by Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), the ranking Democrat on the Strategic Forces subcommittee.

It appears to reflect the Trump administration’s drift toward a philosophy “that we would try to defeat, not deter, a large-scale nuclear attack,” Moulton said. The White House has not offered a “rationale” or a plan for the Golden Dome, he said.

“And yet, we are throwing upwards of $25 billion in taxpayer money to the wind or, more accurately, into space,” Moulton said. “That is dangerous and, I dare say, dumb.”

Aside from the Golden Dome provision, however, the overall bill is good and “largely bipartisan,” Moulton said.

An amendment from Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), adopted as part of a large bipartisan package of amendments, adds $1 billion for the Virginia-class submarine program by making reductions to about two dozen Navy procurement and research development accounts, including cutting $200 million for the AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare system and $100 million for “Strategic System Missile Equipment.”

“A bipartisan table change amendment addresses partially the Virginia shortfall and our mark’s inclusion of incremental funding authority for Columbia-class will ensure that the program’s accelerating production will not seize up because of this funding gap. These fixes are not the final word and will require additional work through conference in the future,” Courtney said. 

The full committee adopted by unanimous consent a large bloc of amendments from Strategic Forces. One such bloc backs NNSA plans for modernization of the Office of Secure Transportation, as proposed by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas); improving warhead assembly and disassembly practices at the Pantex Plant in Texas, also proposed by Jackson; and a report on adequacy of the NNSA workforce.

The NNSA administrator would be required to brief House Armed Services by Feb. 1, 2026 on the workforce’s ability to carry out the NNSA mission, according to the amendment.

The topline is $893 billion, which matches President Donald Trump’s discretionary request and would be 14% greater than fiscal 2025. With the newly passed reconciliation bill, if the House’s NDAA is passed that would mean $1.04 trillion authorized for defense spending in fiscal 2026.

Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily contributed to this report.