The Senate voted Tuesday to proceed with floor debate on its version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week, with the House to follow next week.
The Senate voted 84-to-14 on the motion to invoke cloture, or to initiate the process for a debate on the bill, Tuesday evening. This means the entire Senate will now meet to consider the bill, provide amendments, and eventually pass a version that it can workshop with the House.
Meanwhile, the House announced that the Committee on Rules may meet next week, the week of Sept. 8, to set the rules for floor debate for its version of the NDAA.
The annual NDAA sets the spending limit for defense agencies, including the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the DOE’s semi-autonomous agency in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. The Senate Armed Services Committee in July authorized the highest limit yet for NNSA at $26.87 billion, over $400 million more than what its House counterpart authorized.
A provision in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s original version of the bill could protect NNSA employees from federal government hiring freezes and any layoffs courtesy of the Department of Government Efficiency. The provision would classify DOE workers performing “Atomic Energy Defense Activities” as “necessary to meet national security responsibilities,” thereby exempt from layoffs.