The US Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to advance a $901 billion bill setting policy for the Pentagon, sending the bulk of the legislation to the White House, which has said Donald Trump will sign it into law.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, or NDAA, is a compromise between separate measures approved earlier this year in the House of Representatives and Senate, foreign media write, reports Telegraph.
It authorizes a record $901 billion in annual military spending, with a 4% increase in pay for troops, purchases of military equipment and efforts to increase competitiveness with the US's main rivals, China and Russia.
The Senate supported the bill by 77 votes to 20, with strong support from both parties.
The House of Representatives approved the bill last week.
In a defiance of Trump, whose Republicans hold majorities in both the House and Senate, this year's NDAA includes few provisions to boost security in Europe, despite Trump earlier this month releasing a national security strategy seen as friendly to Russia and a reassessment of the U.S. relationship with Europe.
The National Defense Authorization Agreement (NDAA) for fiscal year 2026 provides $800 million to Ukraine – $400 million in each of the next two years – as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays American companies for weapons for the Ukrainian military.
It also authorizes the Baltic Security Initiative and provides $175 million to support the defense of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
And it limits the Defense Department's ability to reduce the number of U.S. forces in Europe to fewer than 76,000 and bars the U.S. European commander from relinquishing the title of NATO's supreme commander.
The NDAA also does not include funding to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, something Trump wants but cannot officially do without Congressional approval. /Telegraph/
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