The US Senate voted overwhelmingly to advance a policy-setting $901 billion Pentagon spending bill, sending the massive bill to the White House, which has said President Donald Trump will sign it into law.
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2026, or NDAA, is a compromise between separate measures passed earlier this year in the House of Representatives and Senate.
It authorizes a record $901 billion in annual military spending, with a 4% pay increase for troops.
It also authorizes reforms to the system for purchasing military equipment and includes 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.
Two of the "no" votes were from Republican senators Mike Lee and Rand Paul.
"This will be the 65th consecutive year, the 65th consecutive year, that Congress has gathered across the aisles and in both chambers to send the president a bill designed to support and strengthen national defense," said Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The House of Representatives passed the bill last week, by a vote of 312 to 112, also with broad bipartisan support.
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's release earlier this month of a National Security Strategy seen as friendly to Russia and a reassessment of U.S. relations with Europe.
The fiscal 2026 NDAA 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.
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