WASHINGTON – Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, voted in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26).
“This year’s NDAA makes tremendous strides to achieve peace through strength by strengthening our warfighters, improving servicemember quality of life, securing our borders, and revitalizing our defense industrial base,” said Rep. Wittman. “I was proud to have led several provisions that were included in the legislation, such as efforts to modernize our naval fleet, expand our defense workforce, and deliver support for Virginia’s shipyards and military installations. The passage of this NDAA reflects our commitment to protecting our nation, maintaining an edge over our adversaries, and supporting our servicemembers. I was proud to vote for this legislation on the House Floor today, and I remain committed to working with my colleagues to advance policies that strengthen our military.”
The bill includes many of Rep. Wittman’s top priorities, including:
Taking Care of Our Troops and Their Families
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Provides a 3.8 percent across-the-board increase in basic pay
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Implementing the ANCHOR for Military Families Act: ensures that military families are informed of their educational rights, school enrollment support, and other key relocation resources, such as housing assistance, spouse employment support, and services through the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP).
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Requires the verification of reporting of eligible federally connected children for the purposes of Federal Impact Aid Programs.
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Supported a provision to allow dependents of Reserve members on active duty with an accompanied Permanent Change of Station (PCS)—regardless of tour length—to enroll in Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools if space is available, addressing current barriers for those on PCS orders under one year; a key priority for Congressman Wittman since Virginia is home to almost 150,000 Department of Defense military force members across Active, Reserve, and National Guard components
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Provides for mandatory contingency payment for care provided by qualifying Children’s Hospitals to active duty service members and their dependents
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Establishes uniform medical accession standards across the armed forces and prohibits disqualification based solely on resolved childhood diagnoses, with the requirement of a transparent waiver process for disqualifications and approvals
Bolstering Our Tactical Aviation Forces
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Recognizes that the Defense Innovation Unit’s Blue UAS Cleared List may no longer be fit to purpose to rapidly expand the domestic drone industrial base and directs the Secretary of Defense to make a determination about the path forward
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Continues investment in the 6th generation aircraft programs in the Air Force and Navy, with long-term ramifications for the Navy’s East Coast Master Jet Base, Naval Air Station Oceana
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Establishes a pilot program to leverage commercial sensor data to support military base defense, building on lessons learned from the challenges faced by Joint Base Langley Eustis for addressing UAS incursions
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Continues oversight of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program and provides funding for additional spare parts to improve the readiness of the platform
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Increases support for the F-15EX
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Directs the accelerated stand up of the Joint Energetics Transition Office to improve the lethality of weapons chemistries leveraged by the Department of Defense, with Radford Army Ammunition Plant serving as a key part of the Army’s organic industrial base
Strengthening the Navy
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Provides $612 million for the advanced procurement of the next aircraft carrier, CVN-82, and gives the Secretary of the Navy with the authority required to enter into a contract for CVN-82 and CVN-83, with the aircraft carrier industrial base supports over 11,800 jobs in Virginia
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Requires the Navy to adjust maintenance schedules and repair actions to maintain the minimum number of available amphibious warships to meet operational requirements, necessitating improved amphibious warship maintenance planning from the Navy and Marine Corps for repair workloads, many of which are supported by naval repair yards in the Norfolk waterfront
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Restores funding for two Virginia-class submarines following the Biden administration’s decision to only fund one submarine in FY24, and fully funds the Columbia-class program–the submarine industrial base supports over 280 suppliers in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and this investment gives shipyards the certainty they need to meet AUKUS-driven goals
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Provides over $2 million to accelerate design work for a pier power project at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown
Ensuring Resilient Space Launch
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Requires the Secretary of the Air Force and the Director of the National Reconnaissance Office to submit a plan regarding upgrades to state spaceports, such as Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, to meet national security launch requirements, potentially supporting high-tech jobs on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, and establishing a more resilient launch infrastructure.
Spurring Defense Innovation
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Recognizing the critical biotechnology economy in the Richmond, VA area, this bill implements many of the recommendations of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology
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Provides equity investment authority to the Office of Strategic Capital, improving its ability to support cutting-edge defense tech firms and small start ups
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The Defense Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is headquartered in Arlington, VA, and this bill scales one of DARPA’s successful initiatives to increase the number of companies with facility clearances and therefore able to join the defense industrial base
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Directs the Navy to use a promising partnership between Naval Weapons Station Yorktown and Dominion Energy as a pathfinder to determine how to leverage nuclear power to meet Navy and Marine Corps installation power demands, in addition to supporting the data center energy demands of accelerating technologies like artificial intelligence and unleash American innovation
