VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — An annual military spending bill, which includes provisions aimed at benefiting Hampton Roads bases, passed a key committee vote on Tuesday.
The House Armed Services Committee passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26 NDAA). On a yearly basis, this legislation is passed to authorize the budget for the Defense Department.
In its current state, the bill costs over $880 billion. The FY26 NDAA includes a 3.8 percent pay raise for service members, $18 billion for shipbuilding, and provisions to ensure timely reimbursement for civilian clinics when military families using TRICARE are referred off base.
Last week, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans pushed for a resolution to provide F-35 jets to the Navy's East Coast Master Jet Base Oceana, which currently has none.
"I want to make sure that we have the latest and greatest because money does follow the new toys, and we know this," Kiggans said. "We know if we can get those new squadrons of F-35s and the commitment from the Navy then I'm hoping the infrastructure, the housing, the healthcare, the childcare facilities, those types of things will follow."
Another aspect of the bill focuses on boosting military recruitment. It states that individuals cannot be disqualified from service solely due to resolved childhood medical diagnoses.
