U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) are lauding the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2026, which made it through the Senate by a bipartisan 77-20.
“The NDAA has passed annually for 65 years in a row and is one of our nation’s most important pieces of legislation. I’m proud to have supported the FY26 NDAA,” Britt said, “which executes on President Trump’s and Senate Republicans’ commitment to strengthen our nation’s military capabilities and warfighter, ensure America remains equipped to meet 21st-centrury threats, and maintain our global military leadership.”
The the $901 billion bill puts in place the next year’s Defense priorities and authorizes spending levels for Defense and national security programs.
The bill cleared the Senate after passing in the House last week with the support of ever member of Alabama’s delegation.
“It will continue historic improvements in the quality of life for our service members and their families,” U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said. “It will build the ready, capable and lethal fighting force we need to deter China and our other adversaries.”
Britt and Tuberville both highlighted the victories for Alabama that were included in the package.
“The role that Alabama plays in our national defense is incalculable,” Britt said. “Ensuring our state continues to play a central role in bolstering our warfighter and defense capabilities is pivotal, and I’m proud to have helped deliver continued investment in our state.”
“As Alabama’s voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee, I’m also very proud of the wins included for Alabama’s defense industries and installations,” Tuberville said.
“This includes funding for President Trump’s Golden Dome, much of which will be housed and researched at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. We also authorized procurement and modernization funding for the MH-139 gray wolf helicopter fleet at Maxwell Air Force Base, and the investments and our ship readiness will be made in Sweet Home, Alabama.”
The legislation addresses readiness concerns at Alabama bases, including the understaffing of gate guards like at Redstone Arsenal by authorizing contract guards to augment existing force protection options at military installations, expedites construction of Space Command’s headquarters in Huntsville, and more.
Tuberville also pointed out the parts of the bill that dismantle to DEI programs in the military that were put in place by former President Joe Biden.
“First and foremost, we were able to secure a pay raise for all of our brave service men and women, and to make some key improvements to military housing,” he explained.
“Second, we cut more than 40 million taxpayer dollars that were funding woke DEI policies in the military and prohibited military resources from being used to censor conservative outlets. The third thing was to protect women’s sports at U.S. service academies.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
