The current NDAA status is enacted: President Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 into law on December 18, 2025, as Public Law 119-60, authorizing roughly $890.6 billion for national defense.1Congress.gov. S.1071 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 It is the 65th consecutive year Congress has cleared a defense authorization bill. Attention has now shifted to the FY2027 NDAA, which is in its earliest request-gathering phase.
What the FY2026 NDAA Did
The NDAA sets policy and spending ceilings for the Department of Defense. It does not actually release money; a separate defense appropriations bill does that.2House Armed Services Committee. History of the NDAA3Congress.gov. House Roll Call Vote 3204U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services. Press Releases
Military Pay
Service members received a 3.8% basic pay raise effective January 1, 2026. The increase followed the statutory formula tied to the Employment Cost Index rather than a congressional override. Congress did not enact targeted pay table reform for junior enlisted grades in this bill, despite ongoing debate over whether entry-level military pay keeps pace with private-sector wages.5Congressional Research Service. Defense Primer: Military Pay Raise
Housing Allowance
Basic Allowance for Housing rates rose an average of 4.2% on January 1, 2026. Rates factor in median local rents plus utilities like electricity, heat, and water. Service members still cover a portion of housing costs out of pocket, with monthly amounts running from $93 to $212 depending on pay grade and dependent status. Individual rate protection stays in place, so a service member who remains at the same duty station will not see their BAH drop even if local housing costs fall.6Air Education and Training Command. Department of War Releases 2026 Basic Allowance for Housing Rates
Policy Directives
The law also includes several oversight requirements the Pentagon must meet in the coming years. It orders a survey of at least 10,000 service members who complete permanent-change-of-station moves in FY2026 or FY2027 to test whether relocation reimbursements cover actual costs, with results due by March 2028. It mandates a risk assessment, due by January 2027, of critical defense infrastructure that depends on materials from foreign adversaries. And it bars the Pentagon from restructuring geographic combatant commands without first notifying Congress and waiting 60 days.7Congress.gov. S.1071 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 – Text
Where the FY2027 NDAA Stands
The FY2027 bill has not yet been introduced. Members of Congress are collecting program and policy requests from constituents, military installations, and defense stakeholders that will shape what goes into the eventual text. Some congressional offices have set deadlines as early as mid-March 2026 for submitting those requests.
Once the President’s budget request arrives, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees will hold hearings and then mark up their own versions of the bill. That work typically runs from late spring into early summer. Floor votes and conference negotiations usually stretch into the fall and winter.
The FY2027 NDAA needs to reach the President’s desk before October 1, 2026, to avoid forcing the Defense Department to operate under a continuing resolution at the start of the new fiscal year. Congress rarely hits that deadline. The FY2026 bill did not clear until mid-December, and if that pattern holds, expect committee markups from roughly May through July with final action pushed toward year-end.
What Happens if the NDAA Is Late
When Congress misses the October 1 start of the fiscal year, the Defense Department runs on a continuing resolution. A CR holds funding at the prior year’s levels and blocks the Pentagon from starting new programs, awarding new contracts, or ramping up production on weapons systems and munitions.8U.S. Government Accountability Office. Defense Budget: Effects of Continuing Resolutions
Costs and delays add up. A GAO review found that about half of the acquisition programs it examined saw schedule delays under CRs, including postponed contract awards and later equipment delivery. One facilities contract at Joint Base San Antonio more than doubled after CR-related delays, climbing from an estimated $579,000 to $1.45 million. The Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle program reported $17.7 million in extra costs from FY2022 through FY2024 tied directly to operating under CRs.8U.S. Government Accountability Office. Defense Budget: Effects of Continuing Resolutions Training exercises get scaled back, and financial management staff spend heavy portions of their time replanning budgets instead of executing them.
A full government shutdown is a separate and more disruptive situation. All 2,067,700 active military personnel keep working during a funding lapse, but their paychecks can be delayed until appropriations are restored.9Department of Defense. Contingency Plan Guidance for Continuation of Operations in the Absence of Appropriations Civilian Defense Department employees face furloughs unless their work is judged necessary to protect life and property. Congress has periodically introduced standalone bills to keep military pay flowing during shutdowns, but those bills are not always enacted in advance.
How to Track NDAA Status Yourself
Congress.gov is the authoritative place to check. Search for the specific bill number (S.1071 for the FY2026 NDAA, or whatever number the FY2027 bill receives once introduced) and look at the “Latest Action” field on the bill’s profile page. That field shows the most recent procedural step, and the action history below it lays out a chronological timeline of every committee vote, floor action, and conference event.10Congress.gov. Congress.gov
Status labels tell you where the bill actually stands:
- “Introduced” means the bill has been filed but not yet considered.
- “Reported by Committee” signals it cleared markup and is ready for the full chamber.
- “Passed House” or “Passed Senate” appears after a successful floor vote.
- “Resolving Differences” or “In Conference” indicates the two chambers are reconciling their versions.
- “Public Law” appears once both chambers have approved the conference report and the President has signed.
To get notified automatically, create a free Congress.gov account and click “Get Alerts” on the bill’s page. The system sends email updates whenever the status changes, which beats checking manually during months of slow procedural movement.