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Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2026
This legislation funds the Department of Defense, directing nearly $37 billion toward naval shipbuilding—such as ballistic submarines and aircraft carriers—along with funding for military readiness and foreign security aid to partners like Taiwan and Israel. It places major requirements on defense contractors, including mandates to buy American-made parts and a ban on contracts that force workers to arbitrate sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination claims. Additionally, the bill expands fertility storage benefits for severely injured troops, enforces cuts tied to fuel savings and administrative streamlining, and prohibits spending on COVID-19 mandates, gender-affirming medical care, military diversity programs, and government monitoring of protected speech.
People affected—not determinable from the text provided
Fiscal magnitude—The operative text specifies several discrete funding amounts (including $36,935,236,000 for Navy shipbuilding, $1,500,000,000 for readiness, and multiple rescissions/reductions totaling over $8,750,000,000), but the overarching top-line appropriation for the entire Act is not determinable from the excerpted sections provided.
Reach72provisional · pending reviewrigor: heuristic llm
What this bill touches.
Aid & alliances+30LGBTQ+ policy−50Use of force−20Race-conscious policy−50Mandates vs. liberty−30Workplace standards+25Native American affairs+15Religious exemptions−45Security vs. privacy+20Abortion policy−35Speech & expression−30
Who it helps · who it burdens.
Who it helps
- U.S. naval shipbuilders and domestic naval parts manufacturersReceives $36,935,236,000 in dedicated multiyear appropriations through fiscal year 2030 for submarines, aircraft carriers, destroyers, and auxiliary vessels, protected by strict domestic-build requirements (Heading: Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy).
- Native American and Native Hawaiian businesses and tribal governmentsPrime contractors and subcontractors receive access to $35,169,000 in incentive payments for awarding subcontracts over $500,000 to Native American- and Native Hawaiian-owned businesses (Sec. 8019); tribes are also eligible to receive excess military housing at no cost (Sec. 8020) and share in at least $19,861,000 for environmental mitigation (Sec. 8021).
- Civil Air Patrol CorporationReceives a direct earmark of not less than $79,000,000 for operations, youth anti-drug programs, aircraft procurement, and vehicle purchases, alongside fee waiver recommendations for counter-drug missions (Sec. 8023(a)).
- Government of IsraelReceives $500,000,000 in dedicated defense funding for cooperative missile defense programs, including Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Arrow systems (Sec. 8067).
- Government of TaiwanReceives $500,000,000 through fiscal year 2027 under the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative for defense articles, services, and military education and training (Sec. 8105).
- United Service Organizations (USO) and American Red CrossReceives direct grant funding of $24,000,000 for the USO and $25,000,000 for the American Red Cross to support defense-related services (Sec. 8047).
- Employees of major defense contractorsGains legal protection from mandatory arbitration agreements, allowing them to bring Title VII civil rights, sexual assault, and harassment claims in court if their employer holds a defense contract exceeding $1,000,000 (Sec. 8081(a)).
- Severely ill or injured active-duty service membersGains unlimited embryo cryopreservation and storage duration under military assisted reproductive healthcare if they are seriously or severely ill or injured (Sec. 8122).
- Religious and traditional marriage advocacy organizations and individualsProtected against federal agencies revoking tax exemptions, denying contracts or grants, or withholding entitlements based on speech or actions adhering to religious or moral beliefs that marriage is solely between one man and one woman (Sec. 8139).
Who it burdens
- Foreign shipyards and foreign naval component manufacturersExplicitly barred from receiving funds to construct U.S. Navy vessels or major ship components under the $36.9 billion shipbuilding appropriation (Heading: Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy).
- Defense contractors with contracts exceeding $1,000,000Prohibited from requiring employees or subcontractors to sign or submit to mandatory arbitration clauses for sexual assault, sexual harassment, or civil rights claims as a condition of receiving defense contracts over $1,000,000 (Sec. 8081(a)-(b)).
Who backs it
- Federal taxpayersGeneral revenues of the U.S. Treasury finance the tens of billions of dollars in appropriations provided under the Act (n/a).
Who opposes it
- Military service members and dependents seeking gender-affirming careProhibits defense funding for surgical procedures or hormone therapies for gender-affirming care (Sec. 8145), and bars the Exceptional Family Member Program from providing or referring gender transition procedures or approving duty-station transfers for minor dependents (Sec. 8138).
- RosoboronexportBarred from receiving defense contracts, grants, loans, or loan guarantees unless Russia withdraws from Ukraine and ends lethal aid to Syria (Sec. 8111(a)).
- UNRWA, EcoHealth Alliance, and NewsGuard TechnologiesExplicitly prohibited from receiving any defense appropriations under the Act (Sec. 8109, Sec. 8130, Sec. 8149).