House Draft Defense Bill Sets $1.15 Trillion Baseline Spending

An initial draft of the annual defense policy bill shows the House is still banking on billions of yet-to-be-approved funds for the Trump administration’s top military priorities. The HASC chairman’s mark of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act released on Tuesday detailed $1.15 trillion in baseline defense spending. But the Pentagon has asked for $1.5 trillion.

To fully fund administration efforts like Golden Dome, shipbuilding, and a crucial munitions build-up, Congress would have to approve an additional $350 billion. One senior committee staffer said the chairman is confident Congress will approve those reconciliation funds.

The Pentagon’s $350 billion reconciliation funding request includes $47 billion to accelerate the delivery of munitions, roughly $17 billion for Golden Dome, and $7 billion for shipbuilding efforts.

The chairman’s mark of the House

NDAA has 646 total items in it, 362 bill language amendments, and 284 reporting requirements, the staffer said. HASC members plan to markup and add more amendments to the bill on June 4. White House budget projections predict that baseline defense spending will increase from $1.15 trillion to $1.36 trillion through 2036.

They do not anticipate asking for reconciliation funding past fiscal year 2027.