Congressional Bill S. 1071 Signed into Law

S. 1071 is a U.S. Senate bill number for the “National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026.” It is the annual defense policy bill that:

• Authorizes funding levels for the military, nuclear security, and related national security programs.
• Sets military personnel levels and pay policies.
• Creates or updates many defense and foreign‑policy authorities.

How it became law:

1. Introduced in the Senate on March 14, 2025.
2. Passed the Senate (Aug. 1, 2025).
3. Passed the House with amendments (Dec. 10, 2025).
4. Senate agreed to the House amendment (Dec. 17, 2025).
5. Sent to the President (Dec. 18, 2025).
6. Signed by the President on Dec. 18, 2025, becoming Public Law 119‑60.

That “bill‑to‑law” path—introduction, committee consideration, passage in both chambers, reconciliation of differences, then presidential signature—is the standard process for federal legislation in the U.S.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is Congress’s yearly defense policy law. It does not actually spend money (that requires separate appropriations bills), but it:

• Authorizes funding levels for U.S. Department of Defense (military) activities, military construction, and Department of Energy nuclear‑security programs.
• Authorizes and shapes programs for the State Department, Coast Guard, and the Intelligence Community.
• Sets troop strength levels and major personnel policies (like pay raises and some benefits).
• Sets rules for buying weapons and equipment (acquisition policy).
• Directs policies on overseas operations, alliances, cyber operations, artificial intelligence, and other national‑security issues.

The FY2026 NDAA (S. 1071) follows this pattern: it lays out policies and authorities for DoD, DOE national security programs, intelligence programs, and some State Department activities for the 2026 fiscal year.

Historically, the U.S. military cabinet department was called the “Department of War” until the National Security Act of 1947 reorganized it as the Department of Defense. In 2025, President Trump signed an executive order restoring “Department of War” as a secondary title for the Department of Defense. That means:

• Legally, it is still the same institution (the Pentagon), but the administration and some official documents now sometimes call it the “Department of War (DoW)” or “Department of War programs.”
• Core statute text and most laws still use “Department of Defense,” but White House materials and some policy documents have been revised to use the older name.

So the article’s reference to the “Department of War” reflects this political branding change, not the creation of a new department.

The law does not publicly list every individual intelligence or State Department program by name in simple summary form, but based on the bill text and official summaries:

Intelligence programs affected

• The NDAA sets policy and authorizes funding ceilings for the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), including defense intelligence (DIA, NSA, etc.) and certain CIA‑related activities.
• It includes provisions on cyber operations, surveillance, artificial intelligence, and oversight of intelligence activities, and it incorporates or coordinates with separate intelligence authorization measures.

State Department and foreign‑affairs programs affected

• The FY2026 NDAA authorizes and shapes State Department security and foreign‑assistance‑related programs, for example:
  • Security assistance and training for partners such as Ukraine, Israel, and Indo‑Pacific allies.
  • Certain diplomatic security, cyber‑diplomacy, and counter‑narcotics efforts.

In practice, that means the law gives legal authority and broad funding limits for many intelligence and State Department national‑security functions, while the exact budget lines appear in classified annexes and separate appropriations bills, not in this short White House summary.

The FY2026 NDAA authorizes a 3.8% increase in basic pay for U.S. military personnel.

Who gets it:

• All active‑duty service members.
• Guard and Reserve members who receive military basic pay.

The raise is across‑the‑board: every rank’s statutory basic pay rate is increased by 3.8% starting January 1, 2026 (with actual monthly dollar amounts depending on rank and years of service).

Because the FY2026 NDAA is long and detailed, there is no single short list of “new authorities,” but key additional authorities for the U.S. Armed Forces include:

• Personnel and pay authorities – updating rules for recruiting, retention bonuses, special pays, and some quality‑of‑life benefits.
• Force structure and deployments – setting authorized end‑strengths for active and reserve forces and placing conditions on major posture decisions (for example, limits on withdrawing forces from certain regions without congressional approval).
• Cyber and AI authorities – expanding authority to conduct cyber operations, use cyber‑specific hiring and pay systems, and develop artificial‑intelligence tools for operations and audit/management.
• Acquisition and contracting authorities – changing how DoD can award and manage contracts, including some fast‑track pathways for critical capabilities and stronger domestic‑sourcing rules.

These authorities are spread across many sections; they mostly modify existing law in Title 10 (Armed Forces) and related statutes rather than creating an entirely new legal framework.

In practical terms, the FY2026 NDAA will influence multiple areas:

National security and the military

• Sets the overall defense policy framework and authorizes about $901 billion in national‑defense spending authority, including major investments in nuclear forces, missiles, ships, aircraft, cyber operations, and missile defense.
• Raises military pay 3.8% and adjusts benefits and quality‑of‑life programs, which affects recruitment, retention, and day‑to‑day living conditions for service members and families.

Foreign affairs

• Authorizes continued security assistance to partners such as Ukraine, Israel, and Indo‑Pacific allies, shaping U.S. military support and deterrence posture abroad.
• Places conditions and reporting requirements on certain overseas deployments and basing decisions, giving Congress more say over big strategic moves.

Homeland and cyber security

• Expands cybersecurity and cyber‑operations programs, including a surge in the Pentagon’s cyber budget and more authority to hire, pay, and retain specialized cyber personnel.
• Directs the development of a more integrated missile defense architecture (including the “Golden Dome” homeland missile‑defense effort) and studies of new capabilities, such as possible space‑based defenses.

Commerce, industry, and the judiciary

• Adjusts defense procurement and industrial‑base rules, which will steer large volumes of federal contracts toward certain sectors and suppliers, with knock‑on effects for U.S. manufacturing and technology companies.
• Modifies various statutory authorities in the U.S. Code (e.g., Titles 10, 22, 31, 41, 50), which in turn affects how courts and agencies interpret defense, sanctions, contracting, and related laws.

Overall, the law fine‑tunes or expands many existing programs across these domains rather than creating entirely new systems from scratch.