News & Policy

The Senate’s narrow vote on July 1 sent a 940-page reconciliation measure – nicknamed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – back to the House. At stake is a $150 billion defense add-on that aligns with President Donald Trump’s “peace through strength” plan. According to senior floor staff, the chamber logged 27 straight hours of debate before Vice President J.D. Vance cast the tiebreaker. The clock now runs fast. Expiring 2017 tax cuts force leaders to clear the bill before January, but Pentagon comptrollers warn that some programs need signatures long before the fiscal year closes.

The Pentagon has filed its fiscal 2026 request with Congress. Defense officials confirm the document sets aside $47.3 billion for 19 new battle-force ships, more than tripling last year’s ship total.

The House Appropriations Committee circulated its full fiscal 2026 defense draft late on 28 June, two days before the Pentagon is expected to send over its own request. The text assigns $832 billion in discretionary authority, matching last year’s enacted figure and staying under the current spending cap. Senior committee aides state the panel relied on the continuing-resolution baseline while it waited for a complete budget package from the administration. Defense officials confirm the bill will serve as the chamber’s opening position when conference talks begin this autumn.

Romania’s defense ministry has asked lawmakers to clear a modernization package worth just over €10 billion. The request, sent earlier this month, covers new air-defense batteries, tracked fighting vehicles, NATO-calibre artillery, air-to-air missiles, and a first batch of Abrams tanks. Lt. Gen. Teodor Incicaș, head of the Armaments Directorate, outlined the numbers in a podcast with the ministry’s own Observatorul Militar on 6 March.