Dear Representative,

As the House of Representatives moves toward consideration of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Taxpayers for Common Sense, a national nonpartisan budget watchdog, urges you to vote against the bill.

The FY 2026 national security budget request already represents a nearly 12 percent hike in spending compared to last year. Piling on an additional $8 billion on top of a $1 trillion budget request is fiscally reckless and strategically unwise. Pentagon spending has grown by nearly 50 percent since the turn of this century, adjusted for inflation. Meanwhile, national debt has surpassed $38 trillion, and interest payments on the debt are now $1 trillion per year. Budgeting for national security in the long-term requires strategic decision making about what the nation needs to defend itself, not an all-of-the-above approach taken by this NDAA.

Furthermore, some provisions in the bill would effectively gut acquisition guardrails designed to ensure taxpayers receive fair pricing on Pentagon contracts. Some provisions raise thresholds for reporting requirements for certified cost and pricing data, making it easier for contractors to overcharge the Pentagon. Other provisions expand the definition and use of commercial contracts, which are subject to less oversight and defined so broadly that they include products and services that aren’t available to the public. There is even a provision establishing a pilot program that envisions the federal government reimbursing Pentagon contractors for interest costs, which would effectively shift risks involved with borrowing from companies to taxpayers.

This NDAA is also bad for servicemembers. Leadership stripped bipartisan language in both the House and Senate drafts that would have given warfighters the right to repair their own equipment, based on the bipartisan Warrior Right-to-Repair Act. In addition to reducing dangerous repair delays, this provision could have saved taxpayers billions of dollars per year. But leadership replaced it with what amounts to Industry Right-to-Repair—a provision that instructs the Pentagon to ask contractors for the tools and data to repair equipment on a case-by-case basis, rather than requiring that industry provide it across the board.

Taxpayers deserve an NDAA that protects national security, exercises fiscal restraint, and keeps servicemembers safe and prepared. This bill fails on all fronts. Vote no.

Sincerely,

Steve Ellis

Taxpayers for Common Sense