House Armed Services Committee approves $1.15T defense bill

The House Armed Services Committee has approved a $1.15 trillion defense policy bill, marking a significant step toward the largest military authorization in U.S. history. The committee voted 44-12 late Thursday to advance the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act after a marathon 14-hour session that considered roughly 900 amendments.

The legislation now heads to the full House, where it is expected to be debated in July. The Senate Armed Services Committee is scheduled to begin work on its own version of the bill next week.

A central feature of the bill is a substantial pay raise for service members, with increases ranging from 5% to 7% depending on rank. Junior enlisted troops would receive the largest increase at 7%. The bill also expands eligibility for the Basic Needs Allowance by removing a service member's housing allowance from the calculation, a change aimed at assisting lower-income military families.

The bill authorizes an increase of 40,100 active-duty personnel across the military services. It includes several quality-of-life provisions, such as granting bereavement leave for pregnancy loss, expanding access to child care resources, and allowing troops to...