The House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday released an initial draft of an annual defense policy bill that would authorize $1.15 trillion in spending for fiscal year 2027, with pay raises for service members and restrictions on troop reductions in Europe. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — The House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday released an initial draft of an annual defense policy bill that would authorize $1.15 trillion in spending for fiscal year 2027, with pay raises for service members and restrictions on troop reductions in Europe.
The measure, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, will be debated and amended by the committee next week as Congress tackles a record $1.5 trillion defense budget request from the Trump administration.
The panel’s draft legislation authorizes its portion of the total, $1.15 trillion. The remaining $350 billion is expected to be sought through a special budget reconciliation process that can bypass the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster.
Of the $1.15 trillion, $1.1 trillion would go toward programs under the Pentagon, and $41 billion would support the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons programs.
The focus of this year’s policy bill, which will need to be funded by separate appropriations legislation, is on reviving the atrophied defense industrial base, according to senior majority and minority committee staff. But it also continues efforts to improve quality of life for troops.
It authorizes the range of pay raises for troops requested by the Trump administration, including a 7% pay hike for ranks E-5 and below, a 6% pay boost for E-6 through O-3 and a 5% pay raise for ranks O-4 and higher.
The measure also matches the administration’s requests to grow the force amid a recruiting boon for the services. The Army would add 15,000 soldiers, the Navy 13,000 sailors, the Air Force 8,900 airmen, the Space Force 2,800 guardians and the Marine Corps 1,400 marines.
Guard and Reserve forces would add 8,600 personnel under the legislation.
Lawmakers notably pushed back against the administration’s efforts to reduce the U.S. military’s presence in Europe, renewing a mandatory floor of 76,000 personnel on the Continent that was first enacted in last year’s bill.
A new provision this year would require the Pentagon to assess whether it is feasible to redeploy troops to NATO’s eastern flank before deciding to bring them home.
The bill also requires a report on global force posture, particularly pertaining to U.S. European Command, as well as a review of whether the rotational presence of two Army armored brigade combat teams in Poland could be made permanent.
The provisions follow an announcement by the Pentagon that it will withdraw 5,000 troops from military bases in Germany as well as the recent suspension of an Army brigade deployment to Poland that was already underway.
“A lot of members feel very strongly about European force posture,” said senior majority and minority committee staff, speaking to reporters Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
In text accompanying the bill, the committee said it had “great concern” about the administration’s decision to halt the Poland deployment and said a permanent stationing of forces in the country would enhance deterrence against Russia.
The legislation also authorizes $175 million for the Baltic Security Initiative, a program to strengthen the military capabilities of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The White House, like last year, sought no funding for the program.
Lawmakers last year successfully preserved funding for both the Baltics program and a longstanding security assistance program for Ukraine, despite the administration’s wishes. The funding for Ukraine continues into 2027.
