(Washington, DC) – U.S. Congressman Ed Case (HI-01) tonight voted against the initial U.S. House $893 billion version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) despite adoption of five of his floor amendments and various other requests for Hawai‘i and the Indo-Pacific including $1.7 billion of military construction projects in Hawai‘i.
“Our National Defense Authorization Act is a critical annual measure that not only authorizes our defense spending for the year, supplementing my Appropriations Committee’s parallel funding responsibilities, but also establishes defense policies including organization and administration of the Defense Department,” said Case, who serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, responsible for funding all defense and intelligence community programs, and previously served on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. “It is a very serious vote and I have consistently voted for the final bipartisan versions of the NDAAs throughout my time in Congress.
“This year is different, because the last eight months of the second Trump administration have been among the most disruptive if not destructive in our armed services’ recent history,” said Case. “The selfless, dedicated members of our military have been subjected to erratic leadership; leaks of highly sensitive military data; improper use of military personnel for domestic law enforcement; firings and marginalization of highly qualified and deeply dedicated men and women who have served our country with honor and distinction; personal loyalty purity tests; firing of the inspector general dedicated to combating waste, fraud, abuse and misconduct; servicemembers subjected and pulled into culture wars battles and witch hunts; politicization and obstruction of mission; demoralization; and more. All of this not only disrespects a committed, loyal, professional and apolitical military, but places our national security at risk.
“Today’s House version of the NDAA, complicated still further by divisive and irrelevant mandates, does nothing to fulfill Congress’ responsibility to oversee and correct these serious risks and consequences. In the big picture, although there is much in this bill I fought successfully to include, I cannot sanction the continuation of this reckless path. I voted against the NDAA today because our national defense bills must provide for the common defense, I don’t believe this version does so, and my vote is both a statement and a hope that with improvement I will be able to vote for the final version, as I have in past NDAAs.”
Despite these major overall concerns, Case highlighted various inclusions which he requested, such as $1.7 billion in Hawai‘i military construction projects including:
- $141 million to commence a multi-year project to build a water treatment plant at Red Hill that would allow the drinking water shaft to be reopened and help remove any residual contaminants from the ground surrounding Red Hill. Case has worked both through the authorization and appropriations bills to advance this critical project.
- $553 million of additional funding to continue construction a new drydock at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility.
- $236 million for a missile range building at the Pacific Missile Range Facility.
- $117 million for a C-40 Aircraft Maintenance Hangar at Marine Corp Base Hawai‘i.
- $147 million for Military Housing Privatization Initiative projects (460 units) at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
- $143 million for Navy missile magazines at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
- $108 million for Water Reclamation Facility Compliance Upgrades at Marine Corp Base Hawai‘i.
- $83 million for DDG-1000 Ship Support Infrastructure Upgrades at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
- $51 million for Army ammunition storage magazines at West Loch Naval Magazine Annex.
- $64 million to continue updating Marine Corp Base Hawaii’s outdated electrical distribution network.
- $33 million for water system upgrades at Fort Shafter. This follows on Case’s previous successful efforts to secure $23 million for clearwell and booster pumps at Fort Shafter.
- $25 million for electrical distribution upgrades at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam under the Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment Program.
The NDAA-includes provisions for which Case advocated come as the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command headquartered in his District is holding its annual
International Military Law and Operations Conference in Waikīkī. Related amendments Case proposed which were included in the NDAA are:
- Directing the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations and Environment and United States Indo-Pacific Command to assess the critical infrastructure investments needed in Hawai‘i for any potential conflict-related military needs.
- Directing the Army to conduct a study and send Congress a report on options for expanding a reserve contracted wartime sealift capacity in the Indo-Pacific region. Hawai‘i is the home to the Army’s 8th Theater Support Command that is responsible for leading logistics and sustainment operations across the vast Indo-Pacific region, including ocean going transport.
- Directing the Secretary of the Navy, in coordination with United States Indo-Pacific Command, to assess the capacity of each U.S. public and private shipyard, and each foreign shipyard of an allied or partner country, to support battle damage repair in the event of an armed conflict in the Indo-Pacific.
- Making Joint Task Force-Micronesia in Guam responsible for strengthening community relationships between the U.S. Armed Forces and Freely Associated States (FAS) citizens – Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia – impacted by military installations and operating locations in the FAS.
- Directing the Government Accountability Office to examine how to improve the military’s foreign exchange programs, which are a key soft-power tool that strengthen the ties between America and other countries throughout the globe.
Further Indo-Pacific- related amendments that Case cosponsored and that were included in the bill include:
- Requiring a report on the impact and potential of AUKUS Pillar 1, a security partnership focused on supporting Australia's acquisition of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines to help deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
- Mandating an annual report on the presence and activities of European Union and NATO militaries in the Indo-Pacific.
- Requiring an analysis of how the presence of the militaries of such countries contributes to deterrence against Chinese aggression, including a discussion of posture, capability, multilateral operations and strategic signaling effects.
- Mandating a study of the Defense Access Road Program’s current authorities and limitations preventing routine maintenance in the Indo-Pacific. This program has supported improvement of the Saddle Road on Hawai‘i Island.
- Requiring the Department of Defense to develop and implement a strategy to enhance defense industrial cooperation between the United States and its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region over the next five years, including incorporating lessons learned from defense industrial cooperation initiatives with European allies and identifying priority armaments for joint development, production or sustainment with Indo-Pacific allies and partners, including Taiwan.
- Directing the release of an unclassified summary of certain independent assessments of the Guam missile defense system.
- Extending and expanding the Department of Defense’s annual assessments of Taiwan’s military readiness, regional allied responses and U.S. contingency planning in the face of rising Chinese aggression.
- Directing the Defense Department to conduct a study of U.S. mobilization and sustainment readiness for a major Indo-Pacific conflict with emphasis on reserve forces mobilization.
- Establishing a data sharing process to enable states to access military enlistment data to better inform high school students and educators on military careers and more accurately track the outcome of students who choose a career in the military after graduation.
- Mandating a study examining the current role of the National Guard in cyber incident response, assessing both federal-level engagements and state-level deployments. The findings should inform recommendations on potential enhancements to the National Guard’s cyber response capabilities to ensure a stronger and more coordinated national cyber defense strategy.
The bill further includes several provisions advocated for by Case to continue the military’s investment in Hawai‘i and the Indo-Pacific, including:
- Directing the military to hire an independent entity to conduct an evaluation of using land owned by the military in Hawai‘i for residential housing development for members of the Armed Services and their families.
- Directing the military to assess the feasibility, costs and benefits of providing apartment-style or dormitory housing for civilian workers at naval public shipyards, including the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility.
- $35 million for the purpose of aiding local educational agencies with military dependent students through the Impact Aid Program, and $10 million for local educational agencies eligible to receive payment for children with severe disabilities. The Impact Aid Program provides crucial federal funding to the Hawai‘i Department of Education by compensating for lost local property tax revenue due to the presence of U.S. military bases.
- Extending the authority for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a Congressionally directed effort focused on deterring Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
- $1.4 billion for Pacific Deterrence Initiative construction, including another $162 million for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s Military Construction Pilot Program to support minor military construction projects in the region.
- $1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative designed to enhance Taiwan's defense capabilities and resilience.
- Requiring the Secretary of Defense to implement a strategy to strengthen multilateral deterrence against regional aggression in the Indo-Pacific region by expanding multilateral coordination with United States allies and partners in the region.
The bill also includes a 3.8% pay raise for members of the armed forces. It also includes the following provisions to help our nation’s servicemembers:
- Authorizing two pilot programs that would expand obstetrical and gynecological care for TRICARE beneficiaries,
- Expanding mental health services to meet the unique needs of the Cyber Mission Force,
- Waiving fees and copays on the TRICARE Dental Program for all members of the Selected Reserve, and
- Expanding access to food on military installations by granting authorities to conduct pilot programs to reform their food programs. The measure passed the House and will now be referred to the Senate, which is working on its own version of the NDAA.
The measure passed the House and will now be referred to the Senate, which is working on its own version of the NDAA.
The House and Senate will seek to reconcile their respective versions and submit a common version for joint passage, as has occurred throughout the history of the NDAA.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. A summary of the FY 2025 NDAA is available here.
2. The text of the bill is available here.
3. The explanatory committee report is available here.
