Congressman Rob Wittman, who represents Virginia’s 1st district and serves as vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, voted in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026. Wittman is also chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee.
“This year’s NDAA makes tremendous strides to achieve peace through strength by strengthening our warfighters, improving servicemember quality of life, securing our borders, and revitalizing our defense industrial base,” said Rep. Wittman. “I was proud to have led several provisions that were included in the legislation, such as efforts to modernize our naval fleet, expand our defense workforce, and deliver support for Virginia’s shipyards and military installations. The passage of this NDAA reflects our commitment to protecting our nation, maintaining an edge over our adversaries, and supporting our servicemembers. I was proud to vote for this legislation on the House Floor today, and I remain committed to working with my colleagues to advance policies that strengthen our military.”
The bill includes a number of provisions that were priorities for Wittman:
To address the needs of military personnel and their families, the NDAA provides a 3.8 percent pay increase across all ranks. It implements measures such as the ANCHOR for Military Families Act to inform families about educational rights and relocation resources including housing assistance and spouse employment support. The bill also mandates verification in reporting federally connected children for Federal Impact Aid Programs.
It allows dependents of Reserve members on active duty with Permanent Change of Station orders—regardless of tour length—to enroll in Department of Defense Education Activity schools if space is available. This provision addresses current barriers affecting many service members stationed in Virginia.
Additional support includes mandatory contingency payments for care provided by qualifying Children’s Hospitals to active duty members’ families and establishes uniform medical accession standards across armed forces branches.
In terms of tactical aviation forces, the legislation calls on the Secretary of Defense to assess whether the Defense Innovation Unit’s Blue UAS Cleared List remains suitable for expanding domestic drone production. Continued investment is directed toward sixth-generation aircraft programs for both Air Force and Navy operations at bases like Naval Air Station Oceana. A pilot program will use commercial sensor data to bolster base defenses based on lessons from Joint Base Langley Eustis.
The act maintains oversight over key platforms such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program while increasing funding for spare parts and supporting other aircraft like the F-15EX. It also accelerates establishment of a Joint Energetics Transition Office involving facilities like Radford Army Ammunition Plant.
For naval operations, $612 million is allocated toward procurement for a new aircraft carrier (CVN-82), authorizing contracts through CVN-83—a move expected to benefit over 11,800 jobs in Virginia’s shipbuilding sector. The bill restores funding for two Virginia-class submarines after previous reductions under President Biden’s administration; it also fully funds Columbia-class submarines—measures impacting more than 280 suppliers within Virginia.
Other local investments include more than $2 million designated for design work at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown.
The NDAA requires planning from both Air Force leadership and intelligence agencies regarding upgrades at state spaceports such as Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia’s Eastern Shore region—an effort aimed at meeting national security launch requirements while potentially supporting high-tech jobs locally.
On innovation policy, recommendations from national biotechnology commissions are implemented with attention paid to Richmond’s biotech economy. Equity investment authority is granted to support defense technology firms including small startups; an initiative managed by DARPA (headquartered in Arlington) will be scaled up so more companies can join the defense industrial base via facility clearances.
Finally, partnerships are encouraged between Navy installations like Yorktown and Dominion Energy as part of an effort to explore nuclear power solutions supporting installation energy demands—including those driven by new technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Wittman has represented Virginia’s 1st district since 2007 after succeeding Jo Ann Davis (source). He previously served on local governing bodies before entering Congress (source). Born in Washington D.C., he currently lives in Montross (source).
