By Thomas Montana
A local congressman voted to pass a bill which he said would strengthen the American military’s readiness, invest in cutting-edge defense technology and support service members and their families.
Nick LaLota, a Navy Veteran and member of the Military Construction & Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, voted to pass the Department of Defense Appropriations Act. (The bill passed, 221-209.) He said this piece of legislation would improve not only the military as a whole, but the experience for the members of the military.
Under the Act, introduced by Ken Calvert (R-California), effective January 1, 2026, all military personnel would receive a 3.8% increase in basic pay. In addition, LaLota said, it would “[make] overdue changes to ease the burden on military families by reducing costly and disruptive relocations,” thereby saving service members and their families $662 million.
The bill would also include investments in national security space, which includes proliferated missile warning, missile tracking satellite and next-generation intelligence collection systems, 5th and 6th generation aircraft, including the F-35, F-477 and F/A-XX, and next-generation fighters.
The biggest portion of the $831.5 billion bill would go to missile defense and space programs to augment and integrate in support of the Golden Dome effort, at a cost of $13 billion. Hypersonics programs will get $2.6 billion, $1.3 billion combined for the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) and Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), $500 million for the Israeli Cooperative Missile Defense Programs, $122.5 million for U.S.-Israel cooperative development programs and $1.15 billion for counter-drug programs, which is $245 million above the budget request.
“America’s strength and security begin with a strong, well-equipped military and the FY26 Defense Appropriations bill delivers exactly that. It provides the resources our Armed Forces need to remain the most capable, lethal, and ready fighting force the world has ever known,” said LaLota (R-Rocky Point). “Just as important, this bill gets our military back to basics by refocusing every dollar on strengthening our warfighting capabilities and eliminating wasteful spending on divisive, politically driven programs that have no place in our national defense. Our troops deserve leadership that puts their mission, and their safety, first, and that’s exactly what this bill does.”