The House-passed version of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes several amendments that touch directly on MOAA’s mission areas of health care, pay and allowances, and family readiness.

The $893 billion measure passed Sept. 10 by a 231-196 vote. It includes a 3.8% pay raise for servicemembers in 2026 (on par with the Employment Cost Index) and funding for hundreds of other Pentagon programs. It also includes the following measures of interest to MOAA, which were adopted by voice vote as part of en bloc amendment packages:

Currently Serving

• Civilian Transition Assistance: Adds accountability measures and expanded pathways to strengthen the Transition Assistance Program (TAP).
  
  
• Pay and Allowances: Orders a study on Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) adjustments with special attention for unique geographies and a review of cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) methodology in high-cost areas. Also permanently lowers the trigger for temporary BAH increases from 20% to 15%, which could allow some servicemembers and military families to receive financial relief faster when faced with higher-than-anticipated housing costs.
  
  

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Military Families

• Military Housing: Requires a report on radon mitigation measures in military housing and directs a study of housing conditions and availability in Guam.
  
  
• Military OneSource: Expands the period of eligibility for Military OneSource benefits – which include counseling and financial guidance, tax assistance, and parental support, among other resources – from 12 to 18 months post-retirement, discharge, or release.
  
  
• PCS Moves: Calls for a report on the adequacy of PCS reimbursements, as well as a study evaluating the costs, savings, and family impacts of reducing the frequency of PCS moves.

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TRICARE Access-to-Care Reforms

• Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs): Prevents closure of an MTF without a risk analysis and congressional report, which aligns with MOAA’s previous efforts to ensure beneficiary access to care during any MTF restructuring.
  
  
• Timely TRICARE Coverage Transition Notices: Requires TRICARE to provide multiple electronic notices to beneficiaries approaching a change in eligibility status (e.g., TRICARE Young Adult or TRICARE For Life).
  
  
• TRICARE Oversight Report: Mandates an Inspector General report of the TRICARE West Region transition to TriWest.

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Together, these provisions address pressing issues across the force — from improving transition support to strengthening oversight of housing and health care.

Senate Action Remains Uncertain

The Senate has not yet brought its version of the NDAA to the floor, raising concerns of a repeat of last year’s delay.

“I’d like to get it done here in the next few days if possible,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Punchbowl News. “We’re trying to get the second manager’s package hotlined on both sides and then an agreement on the number of amendments that we would vote on on the floor. So it’s in the works.”

But competing priorities — including confirmation votes on nominees and averting a potential government shutdown — complicate the timeline.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Punchbowl that he would prefer the traditional approach, where the bill would “get to the floor and have some amendments. The old-fashioned way.”

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking member of the committee, said he is “still of the mind that we could get the bill done.”

Looking Ahead

Regardless of how the Senate proceeds, lawmakers will need to negotiate a final version before sending the NDAA to the president.

Despite the uncertainty, the NDAA has passed every year for more than six decades; if history suggests anything, the FY 2026 bill will again cross the finish line — though the details, and the timing, remain to be settled.