The Senate Armed Services Committee has released its version of the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which supports a total of $924.7 billion in national defense funding.
The committee said the FY 2026 NDAA is now headed to the Senate floor after it passed the defense policy bill in a 26-1 vote on Wednesday, July 9. Learn more about DOD’s air and space spending priorities for FY 2026 at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Air and Space Summit on July 31!
Senate FY 2026 NDAA Includes FORGED Act Provisions
Federal News Network reported that the Senate panel’s FY 2026 NDAA version includes provisions from the Fostering Reform and Government Efficiency in Defense, or the FORGED Act, introduced by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., in December 2024.
“The FORGED act was a notional product introduced on Dec. 18. It was designed to elicit responses. It was designed to be a starting point for hundreds of engagements, maybe, and we started working on a bipartisan basis. Not all of the FORGED Act is in the NDAA now,” a senior congressional official told reporters Friday.
One of those provisions is amending the definition of a nontraditional defense contractor to include entities that do not have significant independent research and development or bid and proposal costs reimbursed by the government.
The NDAA also exempts nontraditional defense companies from several defense business requirements and requires that such contractors be treated as commercial firms unless a waiver is approved.
Other Proposed Acquisition Reforms in FY 2026 NDAA
The fiscal 2026 NDAA seeks to redefine program executive officers as portfolio acquisition executives, providing them with greater authorities and responsibilities for resourcing, requirements and acquisition.
The proposed measure would direct the establishment of capstone requirements for each portfolio acquisition executive; amend acquisition strategy requirements to focus on portfolio management of capability sets to promote competition and continuous iteration; and establish an alternative pathway for the test and evaluation of software acquisition programs using the software acquisition pathway and other programs designated by the secretary of defense.
The bill would amend the Commercial Solutions Openings solicitation procedure to eliminate approval thresholds and establish sole-source follow-on authority and establish a direct award to follow-on production authority for other transactions if the capability has been demonstrated in a relevant environment and a determination by the acquisition executive is made.
