Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — June 24, 2026…Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) today voted in support of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Defense Appropriations bill that advanced out of the House Appropriations Committee. This bill allocates $1.072 trillion in discretionary spending to fund Department of War operations.

Congressman Womack said, “Maintaining our military dominance is not an inexpensive endeavor, but it is an investment worth making to protect our homeland and preserve our way of life. This defense bill provides the resources needed to begin replenishing our munitions stockpile, invest in cutting-edge technologies, and support our military personnel—who remain our nation’s greatest strategic asset. I thank Defense Subcommittee Chairman Calvert for his leadership in advancing this legislation, and I look forward to continuing our work to ensure our common defense remains well-equipped to respond to emerging threats.”

Congressman Womack continued, “This Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Cole, has worked tirelessly to move all twelve appropriations bills out of committee and provide ample time to negotiate with the Senate and refine our work. This gives Congress a real opportunity to fund the government on time and in full—an opportunity that should not be squandered. I am encouraged that our chamber is bringing these bills to the floor and encourage my colleagues to continue this work so we can do the job the American people sent us here to do. We have made meaningful progress—let’s not stop here.”

Bill highlights:

Enhances America’s strategic military advantage and preparedness by:

• Providing $836 million to procure, for the first time, new-entrant low-cost munition systems and providing multiyear procurement authority.
• Providing over $7.5 billion for hypersonic weapons and test infrastructure.
• Increasing funding for research and development of state-of-the-art defense capabilities, including funding for research into contested logistics, advanced materials, and next-generation power electronics at the University of Arkansas.
• Increasing funding for facilities at the United States Military Academy, where Congressman Womack serves as Chairman of the Board of Visitors.
• Providing funding for the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account (NGREA), which supports the Arkansas National Guard’s efforts as they protect and support our community in times of need.

Strengthens support for service members and military families by:

• Implementing a military pay raise of 7 percent for all military personnel ranked E-5 and below, 6 percent for E-6 to O-4, and 5 percent for O-4 and above.
• Providing an additional $15 million for the Military and Family Life Counseling Program, which provides counseling services to service members and their families to support operational readiness and resilience.

Optimizes the Department of War and improves transparency by:

• Supporting business modernization efforts, including $250 million to accelerate the transition to a modern, secure, and audit-ready financial management environment.
• Digitizing acquisition processes through $72.5 million for Acquisition Visibility
• Protecting and preserving competition and readiness by mandating a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA).   
• Modernizing requirements and resourcing by including $140.1 million for the Mission Engineering and Integration Activity and $92.7 million for Acquisition Integration and Interoperability. 

Disrupts transnational drug trafficking by: 

• Providing $1.2 billion for counter-drug programs.
• Increasing funding for the National Guard Counter-Drug Program.
• Providing $464.8 million for United States Southern Command, which supports enhanced detection and monitoring, theater-wide operations, improved command and control, and increased force protection to pursue drug cartels and terrorist networks. 
• Transferring Mexico from United States Northern Command’s jurisdiction to United States Southern Command for better coordination and prioritization.

A summary of the bill is available HERE.

The bill text, before adoption of amendments, is available HERE.

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

womack.house.gov

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