Sullivan Secures 53 Provisions, Prioritizes Alaska in FY 2026 Defense Authorization
Bill Incorporates Sullivan’s GOLDEN DOME Act, Authorizes $284 Million in New Alaska Military Construction
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), and his colleagues recently advanced the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) through the Senate on a vote of 77 to 20. The $924 billion legislation—a nearly $46 billion increase over the baseline—includes 53 provisions and amendments offered by Sen. Sullivan, many of which will increase the U.S. military’s presence in Alaska. The legislation strongly supports U.S. service members and their families, incorporates the vast majority of Sen. Sullivan’sGOLDEN DOME missile defense legislation, and authorizes more than $283 million in new military construction for Alaska.
“My work on the Armed Services Committee in each successive national defense authorization is always guided by three overriding priorities: taking care of our troops, advancing a policy of ‘Peace Through Strength,’ and continuing to build up our Alaska-based military,” said Sen. Sullivan. “The FY 2026 NDAA delivers on all three of these fronts and is chock full of wins for Alaska, for our military, and for our warfighters and their families. I pressed to secure close to $300 million in military construction projects specifically for Alaska, recognizing our state’s unrivaled strategic location and the escalating aggression from the Russians and Chinese in the North Pacific and Arctic. This figure is in addition to the NDAA’s major investments in the ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense system, building on the $25 billion down payment in the One Big Beautiful Bill and incorporating approximately 75 percent of my recently introduced GOLDEN DOME Act. These provisions will undoubtedly benefit Alaska, the cornerstone America’s homeland missile defense system. I was also able to include provisions focused on a number of key priorities: securing America’s critical minerals supply chains, strengthening America’s defense industrial base, supporting America’s allies and partners, addressing the crisis in U.S. Navy shipbuilding, and investing robustly in our warfighters and warfighting capabilities to deter our adversaries around the world. I will be working with my Senate and House colleagues to preserve all of these vital provisions and expeditiously deliver this important legislation to President Trump’s desk.”
The $284 million in military construction authorizations for Alaska include:
- $82 million for the Air Force Joint Integrated Test & Training Center (JITTC) at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER).
- $63 million for an upgraded Army barracks at Fort Wainwright.
- $46 million for an Army Reserve Base Supply Complex at JBER.
- $46 million for an Army Reserve Maintenance Facility at JBER.
- $16 million for a Base Civil Engineering (BCE) Pavements and Grounds Facility for the Alaska Air National Guard at Eielson Air Force Base.
- $13.2 million for the design of an Air Force Consolidated Munitions Complex at Eielson.
- $8.04 million for the design of an Air Force Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC) Operations Facility at Eielson.
- $8 million for the design of an Army dining facility at Fort Wainwright.
- $1.75 million for the design of an Air Force Coal Thaw Shed Addition at Eielson.
The FY 2026 NDAA supports U.S. service members and their families with provisions that:
- Authorize funding to support a 3.8 percent pay raise for military members—on top of the historic pay raise of 14.5% passed in the FY 2025 NDAA.
- Authorize annual travel reimbursement for service members stationed in remote areas, like Alaska, to return to their home of record or other approved destination.
- Include Sen. Sullivan’s SAFE Act, which aims to improve counseling and access to information related to foster care opportunities for military families.
- Require DOD to publish how housing allowances are calculated, what housing types are covered, and to pilot a new calculation method based on rental costs by bedroom size to help service members and their families get fair compensation.
- Improve the transparency and understanding of military compensation by requiring clear explanations on pay statements, creation of a regular military compensation pay table, and an education campaign for service members and families on military compensation.
- Require DOD to improve staffing of special education teachers and staff, and offerings at DOD schools.
Sen. Sullivan’s other Alaska-related provisions in the FY 2026 NDAA:
- Include approximately 75 percent of Sen. Sullivan and Sen. Kevin Cramer’s (R-N.D.) Ground and Orbital Launched Defeat of Emergent Nuclear Destruction and Other Missile Engagements (GOLDEN DOME) Act, legislation introduced in June of 2025 to develop a modernized, layered homeland missile defense system that can counter, detect, track, and defeat existing and evolving threats. The GOLDEN DOME Act supports a January 27, 2025 executive order from President Trump. The Golden Dome-related provisions:
- Include more than $2 billion in related spending authorizations above the baseline for critical munitions, including for the Next Generation Interceptor that will be based at Ft. Greely in Alaska.
- Codify into law the direct report program manager for the Golden Dome system, as well as his authorities to accelerate the procurement and development of critical missile defense technologies.
- Codify into law a robust testing regime for Golden Dome’s kinetic and non-kinetic systems and encourage the U.S. Space Force to continue diversifying its national launch sites, likely increasing testing activity at the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska on Kodiak Island.
- Require the Golden Dome program manager to assess funding needs to accelerate the fielding of a number of critical technologies, like the Next Generation Interceptor and construction of up to 80 silos, almost certainly at Ft. Greely, by FY 2028 in accordance with the President’s timeline for the initiative.
- Prohibit military dining facilities and commissaries from purchasing or selling seafood that originates or is processed in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to help Alaska fishermen.
- Require quarterly briefings from the Secretary of Defense on the planned expenditures of $115 million from theOne, Big, Beautiful Bill Act meant for the exploration and development of existing Arctic infrastructure, like the former Naval Air Station at Adak.
- Direct DOD to outline long-term sustainment and modernization plans for the COBRA Dane radar system located at Eareckson Air Station, Shemya Island, Alaska, a radar critically important to U.S. missile defense and space domain awareness.
- Order the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment to prioritize consideration for clearance—to the maximum extent possible—applications and white papers for energy and mining projects submitted to DOD that will be significantly impacted by seasonal Arctic climate conditions. If a mining application belongs to a project in Alaska with a short mining season, it will see expedited prioritization for clearance from the DOD.
- Support the onshoring of critical mineral-based magnet processing and production for use in military equipment.
- Support DOD’s effort to secure domestic and allied sources of critical minerals—many of which are found in Alaska—through the Industrial Base Resilience program’s investments, in light of China’s control over the production of many of these resources vital for U.S. defense technologies.
- Encourage DOD to provide greater understanding of the defense budgeting and acquisition process so that companies and 8(a) small businesses outside of traditional defense contractors can gain access to these projects and contribute to the defense industrial base.
- End the moratorium on safe, approved forms of incineration and removal of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from military bases, allowing Alaska military bases to safely dispose of PFAS contaminated soil.
- Allow Coast Guard installations to apply for grants under the Defense Community Infrastructure Program as a pilot to improve aging Coast Guard infrastructure vital to national security.
- Require the Marine Corps to recommend one regiment to Congress as the USMC’s Arctic Response Force, and to brief Congress on a suggested three-year glidepath for training and equipping such a force to support worldwide missions, particularly in the Arctic and Indo-Pacific.
Other Sullivan priorities in the FY 2026 NDAA:
- Extend the tour of the U.S. Navy Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) commander to eight years and makes the last three years available to this individual at a 4-star level.
- Require a report on private investment options available to build additional West Coast shipyard capacity to enhance Navy shipbuilding.
- Build upon Sen. Sullivan’s FY 2023 and 2024 NDAA provisions requiring the Navy to maintain 31 amphibious ships, including 10 large deck carriers, by redefining when a ship is considered “temporarily unavailable” so that ships cannot sit in dry dock for years and be counted against the 31-ship requirement.
- Direct the Secretary of Defense to consider whether NATO partners have submitted plans to reach 5 percent of GDP in defense spending when deciding future U.S. military basing and training in Europe.
- Establish an Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Armaments Cooperation to improve the DOD’s ability to understand allied and partner industrial bases and conduct win-win industrial base integration efforts. The measure ensures that there is no net increase in Assistant Secretaries of Defense to cut back on Pentagon bureaucracy.
- Support defense acquisition reform efforts, including reforming the Joint Requirements Oversight Council that decides important requirements for the joint force each year, and requiring DOD to issue guidance that speeds up software acquisition in support of the warfighters.
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