10/09/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/10/2025 11:01
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) welcomed Senate passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). The legislation includes major wins that Heinrich secured, including investments in New Mexico's service members, military installations, national labs, and job-creating initiatives throughout the state. Now that the Senate has passed the bill, it will be conferenced with the U.S. House of Representatives.
"This bipartisan defense bill includes important provisions to support our service members, invest in New Mexico's military installations, strengthen our national labs, and accelerate critical environmental clean-up work in New Mexico," said Heinrich. "I'm proud that this legislation also further cements New Mexico's leadership on emerging defense and space capabilities, and includes my International Nuclear Energy Act and important cybersecurity provisions that grew out of our work in the Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group. This bill will help make our country and the world safer."
The NDAA sets the Department of Defense (DOD) spending levels and policies for the upcoming fiscal year and authorizes funding for the U.S. Department of Energy's programs at Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, as well as the Department of Energy's environmental cleanup programs including the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).
Senator Heinrich has long championed provisions that benefit New Mexico's service members, national laboratories, and defense missions. Senator Heinrich served as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 2013 to 2020 and as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee from 2021 to 2022. He is also a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a member of the Senate Appropriations Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
During his time in Congress, Heinrich has doubled the total budgets for Sandia and Los Alamos, significantly increasing the total employees and local economic impact of both labs.
Heinrich has also delivered a total of more than $1.5 billion for military construction projects at defense installations in New Mexico over the course of his career in Congress.
Below is a list of many of the programs and provisions that Senator Heinrich advocated for during the bill writing process that were included in the FY26 Senate NDAA, followed by several amendments that were considered as part of the FY26 Senate NDAA's consideration on the Senate Floor.
Senate Defense Authorization Bill Highlights
Military Construction
Senator Heinrich championed a historic number of investments in our military installations in New Mexico, including:
Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies
Senator Heinrich helped secure provisions that ensure the Department of Defense only uses commercial AI services from companies with a reliable cybersecurity posture. AI companies that do not take appropriate steps to defend themselves in cyberspace may become the victims of supply chain attacks that compromise the trustworthiness of their products.
Heinrich also helped secure a provision directing the Department of Defense to develop a plan for ensuring that official videos come with technical information that proves they are genuinely created by the government. This will help combat disinformation by foreign actors who attempt to create deepfakes of senior military leaders, as they will not be able to prove that their videos are authentic Department of Defense content.
Nuclear Energy
Senator Heinrich's legislation, the International Nuclear Energy Act, which he led along with Senators Risch, Coons, and Lee, was included in the FY26 NDAA. This bill will provide new tools to the federal government to coordinate on nuclear energy policy with allied nations so that American energy companies can thrive on the world market.
Pay Raise for Junior Enlisted Service Members
The FY26 NDAA authorizes a 3.8 percent pay raise for service members. This builds off of a 14.5 percent pay raise for the most junior-ranking enlisted service members, and a 4.5 percent pay raise for the rest of the force in the FY25 NDAA.
Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories
The FY26 NDAA authorizes $1.7 billion for LANL's ongoing research and development programs. The funding supports personnel, equipment, and other activities at LANL.
Within the FY26 NDAA's overall $26.9 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Sandia National Laboratories will receive funding to support and sustain system integration, engineering, and science programs. Sandia is also receiving $40 million for their Microsystems, Engineering, Science and Applications (MESA) Photolithography Capability and $52.2 million for Combined Radiation Environments for Survivability Testing.
Additional Heinrich-led provisions:
In addition, a Heinrich-supported provision authorizes over $300 million for environmental cleanup efforts at Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories.
Rendija Canyon Land Study
Heinrich successfully led a provision to direct Administrator for Nuclear Security to conduct a study of portions of Tract A-14 (Rendija Canyon) of Los Alamos National Laboratory that may be suitable for conveyance.
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)
The FY26 NDAA authorizes over $415 million to operate WIPP including $2 million to construct a hoisting capability project to improve facility capacity and effectiveness.
Space Force Modeling, Simulation & Analysis Hub
The FY26 NDAA authorizes $8 million for the ongoing establishment and deployment of a U.S. Space Force modeling and simulation hub at the Air Force Research Lab on Kirtland Air Force Base.
Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program
The FY26 NDAA authorizes over $178 million for the Department of Defense's Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program. Cannon Air Force Base, Melrose Air Force Range, and White Sands Missile Range utilize the REPI to prevent encroachment and preserve their testing and training missions. The program as a whole is critical to assisting military installations and ranges as they are increasingly impacted by extreme weather, flooding, wildfires, drought, and other threats to resilience.
Advanced Simulation and Computing for Nuclear Stockpile Stewardship
The FY25 NDAA authorizes $866 million in funding for the NNSA's advanced simulation and computing efforts in the Stockpile Stewardship Program. This program ensures continued reliability of the stockpile and allows realistic simulations on supercomputers to understand how they would behave, without requiring explosive testing.
Intelligence Authorization Act
The FY26 NDAA includes the Intelligence Authorization Act for FY26, legislation that equips U.S. intelligence agencies with the tools, resources, and personnel they need to protect the American people, while also ensuring congressional oversight over those same agencies.
Senate Defense Authorization Bill Amendments
As a part of Senate consideration of the FY26 Senate NDAA, the Senate voted on a number of amendments. These included the following:
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