Himes Votes to Pass Intelligence and Defense Priorities

Washington, DC - Today, the House of Representatives passed the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which advances funding and other priorities for the intelligence community, and which Congressman Jim Himes helped to negotiate in his role as Ranking Member on the House Intelligence Committee. The IAA was included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026.

"This year's Intelligence Authorization Act is the product of months of bipartisan negotiation," said Congressman Himes. "The resulting bill will help the US intelligence community remain competitive with our adversaries by encouraging the development and implementation of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and other emerging technologies. It also includes a much-needed provision for the CIA to protect its domestic facilities from unmanned drones and enhances congressional oversight of the intelligence community to ensure they conduct their work effectively, efficiently, and within the bounds of law.

"The broader National Defense Authorization Act strengthens our military and our security, but also serves to restore some of the damage done by this Administration to our international partnerships, as it authorizes security funding to Ukraine, commits to ongoing US military presence in Europe, and limits the Secretary of Defense's authority to remove senior military leadership without notification and justification to Congress.

"Critically, the NDAA also partially withholds travel funding for the Secretary of Defense until the Pentagon provides Congress with the full videos of every boat strike they have taken in Latin America, as well as additional justification for these decisions. This provision is an important step towards transparency and bipartisan oversight around this illegal military action, but does not negate the need for the videos to released publicly, including the video of the strike that killed two unarmed, shipwrecked survivors."

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2026 also invests billions of dollars in defense industrial base suppliers and technology from Connecticut based companies. This includes:

• A $1.9 billion authorization for the Virginia-class attack submarine program, to be built in part by General Dynamics in Groton. It also authorizes an additional $615 million in advance procurement, which includes wage improvement for shipyard workers.
• The procurement of up to five Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines built in part by General Dynamics, plus a $5.8 billion in advance procurement funds.
• The Purchase of 24 UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and 13 CH-53K King Stallion helicopters to be built at Sikorsky, with an additional $100 million for Blackhawk modernization work.

Permalink: https://himes.house.gov/2025/12/himes-votes-to-pass-intelligence-and-defense-priorities