What to Watch as Lawmakers Race to Pass 2026 Defense Budget by Jan. 30

House and Senate lawmakers say they’re hopeful Congress will pass a defense appropriations bill in the coming weeks to avoid a repeat of last fall’s government shutdown, with only having a handful of working days remaining before the Jan. 30 deadline.

Yet legislators still have to release a compromise version of defense spending legislation, which will have to sort through major differences between the House and Senate versions advanced last summer.

Leaders in the House and the Senate expect to release that compromise bill this weekend as part of a larger spending package, according to multiple media reports. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters the defense bill would be part of a package that includes funding for the Departments of Transportation, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and possibly Homeland Security. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said the deal should be released the night of Jan. 18.

“The negotiations are still going on, but we’re down to a limited number of issues,” she told reporters. 

A spokesperson for House Appropriations defense subcommittee Chair Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) told Air & Space Forces Magazine the chairman is hopeful the defense spending package will clear both chambers by the end of this month.

Congress set the Jan. 30 deadline in mid-November, after a standoff over healthcare subsidies led to a 43-day government shutdown. Members of the military and some civilian employees deemed “essential” worked despite the funding lapse, but only the troops received paychecks during that period. The Pentagon furloughed 334,000 employees. 

While lawmakers have about two weeks to complete the federal spending bills to avoid another shutdown, the Senate is on recess next week, and the House is out of session the following week. Lawmakers could pass another continuing resolution in a crunch, but Cole said that discussion isn’t yet on the table.  

The Pentagon requested $848 billion in fiscal 2026, funding supplemented by $150 billion in defense reconciliation money, which Congress approved last summer. The Air Force and Space Force sought a combined $211 billion, plus $39 billion in reconciliation funds.  

In draft defense spending bills approved last year, House appropriators proposed an $848 billion defense topline, while the Senate offered a $22 billion funding increase. Key differences in those bills that could affect the Air Force and Space Force include: 

House appropriators proposed funds for 42 F-35As, 18 more than what the Air Force requested. Senate lawmakers, meanwhile, supported the Air Force ask. 
House appropriators sought to add $13 billion for Golden Dome. The Senate did not include funding for the advanced missile shield.
House appropriators recommended $500 million for the E-7 Wedgetail, which the Air Force sought to cancel in its budget request. Senate lawmakers proposed $647 million for the program. 
House appropriators proposed $345 million to buy an extra three F-15EX fighters. Senate lawmakers stuck to the Air Force’s base budget request, which did not include procurement funds for the aircraft.