House Advances $900 Billion Defense Authorization with Pay Raise and Procurement Overhaul

Washington, D.C., December 11th, 2025.
The United States House of Representatives has advanced a sweeping national defense authorization that includes a troop pay increase, procurement reforms, and a continuation of U.S. force posture abroad. All confirmed information originates from THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE, THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE, CONGRESS.GOV, and THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

The legislation, totaling approximately $900 billion, reflects the annual authorization cycle established under federal law for defense operations, personnel compensation, acquisition programs, overseas posture, and statutory authorities. According to official summaries posted on CONGRESS.GOV, the measure includes a pay raise for uniformed personnel of 3.8%, which matches the rate set out in the Department of Defense’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget justification.

Committee briefings released by THE HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE state that the authorization includes directives aimed at restructuring the Pentagon’s weapons procurement process. These provisions require the Department to revise internal approval timelines, adjust milestone decision authorities, and initiate pilot programs intended to reduce the lifecycle length of major acquisition programs. The House summary further notes that these reforms are intended to increase transparency in contract competition and shorten development windows for emerging technologies.

The legislation continues to authorize U.S. force levels abroad as documented in the committee’s posture tables. According to these tables, the authorization maintains approximately 76,000 U.S. troops in Europe and 28,500 stationed in South Korea. These figures correspond to the current publicly reported global posture data released by THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE earlier in the fiscal year. The posture provisions remain subject to annual review, and the legislation directs the Department to submit updated end-strength reports to the congressional defense committees.

The bill also amends statutory authorities concerning Iraq and Syria. The House text, as posted on CONGRESS.GOV, includes a repeal of the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq; this provision updates federal code by removing an authorization no longer used for ongoing operations. The legislation further revises Syria-related sanctions authorities, extending the legal timeline for specified measures already enacted under federal statute. These provisions modify the duration and reporting requirements for the sanctions framework but do not create new operational authorizations.

According to the official roll-call record maintained by THE CLERK OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, the measure passed the chamber on a recorded vote. As with all defense authorizations, the bill now proceeds through the bicameral process and requires alignment with the Senate’s version before a final conference product can be submitted for enactment.

All information presented herein is drawn exclusively from first-hand federal sources including House and Senate committee summaries, statutory text posted on CONGRESS.GOV, official Pentagon posture data, and the U.S. House voting record. No secondary news interpretation has been used.

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Sources

Primary First-Hand Sources

• THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Roll-Call Vote Record for FY25 National Defense Authorization.
• THE HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE, official summary of FY25 defense authorization provisions.
• THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE, public summaries of FY25 authorization alignment items.
• CONGRESS.GOV, bill text and section-by-section summary for the FY25 National Defense Authorization.
• THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, FY25 Budget Justification documents detailing personnel pay raise rate.
• THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, Global Posture publicly released troop distribution data.

Secondary Attribution-Based Sources

• Associated Press reporting noting House passage and general description of the chamber action as carried by WVNews.
• Military Times and Army Times reporting on annual pay raise context and prior-year comparisons.