The Senate last week approved a $925-billion version of the National Defense Authorization Act, the Pentagon’s annual spending blueprint, with leadership from U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker. 

The measure passed the Senate 77-20, a rare bipartisan achievement in the chamber currently facing partisan gridlock and paralyzed by a government shutdown. The legislation is not final, but it sets Senate leaders up to begin negotiations with the House. 

Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi who leads the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that the legislation will help modernize the military and strengthen national security. 

“My colleagues and I have prioritized reindustrialization and the structural rebuilding of the arsenal of democracy, starting with drone technology, shipbuilding, and innovative low-cost weapons,” Wicker said. “We have also set out to enact historic reforms in the Pentagon’s budgeting and acquisition process to unleash innovation and root out inefficiencies.”   

The bill will now go to a conference committee to reconcile differences between the Senate measure and the version the House passed in September.

U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, the junior Republican senator from Mississippi, also voted for the legislation. She said in a news release that the bill will help restore the strength of the country’s national defense. 

“The FY2026 NDAA builds on the down payment we made with the One Big Beautiful Bill by authorizing funding priorities and reforms,” Hyde-Smith said.  “I thank Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker for his leadership on this bill.”

The Senate bill includes funding for military bases in Mississippi, but the specific amounts could change in the final version of the bill.