WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate passed the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, advancing three legislative priorities championed by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) and several Louisiana-based defense initiatives.
The $886 billion defense policy measure includes Kennedy’s bipartisan efforts to curb improper government payments, boost home construction, and increase transparency for foreign investors.
“This critical defense authorization bill helps ensure America’s military stays the best in the world at full strength—not second to anybody—and it delivers major wins for Louisianians,” Kennedy said. “I’m especially proud that it also advances three of my top priorities in the Senate: ending the foolish practice of paying dead people, helping young families finally afford their first homes and forcing foreign insiders to play by the same set of rules as American investors.”
The bill incorporates the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, co-sponsored by Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). The measure would permanently allow the Treasury Department’s Do Not Pay system to access the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File to prevent improper federal payments. Kennedy’s earlier version of the law, enacted in 2020, helped recover $31 million within its first five months.
The Build Now Act, co-sponsored with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), seeks to address housing affordability by tying portions of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant funding to homebuilding performance. Cities that fail to meet national housing growth benchmarks would lose up to 10% of CDBG funding, which would be redirected to cities that exceed the national median rate of homebuilding.
The Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act, sponsored with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), would require executives of foreign-based public companies to disclose stock trades within two business days, mirroring the reporting requirements for U.S.-based firms. The measure aims to close regulatory gaps that have allowed foreign insiders to avoid financial losses while U.S. investors face higher risk.
In addition to the legislative initiatives, the defense bill includes multiple Louisiana-focused provisions, including funding for design upgrades at the Child Development Center and dormitories at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier Parish. It also directs procurement for defense vessels built in Slidell, Jeanerette, and Morgan City, La., supporting the state’s shipbuilding and defense manufacturing sectors.
The legislation awaits reconciliation with the House-passed version before being sent to the president for signature.