By Second District · Published August 18, 2026 · Updated September 3, 2026
Quick answer
The fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act became Public Law 119-60 in December 2025. Kiggans voted yes on the House version. Her office highlighted shipbuilding, troop pay, housing, child care and health-facility provisions as priorities for Hampton Roads. The NDAA authorizes programs and policy; it is not the same thing as the appropriations laws that provide budget authority.
What happened
Congress passed the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act in December 2025. The House approved S. 1071 by a 312–112 vote, and the measure became Public Law 119-60 on December 18.
What Kiggans did
Kiggans voted yes on the House passage vote. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, she also publicly promoted the bill and said she had worked to include provisions affecting ships, military families and the regional defense workforce.
What the law covers
The official congressional summary describes policies and authorities covering ships, aircraft and missiles; military personnel levels; pay and health policy; acquisitions; military construction; cybersecurity; artificial intelligence; the Coast Guard; and other national-security matters.
Kiggans’s office highlighted a 3.8% troop pay raise, more than $1.5 billion for barracks and family housing, child-care construction, military health facilities and $26 billion in shipbuilding authorization. Those figures are presented as claims from her office and should be checked against the enacted text and appropriations when tracking implementation.
Authorization is not appropriation
The NDAA establishes policy and authorizes programs. Separate appropriations measures generally provide the legal authority to spend money. A project can be authorized without receiving the full amount described, and appropriated money can take time to become an awarded contract or completed facility.
Why it matters in Coastal Virginia
In Hampton Roads, the practical trail runs from legislative text to Navy budget documents, contract awards, construction schedules and payroll. That makes the defense law a starting point for local reporting—not the final proof that every promised outcome occurred.
Sources
- S. 1071 — FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act — Congress.gov / Congressional Research Service. Official legislative status and summary of the law’s major policy areas.
- House Roll Call Vote 320 — Congress.gov. House result and Kiggans’s recorded yea vote.
- Public Law 119-60 — U.S. Government Publishing Office. Authenticated public-law record and enacted text.
- House Passes FY26 NDAA with Major Hampton Roads and Shipbuilding Priorities — Office of Rep. Jen Kiggans. Kiggans’s description of district priorities and selected figures.
Place and policy files
Published since this story
- Authorized, Appropriated, Contracted, Built: The Four Gates of a Navy Ship — September 3, 2026
- How Much of Coastal Virginia Depends on a Federal Paycheck? — September 3, 2026