Case votes in favor of annual defense bill including several of his requested provisions

U.S. Rep. Ed Case, a Hawai‘i Democrat who represents the state’s 1st Congressional District encompassing all of Honolulu, recently voted in favor of the final compromise version of a $900 billion fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.

The annual measure — which sets priorities, policy and funding for the U.S. Department of Defense as well as other national security activities and programs for the year — includes six amendments Case sponsored and various other requests he made for Hawai‘i and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

They include a request for $1 billion for military construction projects in the Aloha State and provisions to increase funding and staffing for the U.S. Coast Guard and expand Coast Guard operations in the Indo-Pacific.

The National Defense Authorization Act — considered must-pass legislation, with Congress
enacting one every year since fiscal year 1962 — is separate from the regular annual appropriations bills Case helps draft as a member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

These bills actually direct funding using the National Defense Authorization Act as an authorizing framework.

“Our National Defense Authorization Act is a critical annual measure that not only authorizes our defense spending for the year, supplementing my Appropriations Committee’s parallel funding responsibilities, but also establishes defense policies, including organization and administration of the Defense Department,” said Case in a recent release.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense is responsible for funding all defense and intelligence community programs. Case also previously served on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.

“While the NDAA also addresses military readiness, the measure also supports several quality-of-life provisions that are critical to service members and their families,” Case said.

The act includes language encouraging the U.S. Army to fully develop and communicate its plans for the leased lands at Pōhakuloa Training Area on the Big Island to all stakeholders.

It also encourages the Army to continue working with the state and U.S. Congress to ensure any appropriate legislative authority aligns with the value of land in Hawai‘i and meets the training needs of all military services.

Given the positive economic impact from military construction in Hawai‘i, Case highlighted various military construction projects he supported that are included in the measure’s final version:

• $142 million to commence a multi-year project to build a water treatment plant at Red Hill on O‘ahu that would allow the drinking water shaft to be reopened and help remove any residual contaminants from the ground surrounding Red Hill.
• $493 million of additional funding to continue construction a new drydock at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility on O‘ahu. This is the Defense Department’s largest current military construction project.
• $66 million for airfield improvements at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kaua‘i.
• $147 million for Military Housing Privatization Initiative projects (460 units) at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on O‘ahu.
• $37 million for Water Reclamation Facility Compliance Upgrades at Marine Corp Base Hawai‘i on O‘ahu.
• $49 million to replace the main gate at Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i.
• $83 million for DDG-1000 Ship Support Infrastructure Upgrades at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
• $15 million to modernize the electrical distribution system at Marine Corp Base Hawai‘i.

The bill also includes several provisions Case proposed as amendments during the bill’s consideration by the House:

• Directing the assistant secretary of defense for energy, installations and environment and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to assess the critical civilian and military infrastructure investments needed in Hawai‘i for any potential conflict.
• Directing the Army to conduct a study and send Congress a report on options for expanding a reserve contracted wartime sealift capacity in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Directing the Government Accountability Office to examine how to improve the military’s foreign exchange programs, which are a key soft-power tool that strengthen the ties between the United States and other countries around the globe. 
• Directing U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to assess how to strengthen community relationships between the U.S. Armed Forces and Freely Associated States citizens from the Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia impacted by military installations and operating locations.
• Preventing the U.S. Navy from taking any action to disestablish the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command Pacific located at Pearl Harbor, which was proposed by the Trump administration.
• Directing the Navy, in coordination with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, to assess the capacity of each U.S. public and private shipyard, and each foreign shipyard of an allied or partner country, to support battle damage repair in the event of an armed conflict in the Indo-Pacific.

The bill further includes several provisions advocated for and supported by Case to continue the military’s investment in Hawai‘i and the Indo-Pacific.

A summary of the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act is available here.

Text of the bill is available online, with the explanatory committee report available here.