Warren Secures Wins on Right to Repair, Service Member Safety, Military Housing, Transparency at Defense Department in Senate Version of FY 2026 Defense Policy Bill

Executive Summary of Senate FY26 NDAA (Website)
Washington, D.C. —During the Senate Armed Services Committee’s (SASC) markup of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (FY26 NDAA) this week, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, secured key wins, including on right to repair, transparency on the removal of top military officials, troop health and safety, boosting competition among defense contractors, improved housing protections for American troops, and education. All were secured with bipartisan support in the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Senator Warren secured the following provisions in SASC’s version of the FY26 NDAA:
Right to Repair
“It’s common sense for members of the military to be able to fix their own weapons. Senator Sheehy and I fought hard to secure this provision that will improve military readiness and save taxpayers billions of dollars. It's about time we stand up to Pentagon contractors that are squeezing every last cent from us at the expense of our national security,”said Senator Warren.
In January, Senator WarrensecuredArmy Secretary Dan Driscoll’s support for taking on costly right to repair restrictions. She has alsoquestioned defense contractorsdirectly for their opposition to right to repair reform and introducedseparate bicameral legislationto require contractors to provide repair materials in a timely and reasonable manner.
Promoting Transparency
“Secretary Hegseth’s attack on independent legal advisors doesn’t make anyone safer. I’m fighting to rein in this abuse of power and ensure transparency from this administration,”said Senator Warren.
Senator Warren, along with several of her SASC colleagues, sent aletterto Secretary Hegseth earlier this year raising concerns about how his firings of these top military lawyers would damage public trust and the apolitical foundation of the military legal system. In a March 2025 hearing, Senator Warren alsohighlighted, and a Trump defense nominee agreed with, the importance of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, whom American troops rely on for legal advice and Senator Lindsey Graham has praised as “the conscience of the military.”
Service Member Health and Safety
“I’ve heard so many stories of service members suffering from the devastating effects of blast overpressure – cases of depression, suicide, and seizures. I led historic, bipartisan reforms in last year’s NDAA and will keep pushing DoD to do more,”said Senator Warren. “I’ve been fighting on this issue for years, and a long-term study on exposure would help us better ensure troops get the care and support they deserve.”
For over seven years, Senator Warren has led efforts to measure blast exposure and develop protocols that protect our military. She’s introducedbipartisan legislationto track service members’ exposure to and mitigate the effects of blast overpressure. She’s also hosted ahearingand aforum to highlightservice members’ and veterans’ experiences with getting care for these injuries. In last year’s NDAA, Senator Warrensecured historic reformsto improve access to care after exposure to blast overpressure and mitigate exposure risks.
Senator Warren has alsohighlighted the need for transparencyaround military accidents, the crash that killed Staff Sergeant Jacob Galliher– a young father from Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Increasing Competition
“Increasing competition for our military’s AI and cloud computing programs creates better tools, saves money, and protects our national security. I’ll keep fighting to protect our military from being ripped off while keeping our markets fair and our information secure,”said Senator Warren.
Senator Warren hasurged the Defense Departmentto ensure its AI contracting processes will protect government data, save taxpayer funds, and promote competition. She’s alsointroduced bipartisan legislationto help rein in Big Tech companies and prevent them from cutting out competitors in the AI and cloud computing markets when it comes to defense contracting.
Drug Supply Chains and Health Care
“The DoD's overreliance on overseas manufacturers gives our adversaries the power to restrict our access to the critical drugs we need to treat our men and women in uniform,”said Senator Warren. “Congress can save lives and save money by strengthening our domestic pharmaceutical supply to ensure we have access to the medicines necessary to treat service members in the field.”
“One of the nation's biggest drug middlemen may be ripping off our military to boost its profits--and trying to hide this information from Congress. My provision ensures Congress has the information we need to hold contractors accountable for price-gouging on the backs of our servicemembers and taxpayers,”said Senator Warren.
Senator Warren has long sounded the alarm on the danger of overly relying on foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers, for both the military and civilians. She has ledbipartisan oversightand urged the Defense Department to reform acquisition rules to give preference to American-made products. She has alsofiled legislationto end the country’s reliance on foreign countries for critical drugs and abipartisan billto study the impacts of foreign investment in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. Senator Warren has alsocalled for auditsinto pharmacy benefit managers thatprice gouge the military.
Military Housing and Childcare
“Military families deserve safe, affordable housing. Congress must investigate the potential use of rent-setting algorithms used to price gouge military families and ban abusive landlords' use of NDAs meant to keep military tenants quiet,”said Senator Warren.
Senator Warren has been a leader in raising concerns about problems with privatized military housing and led the push to protect military families. She has led oversight intolandlords’ use of algorithmic pricing toolslike RealPage to hike rents on servicemembers. She has also introduced legislation to addressprivate military housing landlords' use of NDAsandunsafe housing conditions. At an April 2025 hearing, Senator Warrensecured a commitmentfrom a Trump defense nominee to hold military housing contractors accountable, if needed.
Education
“Service members put their lives on the line for this country, so there’s no excuse for our government to fall short of its promises to them. Helping service members afford quality education is how our country recruits and maintains a fighting force,”said Senator Warren.
Senator Warren has been a leading voice in fighting for strong education benefits for service members and families,fighting to restore benefitsto veterans cheated by for-profit colleges and pushing the Defense Department torelease dataon the Postsecondary Education Complaint System (PECS), a centralized database to track complaints against schools who participate in tuition assistance programs. At an April 2025 hearing, shepressed military leaderson the impact of the Defense Department’s shortcomings on education benefits.
The House Armed Services Committee will convene to mark up its version of the NDAA next week.
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