Focus | US Congress proposes a massive $150 Billion defense investment to restore global military leadership against China.

On April 27, 2025, the House Armed Services Committee, chaired by Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), introduced reconciliation legislation designed to invest $150 billion into the modernization of the United States military and the strengthening of national security. Developed jointly by the House and Senate Armed Services Committees in close coordination with the White House, this legislative effort reflects the goals of President Trump’s "Peace Through Strength" strategy.
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This possible $150 billion defense investment can be seen as a US show of force to expand its defense industrial base and respond to adversaries such as China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. (Picture source: US DoD)

The bill aims not only to revitalize the defense industrial base but also to improve servicemember quality of life, reinforce border security, and enhance America’s global deterrence capabilities through new technologies and expanded infrastructure investments. Upon the announcement, Chairman Rogers and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker both underscored the urgency of restoring America’s defense readiness amid declining defense spending as a share of GDP and weakening deterrence postures.

The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) is a key permanent committee within the U.S. House of Representatives, the lower house of the US Congress. Its primary responsibility is to oversee the Department of Defense (DoD) and the United States Armed Forces. This includes matters related to defense policy, military operations, and the organization and reform of the DoD and the Department of Energy's national security programs. The committee also has jurisdiction over areas such as counter-drug programs, acquisition and industrial base policy, technology transfer and export controls, joint interoperability, the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, and detainee affairs and policy. ​

One of the HASC's key functions is the drafting and consideration of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA is a comprehensive piece of legislation that specifies the budget, expenditures, and policies of the DoD for each fiscal year. While the HASC authorizes defense programs and sets policy through the NDAA, it does not appropriate funds. The actual allocation of funds is handled by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Therefore, the HASC's proposals in the NDAA must be reconciled with appropriations legislation to be fully implemented. ​The HASC's work plays a crucial role in shaping legislation related to US military operations, personnel, and equipment, as well as ensuring civilian oversight of the military. However, its proposals are subject to the legislative process, including debates, amendments, and approvals by both the House and Senate, as well as the President's signature. Consequently, not all proposals by the HASC are adopted as initially presented; they often undergo modifications before becoming law.

The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) is a key permanent committee within the U.S. House of Representatives, the lower house of the US Congress, which oversees the Department of Defense (DoD) and the United States Armed Forces. (Picture source: HASC)

Mike Rogers, HASC's Chairman, characterized the legislation as a "historic investment" necessary to rebuild U.S. military capabilities, warning that resource reductions over the past decades had severely eroded the nation’s deterrent power. He pointed out that defense expenditures, relative to GDP, had fallen to their lowest levels since before World War II and emphasized that without a large-scale, generational investment, the U.S. could lose its ability to defeat emerging adversaries. Chairman Wicker similarly stressed that the bill represented a generational upgrade in military technology, highlighting the importance of achieving peace through strength by ensuring technological superiority and sufficient military readiness. Both Chairmen praised President Trump’s leadership and affirmed that the legislation was essential for maintaining American national security in the face of evolving global threats, particularly those posed by near-peer adversaries like China.

The legislative context of this initiative is rooted in the budget reconciliation process defined by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Both chambers of Congress adopted separate budget resolutions for Fiscal Year 2025—H.Con.Res. 14 in the House and S.Con.Res. 7 in the Senate. Each resolution included reconciliation instructions, a procedural mechanism allowing legislation related to mandatory spending, revenue, or debt limits to pass with a simple majority in the Senate. While the Senate resolution focuses more narrowly on defense and border security, the House resolution proposes a broader scope, including tax policy and debt limit adjustments. Historically, reconciliation bills have played critical roles in enacting major fiscal policies, and the average time between adoption and final passage has been approximately five months. By adopting a reconciliation approach for this defense package, Congress seeks to expedite vital investments at a time when the operational demands on the military are increasing rapidly.

The background leading to the current situation shows a pattern of underinvestment in critical areas, including military housing, shipbuilding, munitions stockpiles, and missile defense systems. Lessons from previous reconciliation uses in 2017 and 2021 illustrate how budget resolutions, even during ongoing fiscal years, can create additional windows for passing transformative legislation. In this case, the urgency derives from concerns over the erosion of industrial capacity, strategic competition with China and Russia, and persistent vulnerabilities in supply chains for critical minerals and defense components. Additionally, the FY2025 budget process included provisions specifically designed to fund programs for Indo-Pacific deterrence, countering hypersonic threats, advancing nuclear triad modernization, and improving border security, all framed within the broader objective of restoring the United States’ deterrent edge.

Shipbuilding and maritime industrial base enhancement receives $34 billion, as the United States faces structural limitations in its domestic shipbuilding sector, where the number of shipyards has declined from over 400 to fewer than 30. (Picture source: US DoD)

The reconciliation legislation dedicates $9 billion specifically to improving the quality of life for servicemembers. This includes $230.48 million for the restoration and modernization of Marine Corps barracks under the Marine Corps Barracks 2030 initiative and $119 million for associated base operating support costs. $1 billion is allocated for the sustainment, restoration, and modernization of military unaccompanied housing across the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force. An additional $2 billion is appropriated to the Defense Health Program to prevent healthcare service shortages. $2.9 billion supplements the Basic Allowance for Housing to address rising housing costs, and $590 million extends the Temporary Lodging Expense Allowance to 21 days for servicemembers undergoing permanent change of station. Other allocations include $50 million for military bonuses and incentive pays, $100 million for tuition assistance, $100 million for child care fee assistance, $10 million for military spouse professional licensure programs, $6 million for Armed Forces Retirement Home facilities, and $100 million for the Defense Community Infrastructure Program.

Shipbuilding and maritime industrial base enhancement receives $34 billion. This includes $250 million to expand the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing program, $250 million for U.S. turbine generator production, $450 million for additive manufacturing technologies, and $492 million for next-generation shipbuilding techniques. Investments include $85 million for U.S.-made steel plates, $50 million for naval propeller machining capacity, and $110 million for steel rolling and fabrication facilities. Major production expansions are funded with $400 million for a naval collaborative campus, $450 million for autonomy and AI integration into shipbuilding, and $500 million for adopting advanced manufacturing techniques. Notably, $4.6 billion funds the construction of a second Virginia-class submarine, $5.4 billion covers two additional DDG destroyers, and $2.725 billion is allocated for T-AO oilers procurement. Other major shipbuilding allocations target Landing Ship Medium procurement ($1.8 billion), shipyard expansions, and amphibious ships, including $3.7 billion for America-class LHAs and $2.1 billion for San Antonio-class LPDs.

In terms of air and missile defense modernization, $24.7 billion is directed to integrated air and missile defense systems. Funding includes $183 million for special Missile Defense Agency programs, $250 million for directed energy development, $300 million for classified space superiority initiatives, and $5.6 billion for space-based and boost-phase intercept programs. Layered homeland defense efforts receive $2.2 billion to accelerate hypersonic defense systems and $800 million for next-generation ICBM defenses. An additional $1.975 billion enhances ground-based missile defense radar capabilities, and $530 million funds the construction of a new Missile Defense Agency instrumentation range safety ship.

$24.7 billion is directed to integrated air and missile defense systems, including $2.2 billion to accelerate hypersonic defense systems and $800 million for next-generation ICBM defenses. (Picture source: US DoD)

The legislation allocates $20.4 billion to strengthening munitions and defense supply chain resiliency. This funding covers the expansion of long-range missile production for the Navy and Air Force, including $400 million for anti-ship missiles and $688 million for long-range multi-service cruise missiles. Torpedo production is funded at $400 million for heavyweights and $200 million for lightweights, while maritime mine development and procurement receive $500 million. Critical mineral production is boosted with $2.5 billion for the National Defense Stockpile. Investments also target expanding the one-way attack unmanned aerial systems industrial base with $1 billion and modernizing missile defense interceptors across Navy and Army programs.

To support innovation and the scaling of low-cost weapons systems, $13.5 billion is appropriated. This includes $1.1 billion to expand the small unmanned aerial systems industrial base, $400 million for the Joint Fires Network, $650 million for joint prototyping under the Mission Capabilities office, and $2 billion to scale commercial technologies via the Defense Innovation Unit. Significant resources are also allocated for military applications of 5G/6G technologies, high-altitude stratospheric surveillance balloons, alternative navigation technologies, reusable hypersonic strike systems, and AI-enabled autonomy for unmanned systems.

Air superiority initiatives are funded with $7.2 billion. Key projects include $3.15 billion for increasing F-15EX production, $361 million to prevent F-22 retirements, $127 million to sustain F-15E operations, $440 million to boost C-130J production, and $474 million for additional EA-37B aircraft. The Collaborative Combat Aircraft program is accelerated with $678 million, and $500 million funds the next-generation FA/XX program for naval air superiority.

A $7.2 billion defense investment will expand fighter production and accelerate US's next-generation air superiority programs to maintain operational advantage over China. (Picture source: US DoD)

Nuclear forces modernization is allocated $12.9 billion. This includes $1.5 billion for Sentinel ICBM risk reduction, $4.5 billion for accelerating the B-21 Raider bomber, and $2 billion to develop and procure the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N). Infrastructure improvements include $1 billion for expanding the National Nuclear Security Administration's facilities and $500 million each for primary and secondary nuclear capability modernization.

The Indo-Pacific Command receives $11.1 billion to enhance regional capabilities. Funding supports expanded military exercises, $450 million for developing new airfields, $1.1 billion for general infrastructure upgrades, and $850 million for military support to Taiwan. Classified space superiority programs receive $4 billion, and an additional $528 million enhances space situational awareness through programs like DARC and SILENTBARKER.

An additional $5 billion supports Department of Defense operations on the U.S. border, providing military personnel deployments, operational maintenance, detention facility expansions, and counterdrug missions. Meanwhile, $2 billion is allocated to improving military intelligence programs, with an emphasis on classified activities and modernization of ISR capabilities.

Oversight mechanisms are established with $10 million allocated to the Department of Defense Inspector General, tasked with monitoring classified and non-classified programs funded under this title. Military construction projects are also authorized, requiring detailed spending plans to be submitted to Congress within 30 days, while expenditure reporting obligations continue annually thereafter. Finally, limitations are set prohibiting the use of appropriated funds after September 30, 2034, ensuring a clearly bounded fiscal horizon for the reconciliation funding.