PASSED THE SENATE: Annual Defense Bill with Hassan-Led Provision to Crack Down on Foreign Adversaries

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 last week, which included key national security provisions that U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan secured and supported. The bill includes Senator Hassan’s bipartisan DETERRENCE Act, which increases criminal penalties on individuals who commit or attempt to commit violent crimes in the U.S. on behalf of foreign adversaries like Iran, measures that Senator Hassan supported to address the high cost of housing, and other key priorities for New Hampshire.

“Our government’s number one job is to keep people safe, and this year’s annual defense bill includes important bipartisan measures to help keep the United States safe, secure, and free,” said Senator Hassan. “I am glad that this annual defense bill has several measures that I introduced and pushed for, including bipartisan bills to stand up to our foreign adversaries, support Gold Star and surviving spouses, and make it easier for hard-working families to purchase a home. Despite our differences, my colleagues and I worked together to pass this legislation, demonstrating that progress is possible when leaders from both sides of the aisle can put country first to solve problems – which is exactly what is needed to end the ongoing government shutdown.”

Key measures that Senator Hassan authored and supported that are included in the Senate-passed NDAA include:

• Senator Hassan’s bipartisan DETERRENCE Act, which holds offenders accountable and deters criminals, including criminal organizations, from taking money from foreign adversaries in exchange for committing certain crimes on American soil

• Senator Hassan’s bipartisan Gold Star and Surviving Spouse Career Services Act, which increases access to job counseling services through the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program to spouses of members of the Armed Forces who died while serving in the military or of a service-connected disability

• The ROAD to Housing Act, supported by Senator Hassan, which is a significant package to help make housing more affordable that includes funding to help build more homes for the middle-class, cuts red tape when building homes, and makes it easier for veterans to buy homes

• A provision Senators Shaheen and Hassan helped secure to protect Portsmouth Naval Shipyard employees, and other public shipyard employees, from the Trump Administration’s chaotic firings by exempting them from workforce reductions related to spending cuts, reprogramming of funds, or probationary status of employees

Other measures that Senator Hassan supported that are in the NDAA include:

• A 3.8% pay raise for service members

• Significant funding for Virginia-class submarines, which are repaired at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

• Funding for construction projects that support Granite Staters, including at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the Army National Guard’s Plymouth Training Center, and Pease Air National Guard Base

• Increased access to health care for veterans at Department of Defense facilities

• Reinforced support for Ukraine in its fight for freedom and additional protections for the important role that NATO plays in protecting our national security
• Prohibitions on certain investments in Chinese technology that put our national security at risk

Senator Hassan is focused on keeping our country safe, secure, and free. Last year, she successfully passed into law critical measures in the annual defense bill, including a measure to help National Guard and Reserve members return to school after a mobilization or deployment. Senator Hassan has also been a champion of workers at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and has spoken out against the Trump Administration’s cuts and its hiring freeze at the Shipyard which were later reversed.

Additionally, Senator Hassan continues to work to lower housing costs for Granite Staters. Senator Hassan has spoken out about the ways in which President Trump’s reckless tariffs can raise the cost of building materials – which are passed onto families through higher home prices. Additionally, Senator Hassan has authored and co-sponsored bipartisan bills to lower housing costs that passed into law, including her bipartisan legislation to cut taxes for middle-class homeowners by restoring a tax cut for middle-class homebuyers with mortgage insurance, and a bipartisan bill to expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and help build more homes that working families can afford.

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