NDAA update · Oct 6, 2026

NDAA Update Oct 6, 2026: Unions back Senate push to limit stock buybacks for defense contractors

Seven stories on Oct. 6: stock buybacks, Golden Dome funding, the $350B party-line package, maritime provisions, the Chamber of Commerce's letter on the bill, a USW, IAM, IBB, IBEW and SIU letter urging SASC to keep and expand House NDAA SHIPS Act provisions, and a Carbajal-, Padilla-, Schiff- and Huffman-led letter from 30 colleagues urging House and Senate Armed Services leaders to remove the Hunt Amendment (Section 2835) from the FY2027 NDAA.

Bill status

No change in the bill's status: the House passed H.R. 8800 on July 22, 2026; S. 4784 has not reached the Senate floor; and the Senate is scheduled to return the week of November 9, after the November 3 election, with the NDAA deferred to the lame-duck session. Full timeline: FY2027 NDAA status · Did the NDAA pass? · NDAA 2027 status · What happens next.

The stories

Unions back Senate push to limit stock buybacks for defense contractors

Federal News Network · Oct 6, 2026

Labor unions led by the UAW urged the Armed Services leaders to keep Section 815 of S. 4784, which would bar Pentagon contracts with companies doing stock buybacks, in the final NDAA. The House bill has no such provision, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged Congress to drop it.

Trump's Golden Dome faces headwinds with funding uncertain

The Hill · Oct 6, 2026

Most of the $17 billion FY2027 Golden Dome request sits in the proposed $350 billion reconciliation package, with only $400 million in the base budget, leaving the program exposed under the continuing resolution that began Oct. 1.

Republicans can't quit $1.5-trillion Pentagon dream

Punchbowl News · Oct 6, 2026

GOP defense hawks are still pushing a $350 billion party-line reconciliation package toward Trump's $1.5 trillion Pentagon goal despite unresolved offsets. Democrats say Republicans will need their votes on defense appropriations and the NDAA, and that dropping the reconciliation push would open earnest talks on both.

MTD Affiliates Support Maritime Provisions in NDAA

Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO · Oct 6, 2026

The Seafarers, Steelworkers, Machinists, Boilermakers and IBEW wrote SASC leaders Wicker and Reed urging them to keep, and expand, the SHIPS for America Act and other maritime provisions in the House-passed H.R. 8800 in the final FY2027 NDAA.

Letter to Congress on the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act

U.S. Chamber of Commerce · Oct 6, 2026

The Chamber urged the four Armed Services leaders to keep H.R. 8800's IP ombudsman (Sec. 862), the CISA 2015 extension through 2035 (Sec. 1706) and the orbital data center pilot (Sec. 1728), and to drop S. 4784's stock buyback and dividend limits (Sec. 815) and the government-purpose-rights default (S. 4784 Sec. 804 / H.R. 8800 Sec. 861).

Maritime labor unions urge Senate Armed Services to keep and expand House NDAA SHIPS Act provisions

USW, IAM, IBB, IBEW & SIU · Oct 6, 2026

In an Oct. 6, 2026 letter to Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker and Ranking Member Jack Reed, the United Steelworkers, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Seafarers International Union back the SHIPS for America Act and maritime provisions in the House-passed FY2027 NDAA, saying they would support growth of the U.S.-flag fleet, strengthen domestic shipbuilding, expand maritime workforce development and encourage long-term private investment, and that they align with the Administration's Maritime Action Plan. They call the NDAA "an appropriate vehicle" and urge SASC "not only to maintain, but significantly expand upon these provisions." The letter is copied to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the chairs and ranking members of Senate Commerce, Finance and HELP, and House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers and Ranking Member Adam Smith.

Carbajal, Padilla, Schiff, Huffman Lead Colleagues in Urging Removal of Hunt Amendment from Annual Defense Bill

Office of U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (press release) · Oct 6, 2026

U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24), U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), and House Natural Resources Committee top Democrat Jared Huffman (D-CA-02) led 30 of their colleagues in a letter calling on House and Senate Armed Services Committee leaders to reject the Hunt Amendment's provision (Section 2835) in the FY2027 NDAA, which would grant unprecedented eminent domain authority to the federal government to benefit Sable Offshore Corporation (Santa Ynez Unit / Las Flores Pipeline). "Given the sweeping implications of this provision, we believe this policy rider does not belong in the NDAA and, therefore, should be removed from the final conference agreement," wrote the lawmakers. They cite California's coastal economy, which supports roughly 511,000 jobs and generates over $51.3 billion in GDP from marine-economy activities, and say there is no evidence that this provision would meaningfully advance the nation's energy security.

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