Sen. Rick Scott Secures Big Wins for Florida & Pres. Trump’s Agenda with Committee-Passed NDAA

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Senator Rick Scott, a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and chairman of the SASC Subcommittee on Seapower, released the following statement applauding the committee's passage of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This year's NDAA includes important wins for Florida and for President Trump's mission to support our warfighters and advance his peace through strength agenda. The FY 2026 NDAA also builds on Senator Scott's work to protect the United States against enemies like Communist China by prohibiting the Department of Defense (DoD) from purchasing Chinese computers and printers, devices that threaten our national security by allowing China to access our nation's secure networks and information.

Senator Rick Scott said, "Florida is the proud home to thousands of brave men and women who have dedicated their lives to serving our country with over 20 military installations and three combatant commands. As Florida's U.S. Senator and a Navy veteran myself, it's my honor to fight to support those who fight for our nation and ensure they have everything they need to complete their missions. Thanks to President Trump's leadership, our service members know they now have an administration fully committed to that goal. I was proud to work with my colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee on this year's NDAA, which has some big wins for Florida and our national security, while also supporting President Trump's work to ensure our military is a lethal fighting force based on merit and a warrior ethos. This includes provisions to get adversaries like Communist China out of our supply chains and technology, keep Homestead Air Reserve Base fully ready for a renewed flying mission, invest in critical military construction projects throughout the state, and ensure readiness across all domains so our warfighters can continue enacting President Trump's peace through strength agenda.

"I would like to thank Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reed, and all of my colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee for their hard work and commitment to getting this bill done. I am proud of our wins in this bill and look forward to passing this on the Senate floor and getting to President Trump's desk for signature."

Senator Scott will continue to fight for Floridians through the amendment process in the FY 2026 NDAA. In its current form, he fought for and secured several measures, including:

• Securing over $950 million for military construction projects throughout Florida, including the land acquisition and building of a Child Development Center at Eglin Air Force Base to increase access to childcare for military families in the Panhandle;
• Extending the joint use prohibition at Homestead Air Reserve Base to 2034 to protect the military mission as threats to U.S. national security rise in Latin America;
• Requiring the Secretary of Defense to gather information about utilizing civilian large cargo aircraft to continue the rapid growth and development of Florida's space coast;
• A force-wide pay raise of 3.8% for military members;
• A requirement for generic drug manufacturers to disclose the country of origin for pharmaceutical ingredients, identifying the vulnerabilities presented by the U.S. government's reliance on Communist Chinese drugs and throughout the supply chain;
• Banning the DoD from purchasing computers and printers made by companies based in Communist China, a U.S. adversary;
• Strongly encouraging the Secretary of Defense to invite Taiwan to the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, and if an invite is not extended to Taiwan, the Secretary of Defense must report to Congress within 30 days why an invite was not extended to Taiwan;
• Prohibiting the DoD from purchasing solar panels (photovoltaic modules) or inverters from Communist China;
• Requiring the Secretary of Defense to evaluate TP-Link telecommunications equipment to determine if it should be designated as "covered telecommunications equipment or services" - a classification that restricts use in the government due to national security concerns;
• Requiring the Secretary of Defense to annually review and consider adding Communist Chinese entities to the official list of Chinese military companies (the "1260H List") if those entities are already on other U.S. government sanctions lists;
• Providing support for United States' ally, Israel, and a total of $80 million for counter-tunneling cooperation;
• Allowing more than three Service Academy student-athletes to play professional sports and continue to serve our country; and
• Requiring a briefing to SASC on the feasibility and advisability of establishing a price index for certain strategic and critical materials.

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