While lawmakers will not return to Washington until after the midterm elections, MOAA will continue pressing Congress to advance critical priorities for servicemembers, retirees, their families, and survivors as part of must-pass defense legislation.

With the FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) entering the final stages of the legislative process, MOAA is maintaining a consistent presence on Capitol Hill to ensure key provisions remain in the final bill and to improve legislative language to achieve the intended outcomes.

The House passed its version of the bill (H.R. 8800) on July 22. The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) reported its version (S. 4784) in June, but it has yet to pass the full chamber. House and Senate members are working through their differences as part of an informal process between the two chambers rather than the traditional conference committee process.

MOAA joined a group of military and veterans service organizations Sept. 23 for a meeting with SASC professional staff as the committee prepares to reconcile differences between the House and Senate bills. Members of MOAA’s government relations team highlighted several key provisions that have a path forward in the NDAA and that we hope to see included in the final legislation. The team also recommended targeted changes to legislative language on certain provisions to better align the final language with the needs of the military and veteran communities.

MOAA also recently joined The Military Coalition (TMC) in a letter urging congressional leaders to preserve and advance a broad range of provisions in the final NDAA.TMC represents a combined 5.5 million-plus members. MOAA co-chairs the coalition and many of its committees.

In its letter to armed services committee leaders in both chambers, TMC thanked the lawmakers for their bipartisan work on the NDAA and noted support for numerous provisions related to health care access, reserve component benefits, military family housing safety, Military Retirement Fund parity for the U.S. Public Health Service and NOAA, and expanded child care options.

TMC also noted its continued support for the Major Richard Star Act. This legislation was not included in either the House or Senate versions of the FY 2027 NDAA but remains a top TMC priority.