WASHINGTON — Congressional appropriators on Jan. 20 released a fiscal 2026 defense spending bill that funds the U.S. Space Force at $26 billion, matching the administration’s request, while faulting the Pentagon for failing to provide detail on its plans for the Golden Dome missile defense initiative.
The bill, part of a $1.2 trillion appropriations package, provides $838.7 billion for defense, about $8.4 billion above the administration’s request.
Appropriators said in a statement following the bill’s release that they are making “steady progress in fully funding the government before the January 30 deadline” to avert a shutdown.
The $26 billion appropriation for the Space Force does not capture the full scope of the service’s funding. The Space Force is also benefiting from mandatory defense spending approved last year under the reconciliation package known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted July 4, 2025. Roughly $13.8 billion from that law is being counted toward the Space Force’s fiscal 2026 budget, largely for missile defense satellite systems in support of the administration’s proposed Golden Dome layered missile defense architecture. Combined, the Space Force’s planned resources approach $40 billion — nearly double its funding from five years ago.
On Golden Dome, defense appropriators said they support the initiative, but faulted the administration for failing to provide sufficient detail on how $23 billion in mandatory funding is being allocated. The 2026 spending bill directs the Pentagon to submit detailed plans and justifications for the program.
Although lawmakers approved the overall topline for the Space Force, they made some adjustments. Funding was shifted from research and development into procurement, which was increased by $528 million to pay for two new GPS satellites that were not requested by the administration.
- The bill reflects congressional interest in expanding the Space Force’s use of commercial technology. It adds $49.5 million to explore commercial positioning, navigation and timing services to ensure resilience in GPS-denied environments, along with funding for space-based environmental monitoring and space domain awareness.
- Separately, the measure adds $15 million to continue development of “resilient GPS space systems,” potentially reopening the door to commercial approaches after the Department of the Air Force moved to discontinue the Resilient-GPS effort. Lawmakers also included $30 million to develop “an integrated PNT architecture” intended to promote competition across the space industry.
- Commercial services also play a role in the bill’s treatment of the Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Tracking services program, or TacSRT. The Space Force initiative uses commercial satellite imagery and analytics to support military commanders worldwide. The administration did not fund TacSRT in its fiscal 2026 request — despite $40 million appropriated in each of the prior two years — but lawmakers added $30 million to continue the program and $50 million to sustain new or existing agreements with commercial providers.
- Appropriators praised TacSRT for having “instituted a novel marketplace for commercial remote sensing tasking, which allows for vendor competition,” and again urged the Pentagon to make it a formal program of record.
- Lawmakers took a different approach to MILNET, a proposed Proliferated Low Earth Orbit communications network. The bill eliminates $277 million requested for the program, which would have created a government-operated constellation built by SpaceX to provide data transport services.
- MILNET has been discussed as a potential replacement for the Transport Layer developed by the Space Development Agency. Appropriators objected to the MILNET procurement approach, which would have the Space Force partner with the National Reconnaissance Office to leverage a sole-source contract with SpaceX. Lawmakers said they were concerned the model would steer critical Defense Department space networking toward a non-competed solution, undermining competition and the industrial base.
- They added $50 million to the budget of the Space Development Agency, which has pursued a multi-vendor strategy through iterative tranches of satellites.
The House is expected to vote on the minibus package this week. If it passes, the measure would move to the Senate, where leaders say they are optimistic it can advance given the bipartisan conference agreement. Passage would bring Congress closer to completing the fiscal 2026 appropriations cycle; six of the 12 regular spending bills have already been approved through earlier packages or standalone measures.
