Horsford Delivers Key Wins for Nevada’s Military Families in Annual Defense Bill, While Calling Out Harmful GOP Provisions
December 10, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) today announced his support for the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), citing major wins for Nevada servicemembers and military families even as he condemned partisan provisions inserted by Republicans throughout the legislative process.
The FY26 NDAA includes several Horsford-led provisions that will help strengthen financial stability, improve mental-health support, and expand quality-of-life programs for military families at Nellis, Creech, and across Nevada. It also delivers long-sought investments in Nevada’s defense installations and provides a 3.8 percent pay raise for troops.
Rep. Horsford released the following statement:
“This year’s NDAA includes tangible improvements for military families in Nevada, and I worked hard to make sure it does,” Rep. Horsford said. “From addressing hidden relocation costs to accessing healthcare, expanding childcare, and improving hardship benefits for Airmen and Guardians serving in some of the most demanding operational environments, my focus with this legislation has been supporting servicemembers and their families.
“This bill is far from perfect, and I strongly oppose its Republican culture-war provisions,” Rep. Horsford continued. “Our servicemembers are above partisanship, and the legislation they count on should be too. These provisions weaken readiness, undermine trust, and have no place in a defense bill.”
Despite these setbacks, Rep. Horsford drove significant gains for Nevada:
Despite these setbacks, Rep. Horsford drove significant gains for Nevada:
- Strengthening Military Family Financial Stability: Requires DoD to assess hidden Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs and their impact on family budgets, ensuring more predictable and transparent support.
- Mental-Health Protections for Remote Combat Operators: Directs DoD to evaluate the psychological impacts of remote warfare, delivering long-overdue support for Creech’s RPA community.
- Formal Remote/Isolated Designation for Creech AFB: Expands eligibility for hardship pay, childcare support, improved access to health care, and other essential services for troops serving in high-demand operational environments.
- Thunderbirds Modernization and Sustainment: Directs the Air Force to develop a comprehensive strategy to modernize and sustain the Thunderbirds demonstration team based in Nevada.
- Increased Oversight of Senior Military Leadership: Requires public notice and justification for removing Combatant Commanders, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Judge Advocates General to strengthen accountability and transparency.
- Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Mission Continuity: Authorizes critical nuclear security and emergency response programs key to sustaining long-term mission reliability and readiness.
- Quality-of-Life Improvements at Creech and Nellis: Expands childcare assistance, increases childcare payments in high-cost areas, improves commissary and exchange access, increases food assistance, enhances maternal health care, clarifies relocation support, strengthens DoD–VA care coordination, standardizes mold-remediation protections, and broadens public-private talent exchange opportunities.
In addition to Nevada-specific wins, the NDAA repeals the outdated 1991 and 2002 Authorizations of Military Force (AUMFs), strengthens oversight of Defense Department political leadership, and advances many national security and military readiness priorities across the force.
“Even with the progress we secured, the work doesn’t end here,” Rep. Horsford added. “My legislation, the TOTAL Care Act, which would improve military families’ health care, was stripped from this NDAA. I will continue fighting for that legislation, and other policies that put military families first. Their service deserves nothing less than our full support.”
Rep. Horsford has long been a leading voice for military families, using his positions to champion improved housing, health care access, childcare, and financial stability for servicemembers stationed in Nevada and across the world.
More information about Rep. Horsford’s TOTAL Care Act is available here.
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Issues:Veterans