July 15, 2025

Rep. Sara Jacobs Votes Against NDAA Due to Lack of Constraints on Military’s Role in Domestic Law Enforcement

Following the lack of meaningful reforms and constraints to the Insurrection Act and the Posse Comitatus Act, Rep. Sara Jacobs voted against the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in the House Armed Services Committee.

Rep. Sara Jacobs said: “Like so many Americans, I’m horrified and disturbed by President Trump’s abuse of the military to silence dissent, intimidate immigrant communities, and assist in domestic law enforcement. The military-civilian divide is a bedrock of our democracy, intended to protect civil rights and liberties and prevent the emergence of an authoritarian police state. In Los Angeles, we’ve already seen the military – at President Trump’s urging – use excessive force, commit questionable detentions, wield intimidation tactics, and violate people’s legal rights. This is only a glimpse of what could happen nationwide if President Trump invokes the Insurrection Act and turns U.S. troops on civilians. And our service members deserve better than to be used as political pawns in President Trump’s authoritarian games. 

“The warning signs are here, and the American people are demanding that Congress do something. Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee abdicated their responsibility to the Constitution and their constituents to rein in the Insurrection Act and the Posse Comitatus Act. It’s wildly disappointing but sadly unsurprising that they would rather stay in President Trump’s good graces than stop the democratic backsliding that’s happening right before our eyes. While I’m proud of the provisions I secured to expand military access to child care, housing, and fertility services and ensure transparency and accountability of the Pentagon’s use of AI, I can’t in good conscience support a bill that fails to put guardrails on the use of our military in such unprecedented times.”

Rep. Sara Jacobs secured the following provisions in the FY26 NDAA:

Improving Military Child Care

  • Extends the “Child Care in Your Home” (CCYH) pilot program that provides financial assistance to eligible military families, especially those with non-traditional work hours, large families, or children with special needs, for in-home child care.
  • Urges the Secretary of Defense to create a grant program to cover up to 75% of the cost for eligible civilian child care providers to expand their infant and toddler child care capacity 
  • Establishes a pilot program to raise the military fee assistance provider cap for children 24 months or younger by 30% near installations that face high child care costs

Improving Access to Affordable Military Housing

  • Studies how the Basic Allowance for Housing can properly represent densely populated, expensive cities and rural communities
  • Excludes the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) from the calculation of gross household income of an eligible member of the Armed Forces, so it doesn’t hurt their access to the Basic Needs Allowance
  • Requires Privatized Military Housing landlords to report on their insurance policies, including their costs, and the amount of money made through remedial payments to landlords.

Strengthening Access to Fertility Services 

  • Establishes TRICARE coverage of assisted reproductive technology, including IVF, for all active duty service members and their dependents and creates parity between service member and Member of Congress fertility services

Helping Military Families Make Ends Meet

  • Increases the Family Separation Allowance to a mandatory $400 to reflect the rising cost of living and burdens on military families

Upholding Human Rights, Enforcing Domestic and International Laws, and Preventing Conflict

  • Requires a report from the Department of Defense on its implementation of the Global Fragility Act (GFA), planned funding levels, and challenges and lessons learned from GFA implementation 
  • Requires notification to Congress anytime the Department of Defense enters into a basing agreement with a foreign military that includes whether any unit of that military has committed gross human rights violations
  • Authorizes full funding, consistent with FY25 levels, for institutional capacity building of partner militaries through the Institute for Security Governance (ISG) and for humanitarian support and demining through Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid (OHDACA)
  • Requires JAGs to be stationed at all combatant commands to ensure military operations follow domestic and international laws
  • Reinstates the requirement that Military JAGs be at the rank of 3-stars, making sure they have a seat at the table where critical strategic decisions are made

Ensuring AI Transparency and Accountability

  • Studies how AI could be used to reduce civilian casualties
  • Requires a report from the Department of Defense with support from the Department of Energy on any efforts to incorporate non-Department AI data centers onto Department of Defense land, its plans for doing so, and potential impacts and consequences
  • Requires a report from the Department of Defense about the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office’s contract with xAI to ensure transparency and accountability
  • Requires the Secretary of Defense to notify Congress within 30 days of issuing any waiver under DoD Directive 3000.09 on autonomous weapons systems. The notice must include the rationale, description of the system, and expected duration. 
  • Directs the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, in coordination with the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer, to brief Congress on how the Department ensures humans authorize each use of force in autonomous and semi-autonomous weapons systems. The briefing must outline current policies, identify gaps, and describe steps being taken to maintain human oversight. 
  • Requires a report from the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer on how AI-enabled decision aides are being integrated into non-lethal, daily DoD operations. The report must include use cases, lessons learned, and recommendations for scaling, training, and addressing ethical or cybersecurity issues, followed by a congressional briefing.
  • Directs the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, in coordination with the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer, to assess how AI models are influencing national security policy decisions, including risks like automation bias and lack of transparency. Requires a report and briefing covering current efforts, gaps in responsible AI integration, oversight of waivers from key AI policies, and a plan to address identified issues, including potential follow-up studies.
  • Establishes requirements for the Department of Defense to promote competition, data security, and responsible use of government data in contracts for AI, cloud computing, and data infrastructure. It also mandates public reporting on innovation and barriers in defense tech procurement and restricts the use of government data for training commercial AI without explicit authorization.

Advancing Improved and Accountable Procurement at DoD

  • Opens up cloud and AI contracts to real competition and blocks vendors from training their commercial models on Pentagon-owned data without explicit permission.
  • Gives Congress a faster warning when a weapons program busts its budget by cutting the Nunn-McCurdy notification window to 30?days and requiring DoD to consider canceling runaway projects.
  • Requires every major weapons program to pinpoint parts that can shift to 3-D printing or other advanced manufacturing and deliver a plan to slash cost and lead time within two years.
  • Stops the Pentagon from labeling purchases of more than 500 units a “prototype,” ensuring that large purchases receive full competition and oversight.
  • Places significant “Other Transaction” projects under the same documentation and milestone reviews as traditional acquisition programs, shedding light on a growing loophole.
  • Delivers the Pentagon’s first-ever “Right to?Repair” for major weapons systems. Contractors must hand over the parts, tools, and technical data DoD needs to fix its own gear—breaking decades-old vendor lock-ins, slashing sustainment costs, and speeding repairs that keep jets flying and ships sailing.

###