Vern Buchanan pushes defense bill negotiators to retain bipartisan health, security proposals

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan is urging Senate leadership to keep eight of his bipartisan proposals in the final version of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Buchanan, the Vice Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee and Chair of its Health Subcommittee, argues the measures would strengthen military readiness, protect supply chains and support the health and safety of service members.

The Congressman led a letter this week to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees asking negotiators to retain the amendments, all of which were unanimously adopted by the House of Representatives. Lawmakers are working to finalize the compromise bill, aiming to release a negotiated text later this month.

The letter was sent to Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker, Ranking Member Jack Reed, House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers and Ranking Member Adam Smith.

“As the House and Senate negotiate the final Fiscal Year 2026 NDAA, I write to respectfully urge the inclusion of my amendments,” Buchanan wrote in a statement. “My eight amendments collectively aim to safeguard the well-being of our service members and their families, improve military readiness and preserve America’s unmatched strength and leadership on the global stage.”

The NDAA authorizes key programs tied to national security, military modernization and support for servicemembers and their families, aligning with what Republicans have called President Donald Trump’s “Peace Through Strength” agenda, he said.

Buchanan’s amendments span health, technology security, supply-chain stability and on-base safety. One proposal would establish a pilot program to provide Continuous Glucose Monitoring technology to servicemembers, modeled after Buchanan’s FORCE-FIT Act. The program is intended to improve health outcomes and reduce long-term medical costs amid rising military obesity rates.

“Alarmingly, according to the American Security Project, the obesity rate among active-duty service members has more than doubled over the past decade from roughly 10.4% in 2012 to 21.6% in 2022,” Buchanan wrote in the letter.

Another amendment requires the Department of Defense and the Department of Commerce to report on U.S. technologies acquired by companies with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, including how those acquisitions occur and recommendations to protect American innovation better.

“Notably, the Congressional Research Service found that approximately 30% of private-firm deals and 46% of state-owned enterprise investments involving Chinese entities were motivated by the acquisition of advanced or dual-use technologies,” he wrote.

Other provisions would require a study on the threat posed by fiber-optic–controlled drones, ban the use of foreign social media apps on government-issued devices at military bases, and end the use of animals in live-fire trauma training.

Buchanan also secured language directing the Government Accountability Office to review U.S. supply chains for critical defense minerals such as rare earth elements, lithium, cobalt and nickel. Another amendment would require the Pentagon and the Commerce Department to develop a strategy to increase exports of defense components and materials manufactured in the United States. 

The final provision would require all military bases to install prescription drug drop boxes to ensure safe disposal of unused medications, including opioids.

Buchanan noted that eight of his legislative proposals were signed into law as part of the 2025 NDAA, including provisions that expand health care options for servicemembers and strengthen military readiness. Those provisions include measures to enhance military readiness and expand health care options for service members.