By Anvee Bhutani, Christopher Kuo and Marcus Weisgerber

WASHINGTON--The Senate approved a sweeping defense-policy package despite alarm over a provision that rolls back safety measures put in place following the fatal midair collision in January between a military helicopter and passenger plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The Senate passed the $901 billion National Defense Authorization Act on a vote of 77-20, codifying more than a dozen of President Trump's executive orders, while placing new limits on his ability to act unilaterally overseas. The House passed the measure last week 312 to 112, and it now goes to Trump's desk for his signature.

While the bill sets specific spending levels for the Pentagon, it doesn't appropriate any money, which is done through separate legislation. Lawmakers added $8 billion to the Pentagon's budget request. The legislation would increase America's total national security budget by less than 1% from last year's $895 billion authorization bill. It also raises troop pay 3.8%.

The measure passed despite concern from federal officials and senators over an airport-related measure in the 3,086-page package. Lawmakers said it was unclear how the provision ended up in the final version and said they hoped to pass further legislation next year repealing it.

Section 373 of the law would allow military helicopters to fly in the crowded airspace around Reagan airport without using automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast technology, or ADS-B, which transmits the locations of aircraft. Military aircraft instead would be required to comply with a collision-avoidance system that is common in commercial aircraft but is inhibited at certain altitudes.

The Army Black Hawk helicopter that collided with an American Airlines jet in January was equipped with ADS-B hardware but the system wasn't on, as the pilots had a waiver that exempted them from broadcasting location data. Lawmakers and families of crash victims say the helicopter's resulting lack of visibility to the American Airlines pilots might have contributed to the deadly collision.

After the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration required all aircraft in busy airspace to use ADS-B technology. The new provision loosens those requirements by including a national-security exception allowing the secretary of a military department to waive location-broadcasting requirements for military aircraft. The transportation secretary must sign off on the request.

Since the January collision, helicopters have been banned from flying a special route along the Potomac near the airport in Arlington, Va., the Washington area's busiest and the preferred facility for lawmakers flying to and from their home district.

Sens. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.) led a bipartisan effort to remove Section 373 and replace it with the ROTOR Act, which would require aircraft in controlled airspace to be equipped with ADS-B and would impose stricter oversight of military flights in the area. At a press conference Monday, Cruz, Cantwell and families of victims from the collision denounced the section.

"Section 373 of the NDAA doesn't belong in any bill," Cantwell said. "There's no reason to have this language in the National Defense Authorization Act unless you're somebody who wants to continue to see letting the military do whatever they want to do in a congested airspace."

'A safety whitewash'

Trump administration officials have also criticized the measure. "It's a safety whitewash," said Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, on Friday.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said last week that regardless of any legislation passed by Congress, he will ensure that there is no cross traffic between planes and helicopters.

"A risk was identified when we lost those lives in the Potomac," Duffy told reporters on Friday. "We are not going to bring that risk back into the airspace."

Measures to improve aviation safety also should ensure military pilots can still train and execute high-priority national security missions, said Bradley Bowman, a former Army pilot. Many of the military helicopters flying around Washington are part of special units that evacuate top government and military leaders during a national emergency, according to Bowman, who flew these missions, including on Sept. 11, 2001.

While military helicopters have safely flown these routes for decades, too many close calls took place leading up to the crash, Bowman said.

On a broader level, the defense legislation codifies Trump-era priorities, authorizing major weapons programs, troop deployments and international-security assistance. It boosts missile defense funding, expands cybersecurity measures and reinforces policies aimed at countering Chinese and Russian military influence, including U.S. troop presence in Europe and Asia.

The bill also supports Ukraine through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and strengthens U.S.-Israeli defense partnerships, while directing the Army to produce critical materials currently sourced from China and restricting procurement of components from foreign adversaries.

Pushing back on Trump's Europe policy

Lawmakers pushed back in the NDAA against the Trump administration's policies on European security, crafting provisions that make it harder for the White House to withdraw American troops from the continent or relinquish the top command position in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The NDAA followed the release of the White House's National Security Strategy, which sharply criticized the "unrealistic expectations" of European leaders for resolving Russia's war against Ukraine and cast Washington as a moderating force between Moscow and a Europe that is nervous about the Kremlin's objectives.

The legislation precludes reducing U.S. forces below 76,000 troops without independent assessments on how such a cut would affect the U.S. ability to carry out its war plans in Europe and other critical theaters. It also requires the administration to certify that NATO allies have been consulted. There are now approximately 85,000 US troops stationed in Europe.

The step follows objections from Republican and Democratic lawmakers that the Pentagon moved in October to remove a U.S. combat brigade from Romania and nearby countries without consultation with Congress and only little advance notice to Romania.

Write to Anvee Bhutani at anvee.bhutani@wsj.com, Christopher Kuo at chris.kuo@wsj.com and Marcus Weisgerber at marcus.weisgerber@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 17, 2025 12:30 ET (17:30 GMT)

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