RYAN, WITTMAN DELIVER KEY DEFENSE MODERNIZATION CAUCUS WINS IN NDAA TO BOLSTER DEFENSE INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM

Ryan, Wittman Deliver Key Defense Modernization Caucus Wins in NDAA to Bolster Defense Innovation Ecosystem 
 

WASHINGTON, DC  – Today, Congressman Pat Ryan (D-NY) and Congressman Rob Wittman (R-VA), founding co-chairs of the House Defense Modernization Caucus, announced several key wins they secured to bolster the defense innovation ecosystem in the House Armed Services Committee’s draft of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026.  

Early this year, Wittman and Ryan released a form to solicit policy proposals and focus areas from industry and academia, in an effort to help inform their submissions and give a voice to the defense innovation community.  The co-chairs led efforts to provide equity investment authority to the Office of Strategic Capital, increase the availability of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs), provide oversight for scaling production associated with Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contracts, incentive Program Executive Officers to take more smart risks for defense technology adoption, provide more facility clearances to qualified companies, and more. These wins align and were inspired by HDMC’s priorities for the 119^th Congress    

1. Software-Centric Pentagon  
2. Leveraging Private Capital to Accelerate Technology Adoption  
3. Strengthening DoD’s Role as a Commercial Buyer and Industry Partner 
4. Reforming Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) & Acquisition Processes  

“Just one year after we launched the House Defense Modernization Caucus, we passed an NDAA whose main focus was acquisition reform, along with a huge emphasis on driving the Department of Defense to adopt emerging technologies. HDMC’s members were pivotal in driving this high-impact legislation, and I’m very proud of what we accomplished,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “I want to thank Congressman Wittman for his partnership, as well as every member of the HDMC for their tenacity, appetite for disruption, and dedication to getting our warfighters the tools they need to succeed. Stay tuned, because we’re only just getting started.” 

“We must unleash American innovation to support the U.S. military” said Congressman Wittman. “We need to put disruptive technologies in the hands of warfighters, we need more competition in the defense industrial base, and we need to cut down pointless red tape and bureaucracy. Congress must be relentlessly focused on providing the U.S. military with the capabilities and capacity necessary to deter our adversaries—we cannot afford complacency. I thank Congressman Pat Ryan and all House Defense Modernization Caucus members for their great work and partnership on these efforts.” 

Co-chairs Ryan and Wittman successfully fought for initiatives that will: 

• Provide equity investment authority to the Office of Strategic Capital to accelerate DoD’s ability to leverage private capital for national defense priorities 
• Continue oversight for high level reforms to DoD’s Authority to Operate (ATO) processes to reduce deployment time for key technologies  
• Accelerate the accreditation, construction, and operational use of commercial Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) 
• Improve oversight for OTA contracts that result in follow-on production by reviewing historical data from FY21-FY25 
• Establish a minimum six-year assignment period for program executive officers (PEOs) to improve their ability to own and manage advanced technology integration efforts for major defense acquisition programs 
• Scale the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s Bringing Classified Innovation to Defense and Government Systems (BRIDGES) program model to provide more facility clearances to qualified industry partners in key DoD consortiums 
• Allow companies to work with DoD to increase their number of cleared personnel for qualifying defense contracts  
• Require DoD develop and maintain a virtual sandbox environment for operational testing and development.  

The co-chairs also secured directive report language requiring feedback from the DoD on the following:  

• How to expand the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions across DoD 
• An assessment of the state of U.S. industrial capacity to support turbojet engines suitable for tactical VTO missiles and UAS applications to extend their range  
• Comptroller General assessment and report on efforts to mitigate various risks to the defense industrial base, submitted in concern with the Senate Defense Modernization Caucus  
• How to accelerate the deployment of integrated command and control operating systems in the near-term   
• How DoD plans to scale Combined Joint All Domain Command & Control (CJADC2) mission applications  
• How Space Force might leverage commercial service providers for resilient PNT  

Reps. Ryan and Wittman founded the House Defense Modernization last year to accelerate innovation across the Department of Defense and deliver capabilities to the warfighter at speed and at scale. Ryan’s experience as a military intelligence officer and tenure in the startup world, along with Wittman’s deep ties to Virginia's shipbuilding ecosystem and leadership on the Tactical Air and Land Subcommittee brings two uniquely valuable perspectives, each keenly aware of the importance of modernization and apt to collaborate on the HDMC goals.  

Other members of the House Defense Modernization Caucus who serve on HASC and helped champion these and additional efforts include: Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), Rep. John McGuire (R-VA), Rep, Pat Fallon (R-TX), Rep. George Whitesides (D-CA), Rep, Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO), Rep. Mark Messmer (R-IN).  

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