The defence spending is $US8 billion more than President Donald Trump's request earlier this year.
The NDAA also provides $US400 million in military assistance to Ukraine in each of the next two years and includes other measures reinforcing the US commitment to Europe's defence, reflecting most politicians' continuing strong support for Kyiv as it fights Russian invaders.
The sweeping 3086-page bill includes measures to make life better for the troops, including a four per cent pay raise and improvements in base housing. But it does not include insurance coverage for military families to get fertility treatments, including embryo transfers for in vitro fertilisation, something opposed by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, a social conservative.
The legislation is a compromise between versions of the NDAA passed earlier this year by the Senate and House, both controlled by Trump's Republicans.
Trump in May asked Congress for a national defence budget of $US892.6 billion for fiscal year 2026, flat compared with 2025. The House bill set spending at that level, but the Senate had authorised $US925 billion.
The NDAA authorises Pentagon programs, but does not fund them. Congress must separately pass funding in a spending bill for the fiscal year ending in September 2026.
In addition to the typical NDAA provisions on defence acquisitions and competition with rivals like China and Russia, this year's bill focuses on cutting programs reviled by Trump, such as diversity, equity and inclusion training.
The NDAA is one of a few major pieces of legislation to make it through Congress every year and politicians take pride in having passed it annually since 1961.
This year's process was a bit rockier than usual.
The rule paving the way for the House vote passed earlier on Wednesday by only 215 to 211 after a long delay in which a few Republicans changed their votes from "no" to "yes."
Trump has said he will sign the NDAA into law once it reaches the White House.
