CONGRESS FOR VOTERS

Michael Bennet (D-CO)

S.Amdt. 3695

S.Amdt. 3695 · Senate amendment

A Democratic amendment with 1 Republican cosponsor · See the cosponsor

Changes S. 2296 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026

Offered

Offered, and not voted on yet. Most amendments never get a vote: the Senate takes up the bill and moves on without them.

Its path through Congress

  1. Introduced
  2. Pending Consideration

What this amendment would do

SA 3695 aims to add a new section (SEC. 1248) to bill S. 2296. Its purpose is to require the Secretary of Defense, working with the Secretary of State, to create and use a strategy to strengthen multilateral deterrence against regional aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.

The amendment seeks to expand coordination with allies and partners, specifically mentioning Australia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, and Japan. It focuses on the following:

  • Military Coordination: Enhancing basing agreements, command and control structures, intelligence-sharing, and operations.
  • Strategic Actions: Using reciprocal access agreements to expand regional access for ally military forces, improving interoperability, pre-positioning munitions, and sharing infrastructure.
  • Specific Regional Focus: Expanding the scale of military exercises and maritime operations in the Aleutian Islands, the South China Sea, and the Taiwan Strait.
  • Operational Planning: Considering security for trade routes and military avenues of approach across the North, Central, and South Indo-Pacific region.

The amendment also adds accountability by requiring the Secretary of Defense to submit a written strategy to congressional committees within 180 days of the Act's enactment, and a progress report by March 15, 2027.