Congress buried $2.8B in military cost overruns inside a must-pass spending bill
H.R. 6500 — AGOA Extension Act · Filed by Jason Smith (R-MO) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Dec 9, 2025 · Signed
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What it does
This is a massive continuing appropriations and extensions bill that funds federal government operations through December 11, 2026, and extends numerous expiring trade, tax, and regulatory authorities. The bill extends the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preferences for African nations through 2028, extends customs user fees through March 2032, and includes dozens of smaller extensions for programs ranging from veterans' benefits to cybersecurity authorities. It also contains specific military shipbuilding cost increases, disaster relief for the Northern Mariana Islands, and technical amendments to transportation and housing programs.
Why we flagged it
While nominally a routine continuing appropriations bill, the text contains specific, high-dollar provisions for military shipbuilding cost overruns (Section 126: $2.8+ billion across 20 named programs) and other targeted extensions buried within dense appropriations language. These are not routine government operations but rather specific beneficiary carve-outs.
- Section 126 allocates $2.8+ billion for prior-year shipbuilding cost increases across 20 named Navy programs (carriers, submarines, destroyers, etc.), unrelated to the bill's stated purpose of continuing appropriations.
- Section 127 provides $2.853 billion for 'National Security Systems' under Defense-Wide Procurement, a vague category that appears disconnected from routine government continuation.
3 unrelated provisions were flagged in total.
What the text implies
- The bill extends customs user fees through March 31, 2032 (Section 2010), locking in a revenue stream for the federal government for 5+ years without requiring future congressional action, reducing transparency and public input on trade fee policy.
- Section 126's military shipbuilding cost overruns ($2.8+ billion) are presented as 'prior year' obligations but appear to be new appropriations for cost increases, potentially circumventing normal budget scrutiny by framing them as continuations.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
Defense contractors (shipbuilding: General Dynamics, Huntington Ingalls, Bath Iron Works); U.S. exporters to African nations (AGOA beneficiaries); Federal agencies (continued operations funding)