Congress Moves To Block Plan To Privatize Military Commissaries In FY2026 NDAA

Lawmakers have inserted language into the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) aimed at preventing the Defense Department from privatizing military commissaries. The draft bill reinforces an existing statutory restriction by saying the Department of Defense (DOD) "may not take" actions that conflict with the current prohibition on private companies managing the commissary system or individual commissary stores.

Why Congress Acted

The move follows a DOD memorandum dated April 7 that directed officials to prioritize privatization for functions not deemed inherently governmental — explicitly citing recreation and retail sales, categories that would include Defense Commissary Agency grocery operations on military installations. That memorandum prompted concern among members of Congress about the future of commissaries, a longstanding military benefit.

Market Outreach And Concerns

On Sept. 19 the Defense Commissary Agency issued a request for information (RFI) asking the commercial grocery industry whether it could operate 178 commissaries across the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Commissary officials said the RFI was intended to determine whether commercial operators or investment firms could run these stores "with no government subsidy or with a materially reduced subsidy" while preserving the statutory average savings of 23.7% for authorized patrons. The RFI deadline was later extended to Nov. 5, and the posting is now inactive; officials declined to disclose how many companies responded.

Legal Ambiguity: Lawmakers and analysts have noted potential ambiguity in the bill’s use of "may not" rather than "shall not," questioning whether that phrasing could leave room for DOD to pursue some form of privatization despite the reinforced restriction.

Lawmakers' Response

In an Oct. 10 letter to Anthony Tata, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) warned that Congress has historically opposed privatizing commissaries out of concern that private operators cannot both profit and guarantee the 23.7% savings required by law. They also asked DOD how it would avoid pitfalls observed in prior privatization efforts, including problems with overseas household goods contracts and some military housing privatization projects.

Congress has proposed fully funding commissary operations at the DOD-requested level of $1.53 billion for fiscal 2026. The House is expected to vote on the negotiated NDAA this week, with the Senate vote scheduled for the week of Dec. 15.

What To Watch

Key items to monitor include whether the final NDAA retains the "may not" language, whether DOD discloses responses to the RFI, and any follow-up proposals from the Defense Commissary Agency regarding potential public-private partnerships or subsidy reductions. The outcome will affect commissary operations, patrons’ savings, and broader DOD privatization policy.