Rep. Tony Gonzales
An amendment to the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act led by U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) received approval on Sept. 10 from the U.S. House of Representatives, which voted 231-196 to pass the legislation and send it to the U.S. Senate for consideration.
“Thank you to the entire San Antonio delegation for joining me on this effort,” Rep. Gonzales said following the vote. “The House took a critical step forward on this matter today by including my proposal in the NDAA.”
The amendment to H.R. 3838, supported by the entire San Antonio congressional delegation, would direct the U.S. Department of Defense to take into account San Antonio’s military infrastructure and geographical strengths in ongoing considerations by the Pentagon to consolidate U.S. Army North and U.S. Army South into a newly formed Western Hemisphere Command.
“San Antonio, which is widely known as Military City USA, is a critical arm to our national security interests … [that] should continue playing a key role in the consolidation of Army North and South into one Western Hemisphere Command,” said Rep. Gonzales.
Under this directive, the U.S. Secretary of Defense must provide Congress with a report that evaluates the fiscal, operational, and strategic strengths that San Antonio would offer in support of the newly proposed Western Hemisphere Command.
The analysis must consider San Antonio’s existing military infrastructure, including the presence of key entities such as NSA Texas, Air Forces Cyber, Joint Base San Antonio, and the Brooke Army Medical Center, according to a summary of the amendment provided by Rep. Gonzales’ office, which said the amendment was supported by four other members, including U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX).
“I am glad to partner with the San Antonio delegation to support this bipartisan amendment to bring transparency to the Army’s proposed force structure changes,” said Rep. Castro.
The Senate will reconcile its version of the 2026 NDAA, S. 2296, with the House-approved H.R. 3838.