Committee Approves FY26 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act

June 11, 2025

Washington, D.C. – The House Appropriations Committee met to consider the Fiscal Year 2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The measure was approved by the Committee with a vote of 36 to 27.

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee Chairman John Carter (R-TX) said, “Those who wear the uniform made a promise to this country – now we’re keeping ours to them. A simple objective reflects every aspect of this: supporting our past and present servicemembers. This legislation fully funds veteran care and benefits and includes important mental health and homelessness assistance. It also prioritizes quality housing, reliable childcare, and other critical infrastructure for our servicemembers and their families. Beyond that, this bill underscores our unwavering commitment to national security in the Pacific – making the strategic investments necessary to keep America safe and deter aggression. I’m proud to have this legislation pass the full committee, and I appreciate Chairman Cole’s steadfast leadership in continually moving our process forward.”

Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) said, “As the first FY26 bill to advance out of full committee, this legislation reflects some of our deepest values as a nation – honoring those who’ve served, supporting military families, and strengthening our deterrence posture. It keeps our promises to our heroes with fully funded health care and benefits for America’s veterans and invests in quality-of-life issues for our troops and their loved ones. We also focus on essential military construction projects that strengthen where our servicemembers work and live and improve base readiness. It’s a forward-looking, mission-driven measure that reflects deep gratitude, and I commend Chairman Carter’s leadership and work in advancing it.”

Subcommittee Chairman Carter’s opening remarks are available here.
Chairman Cole's opening remarks are available here.

The Fiscal Year 2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Act

The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides a total discretionary allocation of $152.091 billion, which is nearly $5 billion (3%) above the Fiscal Year 2025 enacted level. The bill reflects priorities of the President’s Budget Request and America First agenda by including critical investments in military infrastructure that support readiness and the military families that utilize them. In addition, the bill provides $300 billion for mandatory programs, for a total of $453 billion in overall funding.

In summary, the bill supports those who have sacrificed for our country and maintains our commitment to the well-being of both service members and veterans.

Key Takeaways

Champions our veterans by:

Fully funding veterans’ health care programs.
Fully funding veterans’ benefits and VA programs.
Supporting President Trump’s efforts to combat veteran homelessness by investing in the new Bridging Rental Assistance for Veteran Empowerment program.
Maintaining funding levels for research, mental health programs, and other programs relied upon by veterans.

Supports the Trump Administration and the mandate of the American people by:

Protecting the 2nd Amendment rights of veterans, preventing the VA from sending information to the FBI about veterans without a judge’s consent.
Syncing up with President Trump’s Executive Orders on no funds for DEI, gender affirming care, and protecting Hyde-like language at the VA.
Prohibiting the VA from processing medical care claims for illegal aliens.

Bolsters U.S. national security and border protections by:

Providing robust funding for military construction, enabling continued investment in the Indo-Pacific region and infrastructure necessary to support United States advanced weapons systems.
Maintaining the prohibitions on the closure of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and the use of military construction funds to build facilities for detainees on U.S. soil.
Prohibiting the VA from purchasing resources directly or indirectly from the People’s Republic of China.

A summary of the bill is available here.

During the markup, Committee Republicans also stood with the America First agenda and rejected Democrat amendments that would have:

Weakened border security operations, wall construction, and deportation efforts.
Permitted taxpayer dollars to be used for abortion.
Restricted the Second Amendment rights of veterans.
Unnecessarily targeted DOGE and its mandated work to streamline government.
Instituted burdensome and non-science-based regulatory standards.

Adopted Amendments

Carter (Manager’s Amendment) - Makes technical, bipartisan changes to the bill and report.
- The amendment was adopted by voice vote.
Carter (En Bloc) - Ensures VA provides equitable standard of care through the PACT Act, prohibits purchase of equipment linked to Chinese entities, and reiterates assessment of certain barracks conditions.
- The amendment was adopted by a vote of 34 to 28.
Underwood #2 - Reiterates support for staffing and operations of the Veterans Crisis Line and other VA suicide prevention programs.
- The amendment was adopted by voice vote.
Dean #1 - Enhances resources for the Veterans Crisis Line.
- The amendment was adopted by voice vote.
Wasserman Schultz #5 - Reaffirms fully funded Toxic Exposures Fund by further ensuring continued, uninterrupted support.
- The amendment was adopted by voice vote.

Bill text, before adoption of amendments, is available here.
Bill report, before adoption of amendments, is available here.
A table of included Community Project Funding requests is available here.

###