Carter Floor Remarks on H.R. 3944, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026 (As Prepared for the Record)

I am honored to present the FY26 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill to the House today. This bill supports our troops, their families and the nation’s veterans. 

The bill includes nearly $18 billion for military construction efforts. It is critical that our servicemembers and their families have the infrastructure and support they need. This bill delivers to construct and improve military housing, child care centers, and other quality of life components that are so important to those that risk so much. 

This bill continues to build on investments that strengthen our national security through the construction of modern infrastructure and improvements to critical quality of life facilities for our servicemembers and their families. 

Additionally, we continue to provide significant funding to build upon prior year’s work to enable the Department of Defense to meet challenges in the Indo-Pacific. 

The bill honors our commitment to our nation’s veterans and our troops.

To honor that commitment, the bill provides full funding for health care and benefits for veterans.  Our veterans have earned these benefits, and we are making good on our promise to them, that includes fully funding our commitment to the PACT Act.

The bill continues robust investments in in women’s health, rural health, veteran homelessness, and mental health. The legislation maintains all funding for medical and prosthetic research, increases funding for VA infrastructure and supports Arlington National Cemetery, invests in the improvement, operations and maintenance of burial grounds for those that have sacrificed. 

I would like to thank Ranking Member Wasserman-Schultz, I am glad we are at this step in the process and hope we can continue to work together to support our troops and veterans.

Everyone should understand this bill cares for our veterans, supports our troops and their families, and keeps the promises we have made to our heroes. 

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3944, and I reserve the balance of my time.