Carter Floor Remarks on H.R. 8469, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2027 (As Prepared for the Record)

I am honored to present the FY27 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill to the House today. This bill supports our troops, their families, and our nation’s veterans. I want to thank Appropriations Committee Chairman Cole for his leadership in advancing this bill through the Committee. I also want to recognize the Ranking Member of the Full Committee, Ms. DeLauro, and the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, for their partnership in bringing us to this point.

I especially value my working relationship with Ms. Wasserman Schultz. We have worked together on this bill for some time, and while we may not agree on everything, we certainly agree on the importance of caring for those who sacrifice so much for our country.

This bill is not perfect, and compromises were made by both sides. Even so, the legislation before us today received unanimous support in Committee. I greatly appreciate the bipartisan efforts of everyone involved. Those efforts demonstrate that bipartisanship is not only possible but can also lead to meaningful legislative success.

No matter our ideological differences, we can all agree on the importance of supporting our troops, their families, and our nation’s veterans.

For Fiscal Year 2027, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies bill provides a discretionary allocation of $157 billion. I would like to briefly highlight several key priorities included in this legislation:

• Fully funds veterans’ healthcare 
• Provides an advance appropriation for the Toxic Exposures Fund 
• Includes $900 million for medical and prosthetic research 
• Prioritizes mental health, suicide prevention, and homelessness programs 
• Includes more than $19 billion for military construction 
• Invests in barracks improvements, strengthens investments in Department of Defense laboratories, supports the demolition of obsolete infrastructure, and provides nearly $2 billion for military housing 

In closing, this bill honors those who have sacrificed for our country and reaffirms our commitment to the well-being of both service members and veterans. It supports our troops, cares for veterans and their families, and upholds the promises we have made to those who put our nation first.

I hope this bill receives the same strong bipartisan support on the House floor that it received in Committee, because that is what our veterans deserve.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 8469, and I reserve the balance of my time.