Senate Passes FY 2026 MilCon-VA Appropriations Bill

Bill passes Senate by a vote of 87-9

Washington, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Senate passed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Act by a vote of 87-9. The legislation provides support for critical housing, infrastructure, and facilities for U.S. military forces and their families, as well as increased funding for veterans health care and benefits.

The bill provides $153.5 billion in discretionary funding, including $19.8 billion in defense funding and $133.6 billion in nondefense funding.

"The investments this legislation makes in critical Department of Defense infrastructure will help to strengthen our national security, improve our military's readiness and safety, and reduce maintenance costs. The bill also supports much-needed funding to improve medical care and housing for our nation's veterans," said Senator Collins, Chair of the Appropriations Committee.

"Providing the resources that support our veterans and their loved ones as well as ensure the Defense Department is able to project power globally, enhance our warfighting capabilities and train our forces is essential, and I'm pleased my colleagues approved this legislation in bipartisan fashion. I'm proud to have secured funding for Arkansas-based national security components including Red River Army Depot and the Arkansas National Guard in addition to tools that help make certain we deliver the benefits and services that veterans deserve," said Senator John Boozman, Chair of the MilCon-VA Appropriations Subcommittee.

Bill Highlights:

Military Construction: $19.8 billion for the Department of Defense military construction program. This amount funds more than 280 projects at military bases and installations around the world to enhance resiliency and support warfighter readiness. Within this amount, the bill provides $1.9 billion to improve and maintain housing for servicemembers and their families.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): $133.3 billion for the VA.

• VA Medical Care: $113.8 billion in discretionary funding for VA medical care. Combined with $49.8 billion from the Toxic Exposures Fund, VA will have $163.6 billion to care for veterans. This funding includes: $18.9 billion for mental health; $6.4 billion for telehealth services; $3.5 billion for veterans homelessness programs; $3.5 billion for the Caregivers Program; $943 million for medical and prosthetic research; $1.4 billion for health care specifically for women veterans; and $342 million for rural health initiatives.

• VA IT System: $5.9 billion for information technology systems to support the development, operations, and maintenance of systems.

• VA Electronic Health Records: $3.5 billion for the veterans electronic health record, reflecting VA's announcement that it will resume new site deployments at 13 locations in calendar year 2026, growing to 26 locations in calendar year 2027.

• VA Mandatory Funding: $253.6 billion for mandatory veterans benefits, including veteran disability compensation programs, education benefits, and vocational rehabilitation and employment training.

• Advanced Appropriations: $122.3 billion in FY 2027 advance discretionary funding for veterans health care.

Guantanamo Bay: Retains provisions preventing the realignment or closure of the Naval Station and preventing construction of a new facility in the U.S. to house Guantanamo detainees.

Chinese IT Ban: Includes a new provision prohibiting the VA from purchasing technology equipment manufactured by any Chinese companies included on lists maintained by the Departments of Defense, Treasury, Commerce, or Homeland Security.

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