On April 15, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans’ Affairs, and Related Agencies approved, by voice vote, the FY2016 Military Construction, Veterans’ Affairs, and Related Agencies spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered).
According to the committee summary, the measure would allocate $76.6 billion in discretionary funds for FY2016. This amount is $4.6 billion over FY2015, but $1.2 billion below President Obama’s budget request.
The bill would provide $7.7 billion for military construction projects, including $1.4 billion for family housing construction projects. The amount for family housing is $223 million over FY2015 and equal to the president’s request.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would receive $163.2 billion in overall funds for FY2016. This amount includes $68.7 billion in discretionary funding, and is $4.1 billion over FY2015. In response to the administration’s request, the bill would provide $970 million in additional funding to “address unanticipated patient access challenges, additional health care services…support for caregivers of veterans, and ending homelessness.” VA medical services would receive $48.6 billion in FY2016.
Additional information will be made available when the committee releases its report.
