Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2027
Floor Speech
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Mr. CARTER of Texas. 8469 and that it may include tabular material on the same.
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Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am honored to present the fiscal year 2027 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies bill to the House today. This bill supports our troops, their families, and our Nation's veterans.
I thank the Committee on Appropriations chairman (Mr. Cole) for his leadership in advancing this bill through the committee, and I recognize and thank the ranking member for the full committee (Ms. DeLauro) and the ranking member for 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. 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 on both sides. Even so, the legislation before us today received unanimous support in the committee. I greatly appreciate the bipartisan effort of everyone involved. Those efforts demonstrate that bipartisanship is not only possible, it can lead to meaningful legislative success.
No matter our ideological differences, we can all agree that the importance of supporting our troops, their families, and the Nation's veterans is very important.
For fiscal year 2027, the Military Construction, Veteran Affairs, and Related Agencies bill provides a discretionary allocation of $157 billion.
I will briefly highlight several key priorities included in the legislation.
It fully funds veterans' healthcare.
It provides an advanced appropriation for the Toxic Exposures Fund.
It includes $900 million for medical and prosthetic research.
It prioritizes mental health, suicide prevention, and homelessness programs.
It includes more than $19 billion for military construction.
It invests in barracks improvements, strengthens investment in the 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 sacrifice for our country and reaffirms our commitment to the well-being of both servicemembers and veterans. It supports our troops and cares for veterans and their families and upholds the promises we made to those of our Nation.
I hope this bill will receive the same strong bipartisan support on the House floor that it received in committee because it is what our veterans deserve.
Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 8469, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I rise in tentative support of H.R. 8469, the fiscal year 2027 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies bill.
The past few years, the MILCON-VA bill strayed from our tradition of being one of the few appropriations bills that traditionally had bipartisan support.
Our committee has a shared goal of supporting our servicemembers, veterans, and their families no matter who holds the majority. We are proud to report that as the bill stands, this is a bipartisan bill--one that we reported out of full committee 58-0. However, it saddens me to see that the majority has made in order amendments that stray from the bipartisan commitment that both Chair Carter and I have maintained.
To be clear, if any of the controversial amendments made in order are adopted, we will not be able to support this bill, and all the bipartisan work that we did to get this bill to this stage will all have been for naught. What a message we could send about our ability to work together if the House rejects these controversial amendments and votes to support the MILCON-VA bill--controversial amendments that really have nothing to do with protecting and preserving the quality of life of our servicemembers on Active Duty or our veterans--for a critical bill that supports our servicemembers and those who served our country honorably.
To be clear, we have already made compromises on this bill. This is not the bill that I would have written. The bill includes a policy rider that prohibits the VA from reporting a beneficiary--for example, that has been deemed mentally incompetent based on medical evidence and, therefore, is assigned a fiduciary to handle their finances--to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Not only is this a violation of current law, but it will only put more veterans in harm's way.
Additionally, I opposed the funding level for the NATO Security Investment Program, which is $122 million below the request level. Now, more than ever, we should be reinforcing deterrence with the help of our European allies who disproportionately fund this program, especially as the war in Ukraine continues.
I was able to put these concerns aside, as were my Democratic colleagues on the subcommittee and the full committee, and support this bill because that is what bipartisanship requires.
As I told the Committee on Rules, Mr. Chairman, sometimes we have to compromise on what our preferences might be. You never compromise on principle; but to achieve a greater good, which this bill absolutely represents, sometimes you swallow hard and you look past some things not being exactly the way you would have preferred.
So today we will consider an amendment that bans funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the VA as well because there are problematic amendments that have been made in order beyond just the language in the current underlying bill. We are worried that we will tip the scales from bipartisanship into partisanship.
The Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Voting Rights Act and swift action taken in southern States to disenfranchise Black voters proves that we have always needed to lean in on ensuring there is diversity, equity, and inclusion. We will not allow this attack on communities of color to continue, and we will strongly oppose this amendment if it is offered. The amendment does nothing to help veterans and is divisive, partisan, and unnecessary.
Along these same lines, there is an amendment that attacks Filipino World War II veterans, veterans that fought for us and with us, resulting in one of the greatest victories in our history.
I want to be clear here. The Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund exists to correct what was a racist decision made in 1946 that banned Filipino veterans from receiving compensation for their service in World War II. That is why the word ``equity'' exists in the title of this account.
There is also a messaging amendment on gender-affirming care for veterans. I hope that is not offered, but regardless of how you feel about the LGBT community, it is ridiculous to block a veteran from receiving the healthcare that they have earned.
It is disappointing that we are at this point, and I hope that throughout the rest of this process we can come together to defeat these amendments.
I do want to underscore that Judge Carter and I could not possibly have a better working relationship, and we have worked hand in glove to reach this point, and I think I can safely speak for both of us that we hope we can achieve the same outcome we were able to achieve in the full Appropriations Committee.
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Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Womack).
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Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Scott Franklin).
Mr. SCOTT FRANKLIN of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I thank Judge Carter for yielding me time.
Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the fiscal year 2027 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
As a veteran and member of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, I understand the importance of supporting military readiness while ensuring that veterans receive the care and benefits that they have earned.
This legislation fully funds veterans' healthcare and benefits, while strengthening mental health services, suicide prevention, and critical medical research programs relied upon by veterans across the country. It also invests in military construction projects that improve readiness, strengthen resiliency, and ensure our servicemembers have the needed infrastructure to meet growing global threats.
This bill includes several priorities I worked to advance, including resiliency improvements at the United States Naval Academy to address recurrent flooding that threatens infrastructure, disrupts operations, and impacts the training environment for our future naval officers.
It also strengthens research and treatment efforts for veterans facing Parkinson's disease and ALS; expands access to advanced care, treatment, and clinical trials; and supports modernization across the VA system, including cybersecurity protections and emerging technologies to improve early detection in patient care.
This legislation also protects the Second Amendment rights of veterans by preventing the VA from sending veterans' information to the FBI without due process and a judicial determination.
Mr. Chairman, this is a strong bill that supports readiness, strengthens care for our veterans, protects constitutional liberties, and keeps the Federal Government focused on its core responsibilities at a time of growing global threats.
Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Levin), a distinguished member of the Appropriations Committee and the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
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Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), the chairman of the Appropriations Committee for the House of Representatives.
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Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Oklahoma.
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Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford).
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Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I am ready to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chair, I am prepared to close, as well, and I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Chair, I am very proud that we were able to pass this bill out of the full Appropriations Committee 58-0. I know Judge Carter and I are equally proud of that. This is legislation that, as you have heard, does fully fund healthcare for our Nation's veterans. It ensures--and we worked together on this--that veterans who get healthcare services through the PACT Act are able to have advanced funding to ensure continuity, regardless of the actions here in this body, for continued funding for their healthcare as a result of toxic exposure during their service, and now we have advanced funding for the Toxic Exposures Fund as well.
We added $15 million in prevention to make sure that we could have resiliency for our servicemembers because they are consistently now subject to the impacts of natural disasters, and it provides additional investments in child development centers and barracks, which are both areas of bipartisan concern. We are looking forward to the amendment process in which we can hopefully continue the bipartisan cooperation.
I want to thank Ranking Member DeLauro and Chairman Cole for their leadership. They are true leaders that we are fortunate to be able to work under. I also thank the team of professionals that I rely on: Farouk Ophaso, Tyler Coe, and Steven Goodall.
I support this bill in its current form, but I have serious concerns, again, about the controversial amendments that we will be considering later today and tomorrow.
I want to repeat, if any of those controversial amendments are added to this bill, it risks losing support from our side of the aisle. I hope we can come together. We already are together. I hope we can remain together in the name of bipartisanship and in service to our veterans and servicemembers to pass this bill with overwhelming support. We can only do that by keeping divisive, unnecessary, unrelated provisions out of the bill.
I, again, thank Judge Carter for his partnership and his friendship, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time.
In closing, I ask my colleagues to support the fiscal year 2027 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
This legislation provides critical funding for military bases, improves housing for our troops and their families, and makes investments aimed at improving the quality of life for our servicemembers.
It also upholds our pledge to our veterans. This bill fully funds healthcare for veterans and benefits for those who have honorably served. This bill was drafted on a bipartisan basis with a shared priority of taking care of those who cared for us.
Today, I ask my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Chair, pursuant to House Resolution 1275, I offer amendments en bloc.
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Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Chair, I rise in favor of these amendments en bloc. It includes bipartisan amendments that both sides have agreed to. These are noncontroversial and raise awareness to a variety of issues.
I appreciate the ranking member, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, working with us on these amendments, and I ask for your support and urge its adoption.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of these amendments en bloc. This en bloc contains noncontroversial amendments that raise awareness on the programs that we all care about. It includes the need to address a variety of medical care issues at the VA, addresses the VA construction backlog, constructs more State extended-care facilities, expedites claims processing, and draws attention to our defense infrastructure, specifically at public shipyards.
I encourage my colleagues to support these amendments en bloc, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Randall).
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Maryland (Ms. Elfreth).
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Hampshire (Ms. Goodlander).
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Mr. CARTER of Texas.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Walkinshaw).
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.
The motion was agreed to.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Carter of Texas) having assumed the chair, Mr. Hurd of Colorado, Acting Chair of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported that that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 8365) to provide for conditions on the appointment of monitors by courts, and for other purposes, had come to no resolution thereon.
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