Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2027

Floor Speech

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Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Chairman, I thank Judge Carter and Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz for their leadership on this.

Mr. Chairman, I tell you what. It is a very rare moment to come on the House floor where we have a committee that has voted unanimously for a bill, and I compliment our leaders for getting this done. It was a great moment a couple of weeks ago when that passed out of committee. I think we were all surprised at ourselves by this unanimous vote.

The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act is about one thing, and that is keeping our promises--our promises to our veterans, our servicemembers, and their families.

I also want to thank my friends, Chairman Cole and Subcommittee Chairman Carter, as I have done, and also our ranking member of the full committee, my good friend Rosa DeLauro for all their hard work. I was proud to help move this bill forward, and I am even prouder that it really does deliver real wins for the American people and for the great State of Missouri.

We are fully funding veterans healthcare and benefits, and that means no delays and no excuses. It means access to care, expanded mental health services, and continued investment in suicide prevention. A lot of places I go around my district and in Missouri, people want us to provide these services through the VA, and we are.

We are also strengthening the Community Care program, giving veterans more flexibility to get the specialized care they need when and where they need it. For our servicemembers and military families, this bill invests in what matters most: safe housing, better barracks, childcare facilities that improve everyday life, and the quality of care that we have been talking about in this Congress.

Importantly, we are restoring accountability and protecting freedoms. We are ensuring veterans' Second Amendment rights are not undermined while stopping taxpayer dollars from going to Communist China.

On the national security front, this bill makes critical investment in military construction, especially in the Indo-Pacific, so that the U.S. remains strong and prepared and always ahead of our adversaries.

Mr. Chair, this didn't happen by accident. It took hard work. It took focus, and it took a commitment, a commitment in our committee not to put us first but to put the American people first. This is not about results, not rhetoric. It is results for our veterans, results for our military families, and results for the security of the United States of America.

I urge my colleagues to join us in what we did in our committee. Let's have a unanimous vote in the House today for the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. Let's get this done.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ.

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