Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2027
Floor Speech
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Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Chairman, I am so honored to represent the marines and sailors on Camp Pendleton, some of the most capable, disciplined, and battle-ready men and women that this Nation has ever produced, so when this Congress funds the military and our veterans, I take that responsibility very seriously.
I am proud to be a member of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee and pleased that we were collectively able to put our servicemembers and our veterans over politics. That is how this work is supposed to get done, and this bill, as it stands, is proof that it still can be. My thanks to the chairs and the ranking members for their hard work.
Before serving on Appropriations, I served on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs for 6 years. During that time, we passed the Honoring our PACT Act and established the Toxic Exposure Fund because this country made a promise to our veterans who were exposed to toxic chemicals while they served, and that promise doesn't expire regardless of what is happening here in Washington, D.C.
I am so glad that this bill delivers on that promise with advanced funding for the Toxic Exposure Fund, and I am so proud of that bipartisan work as it continues.
This bill also includes $2 million to implement the Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act, or CVSO Act, a bipartisan bill that I led that was signed into law as part of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act.
Right now, out of 15.8 million veterans in this country, fewer than half are enrolled in VA healthcare. That is unacceptable.
This funding will establish a grant program to help State and local governments hire and train more county veteran service officers. Those are people on the ground who are doing the work of connecting veterans to the care and benefits that they have earned.
I supported this bill in committee, and I urge my colleagues to protect this bipartisan compromise and reject any amendments that would jeopardize it.
While it is not perfect, as the bill stands, I am encouraged that, even in this moment, when we still come together across the aisle, we can do big things to serve our military and our veterans.
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