On May 21, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, 21-9, the FY2016 Military Construction, Veterans’ Affairs, and Related Agencies spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). The Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans’ Affairs, and Related Agencies approved the legislation on May 19; the House passed its version of the bill (H.R. 2029) on April 30 (see The Source, 5/1/15).
According to the committee summary, the bill would provide $77.6 billion in discretionary funding in FY2016 for military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This amount is $5.5 billion over FY2015, but $1.2 billion below President Obama’s FY2016 budget request.
Military construction programs would receive $8.083 billion in FY2016. This amount is $1.5 billion over FY2015, but $355 million below the administration’s request. Included in the funding is $1.4 billion for family housing, which is equal to the president’s request and $233 million over FY2015.
The measure would allocate $163.8 billion in overall funding for VA. This amount is $4.6 billion over FY2015 and includes $69.2 billion in discretionary funding. VA medical services would receive $48.7 billion in FY2016, including $446 million for health care specifically designated for women veterans.
Additional information will be made available once the committee releases its report.
