On April 3, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans’ Affairs, and Related Agencies approved, by voice vote, the Military Construction, Veterans’ Affairs, and Related Agencies spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered).
According to the committee summary, the bill would provide $71.5 billion in discretionary spending for military construction. This amount is $1.8 billion below FY2014 and $398 million below President Obama’s FY2015 budget request (see FY2015 Budget Summary, 3/7/14). The allocation contains $1.2 billion for housing projects for military families and $394 million for Department of Defense education facilities.
The measure also would provide $158.2 billion in discretionary and mandatory funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This total is $10.3 billion over FY2014 funding levels. The amount includes $64.7 billion in discretionary funds for FY2015; the president requested $68.4 billion in discretionary funds for VA.
The full Appropriations Committee is expected to consider the measure during the week of April 7.
Additional details will be provided when the committee releases its report.
