Making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2027, and for other purposes.
Sponsored By: Representative Carter, John R. [R-TX-31]
In Committee
Summary
Funds military construction and veterans care. The bill provides targeted construction and family‑housing money for the Department of Defense, large appropriations for Veterans Affairs health and benefits, and new program and IT oversight rules.
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- Military families and service members get construction and housing funding. Army receives about $2.1 billion and the Navy and Marine Corps about $5.5 billion for military construction and related planning.
- Veterans get expanded health and benefits funding and new patient protections. The bill funds roughly $70.7 billion for VA Medical Services and authorizes a $54.6 billion Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund, and it adds fertility, assisted‑reproductive, and adoption reimbursement authorities plus strengthened suicide‑hotline protections.
- VA operations, IT, and oversight are tightened and funded. About $5.5 billion is provided for VA information systems and $3.4 billion for the Veterans electronic health record program with quarterly reporting and 25% of EHR funds withheld until a deployment and cost plan is approved.
*This bill adds tens of billions of dollars in federal appropriations for military construction and veterans health and benefits.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
13 provisions identified: 8 benefits, 1 costs, 4 mixed.
Large FY2027 VA program funding
If enacted, the bill would provide large, one-year sums to many VA programs for fiscal year 2027. It would fund telehealth with about $6.4 billion and homelessness programs with about $3.46 billion. It would fund caregivers ($3.5 billion), gender-specific care ($1.444 billion), opioid programs ($709.6 million), suicide outreach ($700 million), rural health ($349 million), and smaller amounts for PTSD, neurology, and intimate partner violence assistance. These funds would be available for the named purposes in FY2027.
New VA construction and transfer authorities
If enacted, the bill would let the VA and DoD move and use large sums for combined medical facilities and VA construction. For fiscal year 2027 it would allow transfers up to about $710.8 million (and up to $760.8 million for amounts available Oct 1, 2027) into a Joint DoD‑VA Demonstration Fund. It would also make $1.45 billion of unobligated transformational fund balances available for VHA facility construction in 2027 with a required execution plan to Appropriations Committees. The bill would let the VA use lease proceeds, certain unobligated construction balances (with Committee notice), and some medical collections funds to support construction and operations, and would require at least $15 million be transferred into the DOD‑VA Health Care Sharing Incentive Fund.
More military construction money for bases
If enacted, the bill would provide one-time military construction and design funds that stay available until September 30, 2031. It would give $150 million each to the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force, and $50 million to Defense-wide accounts. It would also provide several smaller, specified amounts for demolition and design work, including $20 million and $15 million line items and $5 million for resilience design. Some project funds may only be used for projects on each department’s FY2027 unfunded priority list and must be authorized before obligation. The bill would also allow construction money to be advanced to the Federal Highway Administration for defense access roads when the Secretary of Defense certifies the road is important to national defense. Where required, secretaries must send spending plans or project information to the Appropriations Committees within 60 days of enactment.
Protect speech and NICS reporting rights
If enacted, the bill would stop the VA from using funds to include gag clauses in settlement agreements that bar people from contacting Members of Congress. It would also bar the VA from reporting a person to the national background check system as a "mental defective" unless a judge or other judicial authority finds the person is a danger to themselves or others. These rules would protect individual communication rights and add a judicial threshold before certain firearm‑disability reports.
Fertility, adoption, and child care help
If enacted, the bill would let VA medical services funds be used to provide fertility counseling and assisted reproductive technology (ART) to covered veterans and their spouses, and to reimburse adoption costs for covered veterans. "Covered veteran" would mean a veteran with a service‑connected disability that causes infertility. The bill would also allow Medical Services funds for 2027 and 2028 to carry out and expand the VA child care program for veteran parents.
Protect veterans' access and service standards
If enacted, the bill would block using these funds in ways that increase wait times or reduce suicide prevention staffing or services. It would require a rural-access analysis before closing or reducing services at VA hospitals, domiciliaries, or clinics as part of a realignment. The bill would direct VA to keep enough staff to meet a 125-day claims goal and required appointment timeframes and require the VA to start Bakersfield clinic construction or move services to temporary space by September 30, 2027. It would also require the Veterans Crisis Line to keep current staffing and hours.
Cap on veterans per staff in rehab
If enacted, the bill would let VA ensure that any rehabilitation program under Chapter 31 has no more than 125 veterans per one full‑time staff equivalent. The Secretary would have to report to Congress within 180 days on current ratios and recommendations. This could mean more staff time per veteran in those programs.
New VA billing and third‑party rules
If enacted, the bill would tighten when VA appropriations can pay for care and require disclosure of other payer information. It would bar using these funds for non‑beneficiary care unless the cost is reimbursed to the VA at Secretary‑set rates. It would also require patients to disclose current third‑party reimbursement for certain non‑service‑connected care and allow VA to recover charges as a debt for nondisclosure. The bill would let VA community care funds be used to pay expenses that would otherwise come from the Veterans Choice Fund for 2027–2028.
VA budget limits and transparency rules
If enacted, the bill would add new limits and reporting for VA spending in 2027. It would cap inter-account transfers among key VA medical accounts at 3 percent for FY2027 and require Committee notice and approval for transfers and some reprogramming above $7 million. It would also apply an earlier statutory funding limitation to Medical Services for 2027–2028 and require the VA to send a spending plan and quarterly obligation reports to Appropriations Committees. The bill would also protect Inspector General access to records.
Limits on military contracting and purchases
If enacted, the bill would add many new limits on DoD and related construction and procurement. It would bar use of these funds to start building new domestic bases or to close Guantanamo Bay. It would ban some foreign-linked IT equipment purchases for VA in FY2027 and restrict cost‑plus construction contracts over $25,000 unless approved. It would limit paying over appraised land value, block incentive fees for poor-performing contractors, and require large overseas architect/engineer and construction contracts to favor U.S. firms in many regions. These rules change who can get major government contracts and how they are paid.
Program rules and clinical protections
If enacted, the bill would protect several specific VA program rules and fund uses. It would prevent the VA from moving money out of the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund. It would bar changing the VISN-level procurement system for diabetes monitoring supplies. It would require the VA to follow VHA breast cancer screening guidance through January 1, 2028. It would also pause implementation of a VA rule on transportation rates for one year (Oct 1, 2026 to Sept 30, 2027).
Limits use of family housing funds
If enacted, the bill would bar use of funds in this title to buy land, prepare sites, or install utilities for any family housing. An exception would allow such work only when that family housing already received funding in annual military construction appropriations acts. This would limit the ability to use this title’s money for new family housing development.
New limits on VA animal research
If enacted, the bill would restrict VA research that starts on or after July 1, 2025 using dogs, cats, or non‑human primates. The Secretary could only approve such research after certifying there are no alternatives and that the work directly relates to combat‑related illness or injury and minimizes harm. The bill would require pre‑start reports to Appropriations Committees, voluntary USDA inspections, and annual reporting on violations and corrective actions.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Carter, John R. [R-TX-31]
TX • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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