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.
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This bill would provide fiscal year 2027 appropriations for military construction, family housing, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, funding VA health care, disability compensation, benefits claims processing, and military base construction projects across the country.
It would also set dozens of policy riders governing how the money can be used, including restrictions on Guantanamo Bay operations, contractor requirements, animal research limits, and reporting requirements to Congress, reflecting Congress's annual power to direct federal spending priorities.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would appropriate funds for fiscal year 2027 military construction across the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, and Reserves, including family housing accounts and NATO's Security Investment Program. It would also fund the Department of Veterans Affairs, including tens of billions of dollars for veterans' disability compensation and pensions, medical services, medical community care, construction of VA facilities, and the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund for veterans exposed to environmental hazards. Related agencies such as the American Battle Monuments Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the Armed Forces Retirement Home would also receive funding. The bill would attach extensive administrative provisions and spending restrictions, such as limits on transfers between accounts, prohibitions on using funds to close VA facilities or reduce crisis-line staffing, restrictions on procurement from certain Chinese-linked technology suppliers, and continued prohibitions on using funds to close or transfer detainees from Guantanamo Bay.
Key provisions
- 1Would appropriate over $16 billion for military construction across the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, Reserves, and Defense-wide agencies for fiscal year 2027
- 2Would appropriate hundreds of billions of dollars for VA compensation, pensions, readjustment benefits, and veterans insurance programs
- 3Would fund VA medical services, medical community care, medical facilities, and medical research, including priority for veterans with service-connected disabilities
- 4Would provide $54.6 billion plus an additional $53.7 billion for the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund for veterans exposed to environmental hazards
- 5Would fund related agencies including the American Battle Monuments Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the Armed Forces Retirement Home
- 6Would prohibit using funds to close or realign Guantanamo Bay Naval Station or to construct domestic facilities to house detainees from it
- 7Would restrict VA procurement of information technology equipment linked to Chinese military or blacklisted entities
Who would be affected
Veterans receiving disability compensation, pensions, health care, or education benefits; VA medical facilities and their staff; military servicemembers and families living in military housing; the Army Corps of Engineers and Naval Facilities Engineering Command; and related agencies including the American Battle Monuments Commission and the Armed Forces Retirement Home.
Why it matters
Passage would determine whether veterans' health care, disability payments, and benefits processing continue uninterrupted, and whether planned military construction and housing projects proceed. The attached riders would shape agency operations for a year, restricting how VA and Defense Department funds can be spent on everything from marijuana program referrals to IT procurement.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Title 38, United States Code (veterans benefits and health care law) (Title II)
Sets funding levels and conditions for compensation, pensions, medical care, research, and construction programs authorized under this title
Repeals Section 220 of division D of Public Law 119-37 (Sec. 219)
Repeals a prior-year provision governing transfers to the Joint DOD-VA Medical Facility Demonstration Fund
Amends Section 237 of division A of Public Law 119-37 (Sec. 237)
Supersedes prior restrictions on VA's use of Social Security numbers for identification
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- The whole Act's appropriations cover the fiscal year
- Compensation and pensions funding for 2028 becomes available
- Discontinuing use of Social Security numbers for VA authentication
Funding and costs
- $2,131,959,000
Military construction for the Army
- $5,508,034,000
Military construction for the Navy and Marine Corps
- $283,806,848,000
VA compensation and pensions benefits, available starting October 1, 2027
- $70,700,000,000
VA medical services
- $54,593,000,000
Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund for veterans exposed to environmental hazards
- $53,715,000,000
Additional Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund, available starting October 1, 2027
- $481,832,000
U.S. share of the NATO Security Investment Program
How implementation would work
The bill directs specific dollar amounts to named accounts within the Defense Department and VA, with many subject to notification-and-wait procedures before agencies can transfer or reprogram funds among accounts. Agencies must submit expenditure plans, quarterly financial reports, and notifications to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees before certain actions, such as large transfers, bid-savings use, or organizational changes affecting 25 or more employees. Several accounts include multi-year or no-year availability, letting agencies carry unspent funds into future fiscal years for ongoing construction and IT projects, while numerous riders bar spending on specific prohibited activities.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate.
Official CRS summary
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This bill provides FY2027 appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and related agencies.
The bill provides appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for military construction for
- the Army;
- the Navy and Marine Corps;
- the Air Force;
- Defense-wide agencies and activities;
- the Army and Air National Guard; and
- the Army, Navy, and Air Force Reserves.
The bill also provides appropriations to DOD for
- the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program;
- the Base Closure Account;
- Construction and Operation and Maintenance of Family Housing for the Army, the Navy and Marine Corps, the Air Force, and Defense-wide agencies and activities;
- the Family Housing Improvement Fund; and
- the Military Unaccompanied Housing Improvement Fund.
Within the VA budget, the bill provides appropriations for
- the Veterans Benefits Administration,
- the Veterans Health Administration,
- the National Cemetery Administration,
- Departmental Administration, and
- the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund.
The bill provides appropriations for related agencies and programs, including
- the American Battle Monuments Commission,
- the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims,
- Cemeterial Expenses of the Army, and
- the Armed Forces Retirement Home.
The bill also sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations acts.
Legislative subjects
Administrative remedies; Alaska; Alaska Natives and Hawaiians; Alliances; American Battle Monuments Commission; Animal protection and human-animal relationships; Appropriations; Armed Forces Retirement Home; Building construction; California; Cemeteries and funerals; Collective security; Computers and information technology; Congressional oversight; Currency; Department of Defense; Department of Veterans Affairs; Disability and paralysis; Disability assistance; District of Columbia; Domestic violence and child abuse; Drug, alcohol, tobacco use; Economics and Public Finance; Emergency communications systems; Employment and training programs; Environmental health; Europe; Executive agency funding and structure; Family planning and birth control; Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management; Government information and archives; Government lending and loan guarantees; Government studies and investigations; Government trust funds; Hazardous wastes and toxic substances; Health facilities and institutions; Health information and medical records; Health programs administration and funding; Health promotion and preventive care; Health technology, devices, supplies; Housing and community development funding; Indian social and development programs; International organizations and cooperation; Internet, web applications, social media; Life, casualty, property insurance; Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care; Medical research; Mental health; Military facilities and property; Military personnel and dependents; Mississippi; National Guard and reserves; Neurological disorders; Research administration and funding; Sex and reproductive health; Specialized courts; Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation; Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs; Veterans' medical care; Veterans' pensions and compensation; Women's health
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-622