The Senate has passed legislation led by Senator John Boozman (R-AR), chairman of the Senate Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, which secures funding for military construction and veterans affairs. The bill provides financial support for Arkansas-based defense priorities, including $93 million for projects at Red River Army Depot and funding for the Arkansas National Guard.
Senator Boozman stated, “Providing the resources that support our veterans and their loved ones as well as ensure the Defense Department is able to project power globally, enhance our warfighting capabilities and train our forces is essential, and I’m pleased my colleagues approved this legislation in bipartisan fashion. I’m proud to have secured funding for Arkansas-based national security components including Red River Army Depot and the Arkansas National Guard in addition to tools that help make certain we deliver the benefits and services that veterans deserve.”
The measure includes $19.8 billion allocated to military construction across more than 280 projects worldwide, with $1.9 billion specifically aimed at improving housing for servicemembers and their families.
For the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the legislation provides $133.3 billion overall. VA medical care receives $113.8 billion in discretionary funding, supplemented by $49.8 billion from the Toxic Exposures Fund, resulting in a total of $163.6 billion available for veteran care. This covers areas such as mental health ($18.9 billion), telehealth services ($6.4 billion), homelessness programs ($3.5 billion), caregiver support ($3.5 billion), medical research ($943 million), women’s health care ($1.4 billion), and rural health initiatives ($342 million).
Information technology systems within the VA are funded at $5.9 billion, while electronic health records receive $3.5 billion as new site deployments are planned at 13 locations in 2026 and 26 locations in 2027.
The bill also sets aside $253.6 billion in mandatory funding for veterans’ benefits programs—including disability compensation, education benefits, vocational rehabilitation—and includes advanced appropriations of $122.3 billion for FY 2027 veteran health care.
Other provisions maintain restrictions on closing or realigning Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or building new facilities in the U.S., introduce a ban on purchasing IT equipment from certain Chinese companies identified by several federal departments, and provide robust funding to agencies such as the American Battle Monuments Commission, Arlington National Cemetery, Armed Forces Retirement Home, and U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
The legislation was approved with an 87-9 vote in conjunction with the Fiscal Year 2026 Agriculture appropriations act; a related legislative branch appropriations act passed by a vote of 81-15.
If also passed by the House or if both chambers agree on a final version through conference committee negotiations before being signed into law by the president.
