• • August Recess

• • House Veterans Affairs Committee passes 11 bills

• • VA FY24 Budget pass House before August recess

Thursday, July 27, is the last  legislative day for both chambers as they head into August Recess.

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House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.), released the following statement after the Committee reported 11 bills to be considered on the House Floor:

“To close out the summer session, our Committee reported eleven bills to effectively address veteran homelessness, continue our commitment to improving TAP, expand access to home-based care for aging veterans, increase access to mental health resources for caregivers, protect deployed servicemembers' USERRA rights, and more. Each of these bills would have a direct impact on veterans, Reservists and National Guardsmen, veteran caregivers, and their families,” said Chairman Bost. “I am especially proud to see my Restore VA Accountability Act reported by our Committee today. My bill is in response to the brave whistleblowers who have been coming to our Committee since the start of the new Republican majority. Under my leadership, we won’t turn a blind eye to them sounding the alarm on bad employees hurting the delivery of care and services to veterans at VA. Instead, we’ll fix it and provide the Secretary with the tools they need to appropriately hold employees accountable. I look forward to considering it, along with these other good proposals on the House Floor, as soon as possible.”

The following bills were passed out of the Committee today:

H.R. 4278, Restore Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability Act (Chairman Bost)
H.R. 3848, HOME Act (Rep. Chavez-DeRemer)
H.R. 3943, Servicemember Employment Protection Act of 2023 (Rep. Franklin)
H.R. 3874, Veterans Education Assistance Improvement Act (Rep. Rosendale)
H.R. 3933, TAP Promotion Act (Rep. Van Orden)
H.R. 4461, Modernizing Department of Veteran Affairs Disability Benefit Questionnaires Act (Rep. Luttrell)
H.R. 3581, COPE Act (Rep. Kiggans)
H.R. 1767, To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide that educational assistance paid under Department of Veterans Affairs educational assistance programs to an individual who pursued a program or course of education that was suspended or terminated for certain reasons shall not be charged against the entitlement of the individual, and for other purposes (Rep. Ramirez)
H.R. 3981, Veterans Education Oversight Expansion Act (Rep. McGarvey)
H.R. 542, Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act of 2023 (Rep. Brownley)
H.R. 984, Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act (Rep. Levin)
Source:https://veterans.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=6242

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WASHINGTON – Today, the House of Representatives met to consider H.R. 4366, the Fiscal Year 2024 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The measure was approved by a vote of 219 to 211.

The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies bill includes a total of 
$317.441 billion in funding for the Department of Defense (Military Construction and 
Family Housing), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and related agencies. Of the 
Total, $155.701 billion is provided as discretionary funding, and $161.740 billion is
provided for mandatory programs. Of the discretionary total, $17.474 billion is for
Department of Defense military construction projects, nearly $800 million above the 
President’s Budget Request. The bill also fully funds the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
for Fiscal Year 2024 by appropriating $137.755 billion in discretionary funding in 
addition to the $20.268 billion included in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 for the 
Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund. It also includes a total of $471.7 million for the four 
related agencies.

Honors our commitment to veterans by: 
o Fully funding veterans’ health care programs; and
o Fully funding veterans’ benefits and VA programs, including electronic health 
record modernization initiative.
 Supports a strong national security by: 
o Providing nearly $800 million above the President’s Budget Request for military 
construction, focusing investments in the Pacific theater, barracks, and other qualityof-life projects; and 
o Maintaining two provisions prohibiting the closure or realignment of Naval Station 
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Focuses the Executive Branch on its core responsibilities by: 
o Including new provisions prohibiting funds to lobby Congress, promote or advance 
critical race theory, and carry out divisive Executive Orders.

BILL HIGHLIGHTS
Cuts to Wasteful Spending
• Prohibits the use of funds to promote or advance critical race theory. 
• Prohibits the implementation, administration, or enforcement of the Biden Administration’s 
executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion. 
• Eliminates funding for the VA’s Office of Public Affairs in response to the VA’s inaccurate 
and politically motivated press releases making false claims about budget cuts. 
Conservative Priorities
• Keeps America’s promise to its veterans by fully funding the needs identified in the 
President’s Budget Request for the VA.
• Adds a specific provision to the bill that reiterates existing law prohibiting the use of funds by the Departments and agencies funded in the bill to lobby Congress or to advocate for or against pending legislation. 
• Retains prohibition on the closure of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the use of military construction funds to build facilities for detainees on U.S. soil.

DETAILED FUNDING SUMMARY
Department of Defense (Military Construction and Family Housing)
Provides $17.474 billion for Department of Defense military construction and family housing, 
$799.1 million above the FY24 Budget Request.
• $1.425 billion for infrastructure related to the Pacific Deterrence Initiative and $131 million for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
• $480.8 million for U.S. Special Operations Command:
o $436.4 million for 10 projects;
o $25.1 million for planning and design; and
o $19.3 million for minor construction.
• $362.3 million for 9 barracks projects and an additional $195 million for planning and 
design.
• $293.8 million for 7 child development center projects and an additional $75 million for 
planning and design.
• $80 million above the Budget Request across the active and reserve components to address important small-scale infrastructure deficiencies.

Department of Veterans Affairs
Provides $299.496 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which when combined with  amounts provided in the Fiscal Responsibility Act is equal to the FY24 Budget Request and 
$16.481 billion above the FY23 enacted level.
• Provides for a full year funding level of $138.127 billion for veterans’ medical care, 
matching the FY24 Budget Request.
• Fully funds veterans’ health care and toxic exposure-related needs for FY24. 
Arlington National Cemetery 
• Includes $88.6 million to complete the southern expansion of the Arlington National 
Cemetery. 
Community Project Funding
• Includes $294.6 million in Community Project Funding for 24 projects requested by 14 
Members.