Democrats Fought for Veterans While Republicans Sat in Silence

WASHINGTON — During the House Appropriations Committee markup of the 2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies funding bill, House Democrats highlighted how the bill fails to fully meet veterans’ needs and falls short of adequately funding military construction projects.

This bill:

• Worsens the quality of life for servicemembers and their families and hurts military readiness by funding military construction $904 million below what is needed.
• Enacts the Project 2025 goal to privatize medical care for veterans by transferring billions to private hospitals and clinics, which will only lead to higher costs, longer wait times, poor communication and coordination, and diminished quality of care.
• Further limits women’s access to abortion, harming women veterans’ health.
• Leaves military installations, servicemembers, and their families vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and worsening natural disasters by failing to include dedicated funding to strengthen military installations against these threats.
• Does not fulfill the United States’ commitments to our allies by providing $188 million less than what is needed for NATO infrastructure.
• Undermines the ability to keep guns out of the hands of those prohibited under Federal law from purchasing or possessing firearms.
• Repeats the same extreme House Republican tactics attempted last year by including partisan changes to existing law, known as “riders,” that hurt Americans and create chaos. Once again, Republicans are disenfranchising veterans rather than making VA a welcoming and inclusive place for all those who volunteer to serve our country.

“I opposed this Republican bill tonight because it forces veterans into lower-quality healthcare options that they don’t want, and will result in longer wait times, while failing to rein in rogue DOGE influences and inflicting Project 2025 privatization schemes on our Veterans. I was proud to lead the effort to add in PACT Act TEF health care funding guarantee for FY27 after a fierce debate. While not perfect, it’s a step in the right direction that I hope we can build on as the process continues,” Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-25) said. “It also leaves military bases devastated by natural disasters without vital resiliency funding, and cuts NATO infrastructure needs, both of which will only cost taxpayers far more later. And this bill is riddled with too many policies that pander to extremists. To name just two, it would recklessly put firearms in the hands of those who potentially pose a danger to themselves and others and ironically restricts the reproductive rights of those who fight to protect our rights and freedoms. While this bill could have been worse, it diverts far too many resources away from the vital, VA-based care that veterans consistently tell us they want, and it pushes them into pricier, sub-par corporate hospitals. We owe our best to those who once defended our nation and still do. But this bill falls far short of that.”

Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz’s full remarks as prepared for delivery are here.

“Since taking office, the Trump administration has attacked programs that support veterans – and fired thousands of veterans who serve in our government – in order to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Instead of protecting our veterans from this chaos, House Republicans chose to introduce a bill that worsens the quality of life for servicemembers and their families while putting veterans’ safety at risk,” Appropriations Committee Ranking Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. “House Republicans could have very easily found broad, bipartisan support for this bill, but they chose not to. Instead, they chose to offer a bill that will transfer billions of taxpayer dollars to private hospitals and clinics, leading to longer wait times, poor communication and coordination, diminished quality of care for veterans, and higher costs for taxpayers. They loaded the bill with policies that damage our military readiness, restrict veterans’ access to abortion, and leave our military installations around the world vulnerable to climate change-driven natural disasters. With this bill, the first of fiscal year 2026, House Republicans have shown the country that they plan to follow the same misguided, chaotic, and harmful process they pursued last year, to the detriment of servicemembers, veterans, workers, and families.”

Congresswoman DeLauro’s full remarks as prepared for delivery are here.

Despite an unacceptable bill, Democrats were successful in forcing Republicans to fully fund the Toxic Exposures Fund, the resources to care for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. Democrats also amended the bill to protect and increase funding for the Veterans Crisis Line.

Democrats offered a number of amendments that were all rejected by Republicans, including amendments to:

• Protect veterans from President Trump’s costly tariffs and reimburse veteran farmers, business owners, construction workers, and others who have experienced lost productivity, wages, and profits.
• Reinstate the Veterans Affairs (VA) Service Purchasing Program to help veterans afford the rising costs of housing.
• Require a report on tariffs’ impact on Military Construction projects. 

A summary of the bill is here. A fact sheet of the bill is here.

The text of the bill, before the adoption of amendments in full Committee, is here. The bill report, before the adoption of amendments in full Committee, is here.

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