House Republicans Pass MilCon-VA Funding Bill that Fails To Uphold Our Commitments to Veterans

Legislation worsens the quality of life for servicemembers and their families and further limits women's access to abortion

WASHINGTON — House Republicans today continued their march toward decimating the programs people depend on in order to line the pockets of billionaires and big corporations by forcing through their 2024 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies funding bill. House Democrats were united in revealing how this bill – which cuts military construction by over $1.5 billion, and takes us closer to a national abortion ban – fails to honor our commitment to veterans, servicemembers, and their families. This bill:

• Worsens readiness by cutting military construction by over $1.5 billion compared to the current level and does not include dedicated funding for PFAS remediation and cleanup or military installation climate change and resilience projects.
• Further limits women's access to abortion.
• Damages the quality of life of veterans. Veterans rely on programs across the entire federal government. House Republicans' proposals to slash critical domestic investment in other bills to levels not seen for years—and in some cases decades—strip away education, job opportunities, housing, and food assistance that veterans and their families depend on.
• Cannot claim to support veterans while making it harder for them to feed their families, and keep roofs over their heads while denying them education and training opportunities at every stage of life.
• Includes partisan changes to existing law, known as "riders," that Democrats will never support, disenfranchising veterans rather than making VA a welcoming and inclusive place for all those who volunteer to serve our country. We did not make promises to certain servicemembers in exchange for their service and sacrifice; we made promises to everyone.

"Thankfully, House Democrats successfully fought to restore the PACT Act funding that all of Congress promised just last year to veterans who were exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances, and we also shamed Republicans into reversing a $2 billion rescission to VA health care, but sadly, this bill still disgracefully fails to honor our commitments to veterans and military servicemembers," Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-23) said. "At a time when servicemembers and their families need facilities that keep them safe and well-trained and our equipment protected, and our recruitment and retention issues reach critical levels, this bill cuts military construction by over $1.5 billion under current levels. Making matters worse, Republicans cut $200 million to dedicated PFAS forever chemical cleanup funds. The bill is so draconian, that as ocean water temperatures reach 101F off Florida's coast and most of America bakes, it cuts funding for dedicated climate change resiliency for our armed forces. Worse still, the bill jeopardizes women veterans' health by further restricting VA from providing abortion health care services and makes it a less inclusive place for workers and veterans by attacking diversity and inclusion efforts. It also deceptively hides the fact that much steeper program cuts are embedded in other bills veterans rely on for housing, food, school, and job assistance. Making it harder for veterans to eat, work, learn, and live safely is not how we honor them, but that's what Republicans are doing. I cannot support a disappointing and defective bill that asks our brave veterans, servicemembers, and their families to sacrifice even more by ignoring the vital climate, retention, and health needs of those who kept and keep this nation safe."

Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz's floor remarks as prepared for delivery are here.

"On June 3, President Biden signed the bipartisan budget agreement into law. The debt agreement was intended to be a compromise and provide us with a path to avoid a shutdown. Instead of adhering to it, House Republicans are reneging on their own deal so they can cut the programs people depend on in order to line the pockets of billionaires and big corporations. Now, House Republicans are threatening to go even further. They continue to appease the most extreme members of their party, many of whom have a history of never supporting funding bills regardless of which party has the pen," Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. "Aside from being built on this foundation of reneging on the agreement, the military construction and veterans funding bill worsens the quality of life for servicemembers and their families and places the federal government in the room with women and their doctors. By making it harder for veterans to access health care, we take a step closer to a national abortion ban. Our veterans did not serve this country, and defend our freedom, to have their freedom and autonomy stripped by this Congress."

Congresswoman DeLauro's floor remarks as prepared for delivery are here.

Key provisions of the bill can be found here. The text and accompanying report of the legislation, before action on the House Floor, is available here. Information on Community Project Funding in the bill is here.