Summary of 2014 Omnibus: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs

2013 enacted level:               $71.9 billion

2014 Committee mark:         $73.3 billion

2014 Omnibus:                       $73.3 billion

·         $9.8 billion for Military Construction projects, which is $817 million below the 2013 enacted level, including:

o   $1.5 billion for Family Housing construction, which is $133 million less than the 2013 enacted level.

·         $451.4 million for the new combined Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) account, which is equal to the President’s budget request.

·         $380.8 million in rescissions from prior Appropriations Acts due to savings on projects and the decision to incrementally fund selected large projects.

·         $63.2 billion in discretionary funding for Veterans Affairs, which is $2.3 billion more than the 2013 enacted level, including:

o   As authorized by Congress in 2009, VA medical services accounts are provided funding one year in advance.  The Omnibus includes the budget request for fiscal year 2015 advance funding of $55.6 billion.

o   $3.7 billion for information technology systems, which is $378.7 million more than the 2013 enacted level.

o   $585.6 million for prosthetic research, which is $3.5 million above the 2013 enacted level.

·         The Omnibus provides new tools and resources to address the backlog of veterans disability claims by increasing personnel, enhancing training and quality oversight, and strengthening accountability.

·         The Omnibus restricts VA’s obligation of information technology funds until the VA reports detailed plans on budget, timeline, and testing to ensure reliable interoperability between current and future Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense.