Ranking Member Wasserman Schultz Floor Remarks on 2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Bill

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-25), Ranking Member of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks on the House Floor in opposition to the fiscal year 2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies bill:

Thank you, and I unfortunately could not possibly disagree with my friend, Mr. Alford from Missouri, more on the description of this bill, which is why I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 3944, the fiscal year 2026 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies bill.

While I unfortunately cannot support the bill on the floor today, I will say in Chairman Carter’s absence that I am grateful and appreciative of the work that we have been able to accomplish together over the years on this subcommittee. I know we both prioritize quality of life for our servicemembers and their families and caring for our veterans.

Unfortunately, this bill hurdles us toward VA privatization, a top Project 2025 priority that undercuts what veterans consistently ask for: They want high-quality medical care at VA, not privatized care that takes longer to receive. 

By transferring record funding from VA medical services to community care, which is a 67 percent increase of $14 billion, this bill pushes veterans into private care, even though veteran polls and studies shows that, when given the option, veterans prefer to receive their medical care at VA. 

In 2024, veteran trust in VA health care rose to a record 92 percent. And we should build on this success, not kick veterans to an already crowded private market.

I understand there’s a need for community care, especially for veterans in rural areas and specialty care and when appointments at VA are scarce.

However, countless studies show that when veterans seek care at private hospitals and clinics, they wait longer to see providers and get worse care. They know VA medical professionals choose this work due to their mission to care for our veterans, and that’s something the private market simply cannot replicate.

We should invest more in VA provider recruitment and retention incentives, increase benefits counselors and adjudicators – not ignore veterans wishes and speed recklessly into privatization. 

On the military construction side, this bill underfunds military construction by $904 million compared to the President’s budget request and fails to fund some specific needs like installation resilience and NATO infrastructure commitments. As Russia continues to wage an illegal war in Ukraine and threaten Europe, we should be sending a clear sign that we stand with our NATO allies, allies who have stood by us for decades. And we are talking about infrastructure for our troops that are over there, as well as our allies’ troops.

We all know that warming global temperatures are having a devastating impact on our military installations – including sea level rise, recurrent flooding, hurricanes and extreme weather, as well as extreme heat and drought. 

Yet this bill includes zero dedicated funding to mitigate this extreme weather damage to our installations and force readiness. 

We’ve seen time and again what devasting extreme weather can do to installations. In 2018, Hurricane Michael mauled Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, my home state, and cost the Air Force $4.9 billion to rebuild. And when Typhoon Marwar ran through Guam and devastated the island, this Congress provided almost $1.8 billion to begin recovering from the damage. Unfortunately, we know the future need from Typhoon Mawar will cost many billions more. 

Finally, this bill includes a plethora of harmful poison pill riders. 

It once again prohibits the VA from implementing its interim final rule to protect a woman’s right to an abortion and counseling. 

The message sent on that is clear – Republicans want to further limit women’s access to health care.

Never mind if an abortion is in the best medical interest of the veteran, between her and her doctor. Disturbingly, Republicans think you should only have access to abortion if you’re dying. 

So, this bill has the government making personal medical decisions for veterans, not their doctor or the veteran themselves. 

It’s a cruel and ironic way to treat those who fight for our freedoms by taking them away.

This bill also undermines VA’s ability to keep at risk veterans safe by preventing VA from reporting a beneficiary to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

This rider prohibits VA from following federal law to keep guns out of the hands of people who federal law says should not have them because they are a danger to themselves or others.

My subcommittee receives notifications every time there’s a suicide on VA property. Over the last year, Mr. Chairman, we received suicide notices from Asheville, Los Angeles, McAllen, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, South Texas, Puget Sound, and many, many more. 

Every single veteran committed suicide with a firearm. Every. Single. One.

With all these serious concerns, I cannot in good conscience support this bill.

I urge my colleagues to oppose it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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