House Republicans cleared their first funding bill for fiscal 2026 on Wednesday, approving more than $450 billion to fund the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), military construction and other programs.
The House voted mostly along party lines on Wednesday afternoon to approve the funding plan, with only two Democratic lawmakers, Reps. Jared Golden (Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), joining Republicans in backing the legislation.
House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) touted the bill Wednesday as fully funding “veteran health care and benefits, marking enhanced investment under President Trump.”
“It strengthens quality of life for troops and their loved ones through housing and childcare resources,” he said. “And it reaffirms our commitment to peace through strength by providing for base infrastructure and readiness efforts.”
However, Democrats have voiced strong opposition to the funding plan.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said on Wednesday the bill would transfer “billions of taxpayer dollars to private hospitals and clinics, leading to longer wait times, poor communication and coordination, a diminished quality of care for our veterans, and higher costs for taxpayers.”
“This is a step toward privatization of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Because if you hollow out the VA, if you make it impossible for people to be able to access their benefits, then they will say, ‘Well, we cannot trust the VA.’ And they will move in the direction of privatization, and that is where this administration wants to go.”
The bill calls for about $152 billion in discretionary funding for fiscal 2026, marking a 3 percent increase compared with current levels. Overall, the bill would provide about $453 billion for the VA, including $300 billion for mandatory programs.
Among the increases Republicans have highlighted in the measure are boosts to the VA, military construction and family housing, along with funding for a new homelessness program. Democrats, on the other hand, have railed against the plan and needled Republicans for not including advanced funding for the Toxic Exposure Fund in the proposal, which they also said falls nearly $1 billion short of the funding needed for military construction.
Senior GOP appropriators have acknowledged that further changes are possible during the annual process as they await more information from the Trump administration about the president’s vision for government funding for fiscal 2026 and beyond.
So far, House GOP appropriators have approved a third of their funding bills for fiscal 2026, as top Republicans push to have all bills passed out of committee before the August recess.
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