The Democrat-led House appeared on track to pass a $108 billion fiscal 2020 VA-Military Construction bill after quickly moving through a number of amendments Friday and ending floor debate on the measure, CQ reported.
A summary of the bill, which is part of a larger five-bill, $383.3 billion minibus package, would provide:
- $10.5 billion for military construction projects, $207 million more than enacted for FY 2019.
- $1.5 billion for construction, operation and maintenance of military family housing. The funding is $117.8 million below FY 2019 levels and $140.8 million above DOD’s budget request.
- $217.5 billion in discretionary and mandatory VA funding, an increase of $20.3 billion above FY 2019.
- $94.3 billion in VA discretionary spending alone, $7.7 billion above FY 2019.
- $80.4 billion in total VA medical care funding, including: $9.5 billion for mental health; $222 million for suicide prevention; $582 million for women’s health; $1.9 billion for homeless assistance programs; $397 million for opioid abuse prevention; and $270 million in rural health initiatives.
The full five-bill minibus spending package faces little chance of surviving intact, however, as the GOP-led Senate and Trump administration disagree with the House on overall discretionary spending levels.
