President Donald Trump‘s legislative agenda continues to reshape federal spending, with House Republicans proposing a $453 billion bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in fiscal year 2026.
While the bill preserves core benefit increases for veterans, it introduces a series of controversial provisions that could change how some services are accessed and funded.
The new spending proposals, part of the One Big Beautiful Bill passed by the House in May, come amid a flurry of changes at the VA, including staffing cuts at the department, which have sparked protests across the nation.
Why It Matters
Veterans’ programs have historically received bipartisan support and consistent funding increases. Trump’s proposed budget continues that trend, with an $83 billion boost over the prior year, largely for mandatory medical care and benefits payouts. However, the bill’s inclusion of policy items tied to reproductive health, firearm access, and vaccine mandates could limit or reshape access to VA services.
What to Know
The VA budget includes:
- A 22 percent—$83 billion—overall funding increase, with nearly all new funding earmarked for medical care and mandatory benefits like disability payments.
- Discretionary program funding up by 4 percent, rising to approximately $134 billion.
- $2.5 billion for the VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization program, doubling the prior year’s allocation but still $1 billion short of the White House’s ask.
- $18 billion in military construction funding, which includes $830 million for child development centers and barracks improvements.
Policy changes include:
- A ban on abortion services and abortion-related counseling at VA facilities, unless the life of the mother is in danger.
- Ending the requirement for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for VA health personnel.
- Restrictions on reporting veterans deemed financially incompetent to the national gun background check system, which Republicans have framed as a defense of Second Amendment rights.
Democrats criticized the latter provisions. Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat, said in a statement the bill “needlessly fixates on keeping guns in the hands of those who are potentially a danger to themselves or others, and restricts reproductive rights.”
What People Are Saying
House Appropriations Committee chairman Tom Cole said the bill “honors our commitment to those who’ve worn America’s uniform and supports our military and their loved ones.”
“By providing critical funding for military bases and improving housing for our troops and their families, we are ensuring that our national defense needs are met both at home and abroad. We are also upholding our pledge to our veterans. This bill fully funds health care and benefits for those who have honorably served. They upheld their sacred oath to us—and now a grateful nation is keeping our promise to them. Today marks the start of our process and our work to fund the government. As this bill moves forward and considerations are made and debated, the pillars of the proposal won’t change.”
Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a statement: “This bill needlessly fixates on keeping guns in the hands of those who are potentially a danger to themselves or others, and restricts reproductive rights, and [includes] other cruel and pointless policy restrictions. I cannot tell those currently serving and those who defended our nation that this is the best we can do.”
What’s Next
The bill faces a tougher showdown in the Senate than it did in the House, where Democratic opposition and the filibuster rule will require bipartisan cooperation in order for it to pass.
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