U.S. Senate Passes Military Construction, Veterans Affairs Spending Bill

Press Release

In an effort to support our veterans and advance construction projects and modernization efforts at military bases in Rhode Island and nationwide, U.S. Senator Jack Reed today voted to approve the fiscal year 2016 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. The bipartisan bill, which passed on a vote of 93-0, allocates $79.74 billion in discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), as well as for U.S. Department of Defense construction projects, and other programs focused on helping veterans and military families.

After months of pushing for sequester relief, split between defense and domestic programs, Senator Reed, a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, noted the Senate-passed Milcon-VA spending bill includes over $2 billion more to support veterans than an earlier version of the measure proposed by the Republican leadership.

"This appropriations bill is a real win for our veterans. Passing this bill with increased resources to support our veterans is a good step in the right direction that will help fix the VA and reduce the veteran care backlog. It is imperative that the brave men and women who serve our country have up-to-date equipment and training facilities," stated Reed. "We made some bipartisan progress and I hope we can build on this momentum by working with the House to finish the job and provide our veterans with access to the care and benefits they deserve."

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