On June 20, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, by voice vote, the FY2014 Military Construction, Veterans’ Affairs, and Related Agencies spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans’ Affairs, and Related Agencies approved the bill on June 18. The House passed its version of the bill on June 4 (see The Source, 6/7/13)
According to the committee summary, the bill would provide a total of $158.8 billion for Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies for FY2014, including $74.4 billion in discretionary funding and $84.5 billion in mandatory funding. This amount is $13.957 billion above the amount enacted in FY2013, $352 million below President Obama’s FY2014 request, and $1.018 billion above the House allocation. The bill also includes $55.6 billion in FY2015 advance appropriations for veterans’ medical services.
The bill would provide $10.7 billion for military construction, including $1.5 billion for family housing. The military construction allocation is $66.5 million above FY2013, $800 million above the House allocation, and $310 million below the president’s request. The family housing allocation is $122.5 million below FY2013 and $43 million below the House allocation and the president’s request.
The bill would provide $147.9 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including $84.5 billion in mandatory funding and $63.4 billion in discretionary funding. This amount is $14 billion over FY2013, $300 million above the House allocation and equal to the president’s request.
The committee recommends that $4.9 billion be used to provide health care to women veterans, including $422 million in gender-specific health care. The committee also cites evidence that military sexual trauma can cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and urges the VA to relax evidentiary standard for combat veterans suffering from PTSD as a result of sexual trauma.
More information will be available when the committee releases its report.
