On June 23, 2009, the House Appropriations Committee approved a Military Construction and Veterans Affairs funding bill that totals $77.9 billion for FY 2010. This is $239 million more than the President’s request and $5.0 billion more than fiscal year 2009. The bill provides $48.2 billion in advance appropriations for fiscal year 2011 for three medical accounts of the Department of Veterans Affairs: Medical Services; Medical Support and Compliance; and Medical Facilities, and also provides $24.6 billion for the Military Construction, Family Housing and BRAC programs.
The Military Construction portion of the bill fully funds BRAC 2005 at $7.5 billion, provides an increase of $140 million for BRAC 1990 to enhance the cleanup of installations closed in prior BRAC rounds and provides for the modernization of training facilities, as well as the building of child care centers, barracks and homes. It also provides funds to support additional requirements for operations in Afghanistan at $1.4 billion. This bill includes two major military construction initiatives: $450 million to accelerate the Army’s program to modernize troop housing facilities for trainees; and $200 million for a Guard and Reserve initiative to address critical unfunded requirements. This funding will go toward critical unfunded requirements for Army and Air National Guard, as well as the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Reserves.
The VA portion of the bill provides $1.9 billion for Department of Veterans Affairs construction, $127 million above the budget request and $256 million above 2009. The bill will provide needed funding for five ongoing major construction projects, planning and design funding for seven new projects, and funding for approximately 100 minor construction projects that can be completed in fiscal year 2010. The National Cemetery Administration is funded at $250 million, an increase of $20 million above the fiscal year 2009 appropriation and $8 million above the budget request.
51·çÁ÷ strongly supports increased investment in our nation’s military programs and veterans’ facilities and will continue to advocate for increased funding as the bill moves to the Senate for additional consideration.
To review the FY 2010 Appropriations table .
To review the list of FY 2010 projects .
To read Chairman Edwards’ Statement .
For more information, please contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.