Press Releases

Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.), released the following statement after the House passed H.R. 3944, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, legislation to fully fund the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which included key priorities Chairman Bost secured alongside House Republicans and the Trump administration to improve the delivery of care and services at VA.

“Just as we did last year, House Republicans alongside President Trump upheld our promise to veterans and passed a significant investment in VA to place them back at the center of the mission by effectively delivering care and benefits,” said Chairman Bost. “This bill includes a number of important provisions I fought for including smart investments in the healthcare that meets veterans’ needs, protecting veterans’ due process rights to ensure bureaucrats hands stay out of their constitutional rights, safeguarding the sanctity of life, and needed construction funding to modernize VA facilities for the veteran patients they serve. This budget reflects the end of the Biden-era bureaucracy that crippled the delivery of care and benefits. I want to thank my friends, Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, and MilCon/VA Subcommittee Chairman Judge Carter, for working with me to secure these important provisions in the final bill on behalf of veterans and their families.”

Chairman Bost fought for the following provisions which were included in the House passed version of the FY26 MilCon/VA Appropriations bill:

Sanctity of Life Protections (Sec. 255) – Prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from providing taxpayer-funded abortions to veterans and their beneficiaries outside the Hyde Amendment protections, reversing a dangerous Biden-era policy that violated federal law.   

Second Amendment Protections (Sec. 260) – Prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from submitting a veteran or beneficiary’s name to the FBI’s NICS list without a judge’s consent that they are a danger to themselves or others, affording veterans with fiduciaries the due process rights they have earned.