Evergreen Reporter

Washington, D.C. – On June 23, the Senate Appropriations Committee, led by Chair Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), voted to advance the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) funding bill for fiscal year 2024 that Senator Murray authored as Chair of the MilCon-VA Subcommittee. The legislation boosts funding over last year’s bill and provides more than $582 million for specific Washington state veterans and military construction projects across the state—this does not include funding for national programs that will later be allocated on a competitive or formula-specific basis. The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 28-0 to advance the legislation, where it now awaits full consideration by the Senate.

The MilCon-VA appropriations bill passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee provides $297 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and related agencies to fulfill our nation’s obligations to our veterans. The legislation also includes $19.1 billion in defense spending for military construction and family housing this year—an increase of $70 million over fiscal year 2023—to upgrade and modernize critical infrastructure and support military families.

“As the daughter of a WWII veteran, I believe strongly that we have an obligation and responsibility to take care of our veterans and ensure we have world-class military infrastructure to support our servicemembers,” said Senator Murray. “Despite working under challenging circumstances, we’ve put together a strong, bipartisan bill to fund VA and military construction. This bill will help improve living conditions at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, electrify the shipyard at the Naval Base Kitsap, and more. I am going to fight hard as Chair of the Appropriations Committee to get this bill passed and ensure we secure these federal dollars for veterans and VA and military facilities in Washington state.”

The legislation Murray passed through the Senate Appropriations Committee fully funds key projects in Washington state, notably funding every single project included in President Biden’s FY24 budget request:

1. $100 million for barracks at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
2. $195 million for Shipyard Electrical Backbone at Naval Base Kitsap/Puget Sound Shipyard.
3. $62 million for SOF Consolidated Parachute Rigging Facility at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
4. $71 million for Bulk Storage Tanks, Phase 2 at Defense Fuel Supply Point Manchester.
5. $45 million for the American Lake VAMC renovation costs.
6. $78 million for Phase 3 of the Tahoma National Cemetery gravesite development.

Murray also secured $31.06 million in Congressionally Directed Spending requests for five projects in Washington state. Only military construction projects are eligible for Congressionally Directed Spending requests in the MilCon-VA bill. Murray secured:

1. $7.5 million for vehicle maintenance shop at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
2. $3.6 million for the National Guard/Reserve Center Building at Camp Murray.
3. $11.1 million for the E/A-18G Aircraft Regional Service Facility at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.
4. $7.9 million for barracks at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
5. $960,000 for an Automated Infantry Platoon Battle Course at the Yakima Training Center.

Key national priorities of Senator Murray’s in the legislation include funding for veterans’ rural health care, which will also help expand telehealth; increased funding to fully implement the VA Caregivers program that Senator Murray helped launch and fought to expand; increased funding for women veterans’ health care, a longtime priority of Senator Murray’s; increased funding for veterans’ homelessness prevention; increased funding for veterans’ mental health, specifically to expand suicide prevention outreach; and increased funding to expand the national child care pilot program at VA that Senator Murray launched.

A full summary of the MilCon-VA bill is available HERE.

Chair Murray’s remarks on the bill are available HERE.

Bill text, as amended, is available HERE.

Congressionally Directed Spending projects included in the bill are available HERE.

Original source can be found here.