On April 13, the House Appropriations Committee approved its
fiscal year 2017 Military Construction – Veterans Affairs
spending bill, which is typically the least controversial of the
12 annual appropriations measures. The legislation would
provide $81.6 billion in discretionary funding to house, train,
and equip military personnel, provide housing and services
to military families, and help
maintain base infrastructure. The legislation
also funds veterans’ benefits and programs. It should
be noted that the proposed funding amount is nearly $1.8 billion
above the fiscal year 2016 enacted level. The bill also
includes $172 million in funding from the Overseas Contingencies
Operations (OCO) account, a war fund that is not subject to the
discretionary spending caps.
While Democrats on the committee urged the panel to attach
emergency supplemental funding to help combat the Zika virus,
Chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY) opposed the effort, arguing that
the Obama administration had not supplied the committee with
enough information about where and how the money would be
spent. Instead, Rogers announced that the committee would
draft a separate supplemental for Zika, once the necessary
information was supplied to the panel.
In the Senate, the Appropriations Committee on April 14
unanimously approved its Military Construction bill. The
legislation includes $83 billion in discretionary funding, a
$3.1 billion boost from the fiscal year 2016 enacted level.
In addition, Senate appropriators adopted an amendment that would
allow VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana to
veterans in states where it is legal and prohibit funds in
the bill from being used to interfere with veterans participating
in state-approved medical marijuana programs.
