The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) marked up and approved its draft fiscal year (FY) 2024 spending bill by voice vote on May 17 following release of the bill text on May 16.
The subcommittee-passed bill includes:
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$938 million for the VA’s Medical and Prosthetic Research program, a $22 million (2.5%) increase over FY 2023.
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For Medical Community Care, an additional $837 million for a total of $33.8 billion in FY 2024 — a $5.4 billion (19%) increase over FY 2023. The bill also includes FY 2025 advanced appropriations of $33.6 billion.
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For Medical Services, an additional $2.3 billion for a total of $76.3 billion in FY 2024 — a $5.7 billion (8%) increase over FY 2023. The bill also includes FY 2025 advanced appropriations of $78 billion.
As in previous years, the bill contains language to restrict the use of dogs and cats in research within the VA research program.
The full House Appropriations Committee is expected to consider the FY 2024 MilCon-VA spending bill on May 23.