House Republicans pass VA, military construction funding bill

House Republicans on Wednesday passed their first budget bill for fiscal year 2025, which lays out a blueprint for the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction and includes partisan riders on areas such as abortion that are unpalatable to Democrats.

The House passed the bill 209-197 on Wednesday morning, despite a veto threat from the White House. The Republican conference is pushing ahead with an aggressive plan to pass 12 annual spending bills before recessing in August. Four Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while two Republicans voted against it.

But that bill is unlikely to come to fruition, with many lawmakers expecting Congress to pass a stopgap funding bill that would extend the money beyond the November election.

The spending plan includes a total of about $379 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction and housing programs in fiscal year 2025, which Republicans argue will fully cover veterans’ health care costs and benefits.

This includes more than $337 billion in VA funding, about one-third of which goes to veterans’ health care costs and more than $17 billion for Department of Defense military construction and family housing.

“This bill fulfills Republican promises to send legislation to Congress that is compliant with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, while honoring our commitment to our nation’s veterans and military,” Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), chairman of the subcommittee that wrote the bill, said of the bill. this week.

“To keep that promise, this bill fully funds health care and benefits for veterans. They are entitled to these benefits, and we are keeping our promise to them.”

But Democrats strongly oppose the bill, which includes a rider that would purportedly restrict the VA from implementing Biden administration rules that would make abortion counseling and abortions more accessible to veterans under certain circumstances.

The rule allows the VA to authorize veterans to have abortions if their life or health is at risk or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.

Democrats are also targeting other riders that they say would block the VA from implementing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and lead to measures such as blocking access to gender-affirming health care.

The Biden administration cited similar measures in its opposition to the funding plan earlier this week, accusing Republicans of “once again wasting time on a partisan bill” that contains “numerous partisan policy provisions that will have devastating consequences.”

Passage of the bill marks a victory for House Republican leadership, which aims to pass all partisan budget bills by narrow majorities in the coming weeks.

But the leadership faces tough challenges ahead, particularly as negotiators work out annual budgets for agencies such as the FBI and promise deep cuts to non-defense programs — potentially a tough vote for moderates ahead of the November election.