{"id":31679,"date":"2025-06-25T21:26:37","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T21:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/06\/25\/house-passes-435-billion-spending-plan-for-va-in-fiscal-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:37:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:37:10","slug":"house-passes-435-billion-spending-plan-for-va-in-fiscal-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2025\/06\/25\/house-passes-435-billion-spending-plan-for-va-in-fiscal-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"House passes $435 billion spending plan for VA in fiscal 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

House Republicans on Wednesday approved plans for a $435.3 billion budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs in fiscal 2026<\/a>, putting the department in line for a significant funding boost despite objections from congressional Democrats<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 218-206 partisan vote, with just two Democrats voting for the measure and no Republicans opposing it, represents the first appropriations package<\/a> approved for next fiscal year by either chamber of Congress, but does not necessarily mean a fast track ahead for the VA budget becoming law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate appropriators still must draft and pass their own funding plan for veterans programs and benefits support, a process that is expected to drag through the summer. And the VA budget plan is unlikely to pass as its own standalone measure, but instead is expected to be approved sometime this fall as part of an all-of-government spending package. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Republican lawmakers on Wednesday praised passage of the massive VA spending bill as an important step for the appropriations process and for ensuring veterans will get the services they need. <\/p>\n\n\n\t