The House Appropriations Committee cleared its fiscal year 2018 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill June 12, after releasing a draft June 11, according to the Politico Morning eHealth newsletter.
The bill — which allocates funds to train and equip military personnel and to finance veterans' benefits and programs — provides $88.8 billion in discretionary funding. Although the total amount is up $6 billion from fiscal year 2017, it's down $573 million from President Donald Trump's budget request.
Under the bill, the Department of Veterans Affairs' funding would increase by $4 billion — up 5 percent from the previous year — and includes $78.3 billion in discretionary funding for VA programs. The bill also allocates $65 million to modernize that VA's EHR system, the same amount President Trump requested.
Click here to view the full draft of the bill.