H.R.3944 - Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026 119th Congress (2025-2026) Section Summary:

Departmental Administration general administration (including transfer of funds) For necessary operating expenses of the Department of Veterans Affairs, not otherwise provided for, including administrative expenses in support of Department-wide capital planning, management and policy activities, uniforms, or allowances therefor; not to exceed $25,000 for official reception and representation expenses; hire of passenger motor vehicles; and reimbursement of the General Services Administration for security guard services, $440,000,000, which shall be for the offices and in the amounts specified under this heading in the report accompanying this Act, of which not to exceed 10 percent for each such office shall remain available until September 30, 2027: Provided, That funds provided under this heading may be transferred to “General Operating Expenses, Veterans Benefits Administration”. board of veterans appeals For necessary operating expenses of the Board of Veterans Appeals, $277,000,000, of which not to exceed 10 percent shall remain available until September 30, 2027. information technology systems (including transfer of funds) For necessary expenses for information technology systems and telecommunications support, including developmental information systems and operational information systems; for pay and associated costs; and for the capital asset acquisition of information technology systems, including management and related contractual costs of said acquisitions, including contractual costs associated with operations authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, $5,908,000,000, plus reimbursements: Provided, That $1,418,416,000 shall be for pay and associated costs, of which not to exceed 3 percent shall remain available until September 30, 2027: Provided further, That $4,488,829,000 shall be for operations and maintenance, of which not to exceed 5 percent shall remain available until September 30, 2027, and of which $118,900,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2030, for the purpose of facility activations related to projects funded by the “Construction, Major Projects”, “Construction, Minor Projects”, “Medical Facilities”, “National Cemetery Administration”, “General Operating Expenses, Veterans Benefits Administration”, and “General Administration” accounts: Provided further, That $755,000 shall be for information technology systems development, and shall remain available until September 30, 2027: Provided further, That amounts made available for salaries and expenses, operations and maintenance, and information technology systems development may be transferred among the three subaccounts after the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requests from the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress the authority to make the transfer and an approval is issued: Provided further, That amounts made available for the “Information Technology Systems” account for development may be transferred among projects or to newly defined projects: Provided further, That no project may be increased or decreased by more than $3,000,000 of cost prior to submitting a request to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress to make the transfer and an approval is issued, or absent a response, a period of 30 days has elapsed. veterans electronic health record For activities related to implementation, preparation, development, interface, management, rollout, and maintenance of a Veterans Electronic Health Record system, including contractual costs associated with operations authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, and salaries and expenses of employees hired under titles 5 and 38, United States Code, $3,488,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2028: Provided, That the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress quarterly reports detailing obligations, expenditures, and deployment implementation by facility, including any changes from the deployment plan or schedule: Provided further, That the funds provided in this account shall only be available to the Office of the Deputy Secretary, to be administered by that Office: Provided further, That 25 percent of the funds made available under this heading shall not be available until July 1, 2026, and are contingent upon the Secretary of Veterans Affairs providing to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a plan by June 1, 2026, containing the following: (1) an updated life-cycle cost estimate for the EHRM program based on the Department’s acceleration of deployments announced in March 2025; (2) an updated facility-by-facility deployment schedule for all facilities to receive the EHRM program; (3) a certification that all VA facilities using the new EHR on or before April 1, 2024, have exceeded or met certain health care performance baseline metrics indicating they have returned to their service delivery levels in place prior to the deployment of the new EHR; and (4) a description of the projected Federal VA staffing levels, contract support, and other relevant activities required, and the resources required to fund those activities, to meet the deployment goal as outlined in (2), including target Federal and contracted staffing levels at VA Central Office and, each local VA medical center with a slated deployment in 2026 and 2027, as well as contract support to provide technical and other change management support to carry out the deployments. office of inspector general For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General, to include information technology, in carrying out the provisions of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 401 et seq.), $296,000,000, of which not to exceed 10 percent shall remain available until September 30, 2027. construction, major projects For constructing, altering, extending, and improving any of the facilities, including parking projects, under the jurisdiction or for the use of the Department of Veterans Affairs, or for any of the purposes set forth in sections 316, 2404, 2406 and chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code, not otherwise provided for, including planning, architectural and engineering services, construction management services, maintenance or guarantee period services costs associated with equipment guarantees provided under the project, services of claims analysts, offsite utility and storm drainage system construction costs, and site acquisition, where the estimated cost of a project is more than the amount set forth in section 8104(a)(3)(A) of title 38, United States Code, or where funds for a project were made available in a previous major project appropriation, $1,394,000,000, of which $621,615,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2030, and of which $772,385,000 shall remain available until expended: Provided, That except for advance planning activities, including needs assessments which may or may not lead to capital investments, and other capital asset management related activities, including portfolio development and management activities, and planning, cost estimating, and design for major medical facility projects and major medical facility leases and investment strategy studies funded through the advance planning fund and the planning and design activities funded through the design fund, staffing expenses, and funds provided for the purchase, security, and maintenance of land for the National Cemetery Administration and the Veterans Health Administration through the land acquisition line item, none of the funds made available under this heading shall be used for any project that has not been notified to Congress through the budgetary process or that has not been approved by the Congress through statute, joint resolution, or in the explanatory statement accompanying such Act and presented to the President at the time of enrollment: Provided further, That funds provided for the Veterans Health Administration through the land acquisition line item shall be only for projects included on the five year development plan notified to Congress through the budgetary process: Provided further, That such sums as may be necessary shall be available to reimburse the “General Administration” account for payment of salaries and expenses of all Office of Construction and Facilities Management employees to support the full range of capital infrastructure services provided, including minor construction and leasing services: Provided further, That funds made available under this heading for fiscal year 2026, for each approved project shall be obligated: (1) by the awarding of a construction documents contract by September 30, 2026; and (2) by the awarding of a construction contract by September 30, 2027: Provided further, That the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall promptly submit to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a written report on any approved major construction project for which obligations are not incurred within the time limitations established above: Provided further, That notwithstanding the requirements of section 8104(a) of title 38, United States Code, amounts made available under this heading for seismic program management activities shall be available for the completion of both new and existing seismic projects of the Department. construction, minor projects For constructing, altering, extending, and improving any of the facilities, including parking projects, under the jurisdiction or for the use of the Department of Veterans Affairs, including planning and assessments of needs which may lead to capital investments, architectural and engineering services, maintenance or guarantee period services costs associated with equipment guarantees provided under the project, services of claims analysts, offsite utility and storm drainage system construction costs, and site acquisition, or for any of the purposes set forth in sections 316, 2404, 2406 and chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code, not otherwise provided for, where the estimated cost of a project is equal to or less than the amount set forth in section 8104(a)(3)(A) of title 38, United States Code, $709,000,000, of which $467,940,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2030, and of which $241,060,000 shall remain available until expended, along with unobligated balances of previous “Construction, Minor Projects” appropriations which are hereby made available for any project where the estimated cost is equal to or less than the amount set forth in such section: Provided, That funds made available under this heading shall be for: (1) repairs to any of the nonmedical facilities under the jurisdiction or for the use of the Department which are necessary because of loss or damage caused by any natural disaster or catastrophe; and (2) temporary measures necessary to prevent or to minimize further loss by such causes. grants for construction of state extended care facilities For grants to assist States to acquire or construct State nursing home and domiciliary facilities and to remodel, modify, or alter existing hospital, nursing home, and domiciliary facilities in State homes, for furnishing care to veterans as authorized by sections 8131 through 8137 of title 38, United States Code, $171,000,000, to remain available until expended. grants for construction of veterans cemeteries For grants to assist States and tribal organizations in establishing, expanding, or improving veterans cemeteries as authorized by section 2408 of title 38, United States Code, $60,000,000, to remain available until expended.