Contents

• Introduction
• Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Overview
• The VA Budget
• Budget Request for FY2027 and Congressional Action
• House Action
• Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (H.R. 6500; P.L. 119-103)

Summary

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers numerous programs that provide benefits and services to eligible veterans and their families. These benefits include medical care, disability compensation, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), pensions, education, vocational rehabilitation and employment services, assistance to homeless veterans, home loan guarantees, and administration of life insurance, as well as traumatic injury protection insurance for servicemembers and benefits that cover burial expenses.

On April 3, 2026, President Trump released his FY2027 budget request for VA. The President's FY2027 request for VA is $481.88 billion, a $36.4 billion (+8.17%) increase above the FY2026 enacted level. This includes a discretionary budget request of $144.72 billion, an $11.53 billion (+8.66%) increase above the FY2026 enacted amount, and a mandatory budget request of $337.16 billion, a $24.86 billion (+7.96%) increase over the FY2026 enacted level. The President's budget also proposes to restructure the four medical care accounts (medical services, medical community care, medical support and compliance, and medical facilities) into two new account categories, beginning with the FY2028 budget cycle, known as the "direct care" and "community care" accounts.

On April 17, 2026, the House Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee marked up a draft version of the FY2027 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MILCON-VA) appropriations bill. On April 21, the full House Appropriations Committee marked up the FY2027 MILCON-VA appropriations bill and reported it to the House (H.R. 8469; H.Rept. 119-622). On May 15, the House passed its version of the FY2027 MILCON-VA appropriations bill. The House-passed bill would provide $474.40 billion for VA for FY2027, a $7.48 billion (-1.55%) decrease compared with the President's request. This includes $336.97 billion in mandatory funding, a $197 million (-0.06%) decrease from the FY2027 request, and $137.43 billion in discretionary funding, a $7.28 billion (-5.03%) decrease from the Administration's requested amount. The House-passed measure did not include the Administration's proposal to restructure the four medical care accounts into two new account categories.

Because no regular appropriations bills for FY2027 had been enacted, Congress passed and on September 2, 2026, the President signed into law the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (H.R. 6500; P.L. 119-103). Division A of the act—the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2027—provides continuing appropriations for VA to continue operations through December 11, 2026, at a rate for operations based largely on the funding amounts, authorities, and conditions provided for in the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026 (Division D of P.L. 119-37). Division D of this act includes provisions extending several expiring VA statutory authorities through December 11, 2026.

Introduction

This report provides an overview of the President's budget request and congressional action pertaining to appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for FY2027. It begins with a brief overview of the department, as well as appropriations and funds that constitute VA's budget. It then discusses the President's request for FY2027, followed by congressional action on FY2027 appropriations and FY2028 advance appropriations. The report provides funding levels for the VA accounts as presented in the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MILCON-VA) appropriations bill. The MILCON-VA appropriations bill funds other non-VA programs and activities, such as military construction, the American Battle Monuments Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the Armed Forces Retirement Home, which are beyond the scope of this report.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Overview

The VA provides a range of benefits and services to veterans who meet certain eligibility rules. These benefits and services include, among other provisions,

• hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care;¹
• disability compensation for service-connected disabilities and death;²
• pensions for income maintenance of veterans and survivors;³
• education;⁴
• vocational rehabilitation and employment services;⁵
• assistance to homeless veterans;⁶
• home loan guarantees;
• administration of life insurance, as well as traumatic injury protection insurance for servicemembers; and
• death benefits that cover burial expenses.⁷

The department carries out its programs nationwide through three administrations and the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA). The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is responsible for health care services and medical and prosthetic research programs. The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is responsible for, among other activities, administering disability compensation, pensions, burial benefits, a fiduciary program, and education assistance. The National Cemetery Administration (NCA)⁸ is responsible for maintaining national veterans cemeteries; providing grants to states and other entities for establishing, expanding, and improving state veterans cemeteries;⁹ and providing memorial benefits, such as headstones and markers for the graves of eligible persons. The BVA reviews all appeals made by veterans or their representatives for entitlement to veterans' benefits, such as claims for service connection, increased disability ratings, pensions, insurance benefits, and educational benefits.

The VA Budget

The VA budget includes both mandatory and discretionary funding.¹⁰ The accounts for VA's mandatory programs (appropriated entitlements)¹¹ fund disability compensation for veterans, the survivor's Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) program, pensions, Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E), education programs (such as the Post 9-11 GI Bill), life insurance, housing (guarantee of VA-acquired direct home loans), clothing allowances, automobile grants, adaptive equipment, and burial benefits (such as burial allowances, grave liners, outer burial receptacles, and headstones and markers), as well as expenses related to veterans' health care associated with exposure to environmental hazards (funded from the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund [TEF]),¹² among other benefits and services.

Discretionary appropriations fund medical care (medical services, medical community care, medical support and compliance, and medical facilities accounts), medical research, construction programs (major construction, minor construction, grants for state-extended care facilities, and grants for state cemeteries accounts), information technology, the Veterans Electronic Health Record (EHR), the Office of Inspector General, BVA, NCA, and general operating expenses, among other accounts. These accounts are supplemented by revolving funds, such as the Canteen Service Revolving Fund; the Pershing Hall Revolving Fund and Franchise Fund; trust funds, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs Cemetery Gift Fund and the General Post Fund; and special funds, such as the Medical Care Collections Fund, Capital Asset Fund, and Recurring Expense Transformational Fund.¹³ Additionally, VA has advance appropriations for specified medical care and benefits accounts.¹⁴

Budget Request for FY2027 and Congressional Action

On April 3, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the President's FY2027 budget request to Congress.¹⁵ The President's budget requests a total of $481.88 billion for VA, a $36.4 billion (+8.17%) increase above the FY2026 enacted level. This includes $337.16 billion in mandatory funding, a $24.86 billion (+7.96%) increase over the FY2026 enacted level, and $144.72 billion in discretionary funding, a $11.53 billion (+8.66%) increase above the FY2026 amount. Additionally, the President's budget proposes $499.46 billion in advance appropriations for VA for FY2028. This includes $307.46 billion for veterans' benefits programs (compensation and pensions, readjustment benefits, and veterans insurance and indemnities), $138.24 billion for the four medical care accounts (medical services, medical community care, medical support and compliance, and medical facilities), and $53.76 billion advance appropriations for the TEF. The President's budget also proposes to restructure the four medical care accounts into two new account categories, known as the "direct care" and "community care" accounts, beginning with the FY2028 budget cycle.

House Action

On April 17, 2026, the House Appropriations Committee's Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies subcommittee marked up and forwarded to the full committee a draft version of the FY2027 MILCON-VA appropriations bill. On April 21, the House Appropriations Committee marked up the bill and reported it to the House (H.R. 8469; H.Rept. 119-622). On May 15, the House passed H.R. 8469 by a vote of 400-15.¹⁶ The House-passed bill would provide $474.40 billion for VA for FY2027, which includes $336.97 billion in mandatory funding and $137.43 billion in discretionary funding. The House-passed measure did not include the Administration's proposal to restructure the four medical care accounts into two new account categories.

Given the general interest in understanding the total amount for the MILCON-VA appropriations bill, Table 1 provides the total for all three titles in the bill: Title I-Department of Defense (DOD, which is using a secondary Department of War designation under Executive Order 14347), Military Construction and Family Housing Program; Title II-Department of Veterans Affairs; and Title III-Related Agencies. Table 2 provides comparative budget authority for VA accounts between FY2026 enacted levels, the President's FY2027 request, and the House-passed FY2027 MILCON-VA appropriations bill. Table 3 provides the requested and House-passed (H.R. 8469) amounts for advance appropriations accounts for FY2028.

Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (H.R. 6500; P.L. 119-103)

Since no regular appropriations bills for FY2027 had been enacted, Congress passed and on September 2, 2026, the President signed into law the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (H.R. 6500; P.L. 119-103). Division A of the act—the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2027—provides continuing appropriations for the VA to continue operations through December 11, 2026, at a rate for operations based largely on the funding amounts, authorities, and conditions provided for in the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026 (Division D of P.L. 119-37). Division D of the act includes provisions extending several expiring VA statutory authorities through December 11, 2026. Generally, the FY2027 advance appropriations received by seven accounts (compensation and pensions, readjustment benefits, insurance and indemnities, medical services, medical community care, medical support and compliance, and medical facilities) in Division D of P.L. 119-37 are not affected by this continuing resolution (P.L. 119-103).¹⁷

Footnotes