Aging bases, crumbling housing, and broken systems are unacceptable conditions for America’s servicemembers. That's why last week, the House passed H.R. 8469, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, a bill that fully funds veterans' care and gives our military families the support they've earned.

The bill invests in the brick and mortar that servicemembers live and work in, creating better housing, safer facilities, and modernized bases supporting Indo-Pacific operations and advanced weapons systems. And it blocks the VA from spending a single taxpayer dollar on purchases tied to Communist China.

For our veterans, this bill fully funds community care so they can see the specialists who meet their unique needs, not whoever the VA happens to assign. The bill also strengthens mental health and suicide prevention programs, because we are still losing too many of our heroes to wounds you can't see. And it protects veterans' Second Amendment rights from far-left efforts to strip them away simply for asking the VA for financial help; no veteran should lose a constitutional right for needing assistance.

This bill tells military members, veterans, and their families that we have their backs. I look forward to seeing it move through the Senate and to the President’s desk.