Press Releases

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Representative Ed Case (HI-01), an eight-year member of the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, responsible for all federal discretionary funding, reported that Appropriations yesterday approved its first of twelve annual Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 funding measures, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) Appropriations bill.

The measures fund military facilities throughout the Department of Defense, as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and various small agencies and programs supporting our nation’s some 18 million veterans, including over 112,000 throughout Hawai‘i. As passed by the Committee, the bill’s FY 2027 total funding is $157 billion, nearly $20 billion above the FY 2026 enacted level. 

“I voted for our MilCon-VA FY 2027 measure because it advances our key military infrastructure worldwide as well as our multiple efforts for our veterans and their families, secures further hundreds of millions in investments in Hawaii’s military facilities which strengthen our state’s number two economic driver, protects key Native Hawaiian programs from elimination, and moves forward a second national cemetery to supplement a near-capacity Punchbowl,” said Case, who previously served on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and currently serves on its Subcommittees on Defense and Homeland Security.

During full Committee consideration of the bill, Case spoke on the critical need to reinvest in Hawaii’s aging military infrastructure (see here). He highlighted several key deficiencies, including failing sewage treatment systems at Pearl Harbor.

Also in this bill, Case successfully worked to protect Native Hawaiian programs that are under direct threats from by the Trump administration. “My Committee agreed with my requests to maintain contracting preferences for Native Hawaiians in the VA; continue funding for the Native American Veteran Housing Loan Program that assists Native Hawaiian veterans; and support the VA Center for Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islander (NHPIUSAPI) Veterans Health." Case further worked to advance the health care needs of veterans residing in the Freely Associated States (Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of Palau), as agreed to in the renewed Compacts of Free Association between the U.S. and those countries.

Further details follow:

Veterans-Related Programs

The bill provides $137 billion in discretionary spending for veterans-related programs, an increase of $4 billion above the FY 2026 enacted level.

“Hawaii’s veterans and their families make up one of the largest percentages of any state in our nation including in such key areas like women and minority veterans,” said Case.

“While this bill includes some important investments both parties can support, we must continue to do everything we can to lower the cost of living for our veterans and ensure they are able to find jobs, feed their families and keep roofs over their heads.”

The measure also continues support for the VA Center for NHPIUSAPI Veterans Health. The Center’s doctors and scientists coordinate research from all over the Pacific Islands and the United States to specifically address veterans healthcare in the Hawaiian Islands and throughout the Pacific. The Center works with the University of Hawai‘i, and the bill encourages the VA to continue partnering with universities in the Pacific region focusing on issues unique to the NHPIUSAPI community.

The Committee accepted Case’s amendment (see here) to redirect the VA’s efforts to expand medical care for veterans living in the Freely Associated States (FAS), as previously instructed to do so by Congress. Citizens of the FAS enlist in the U.S. military at some of the highest enlistment rates per capita. In exchange for exclusive military basing rights, the U.S. provides the military defense of these countries as part of a decades-long compact agreement. In 2024, the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act gave the VA the authority to provide medical services and beneficiary travel benefits to U.S. veterans in the FAS. To date, the VA has not exercised this authority.

“U.S. veterans in the FAS deserve the same care as all other service members without having to navigate unjustified barriers or traveling long distances to get the case they need,” said Case.

“Today's amendment will help clarify Congressional direction to provide these veterans the care they earned.”

The Committee included language requested by Case directing the VA to provide a report assessing the need and options for building a new national veterans cemetery in Hawai‘i, including the costs and size of land needed to support burials for the next 50 years. Case secured the language because the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific has been essentially closed to casketed burials since 1991 and will stop accepting cremated remains by 2036. This is a serious concern for the roughly 115,000 veterans living in Hawai‘i, some 11% of the state’s population.

This provision will help advance legislation introduced by Congressman Case, Congresswoman Jill Tokuda and Senator Mazie Hirono to build a new national cemetery in Hawai‘i. More details about Congressman Case’s Hawai‘i National Cemetery Act is available here.

The MilCon-VA Appropriations bill also includes $1.4 billion to meet the need for specific care for women veterans and supports the Office of Women’s Health, including its childcare initiative. These funds will allow the VA to continue hiring women primary care providers and to increase the number of peer support specialists for women veterans. These efforts have become even more critical as the number of female veterans using VA health care services has increased. 

“Women veterans often require specialized care due to unique health needs stemming from their military service and gender,” said Case. “With sustained support from my Committee over multiple years, Congress is working to ensure the VA sets the standard for women veterans care, ensuring consistent, high-quality services across all facilities.”

Other specific veterans-related programs and provisions requested and secured by Case include: 

• Protecting contracting preferences for Native Hawaiian owned business that work with the VA.
• $108 million for the American Battle Monument Commission, which manages the Honolulu Memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
• $60 million for the VA Grants for the Construction of Veterans Cemeteries Program, which regularly provides funding to support Hawaii’s state cemeteries.
• $237 million for substance-use disorder (SUD) efforts to ensure veterans can receive timely SUD specialty services.
• $3.5 billion for the Veterans’ Homelessness Program Resources Account. This funding will enhance homeless veterans service providers’ ability to provide high demand care such as health services, substance use disorder programs, compensated work therapy and other supportive services.
• $349 million for Rural Health Initiatives, $2 million above FY 2026 level. This will improve access and quality of care for the more than three million enrolled veterans residing in highly rural areas.
• $8.5 million for the Native American Veteran Housing Loan Program, which is $3.6 million below the FY 2026 level.

Military Construction

The bill provides $19.2 billion for Department of Defense (DoD) military construction and family housing, $537 million below the FY 2026 enacted level.

Although Case supported the bill, he explained that “the bill fails to fully account for the President’s budget request, which was received too late to be incorporated. The bill must be amended along its path once the Committee has had time to review all the proposed construction projects, including the some $1.7 billion that I advocated for and that Hawai‘i is slated to receive under the President’s proposed budget – the second highest in the nation behind Alaska ($2.4 billion).”

The following Hawai‘i projects listed in the budget can later be included in the MilCon-VA bill after the Trump administration provides the detailed justifications for the projects:

• Pearl Harbor Dry Dock 3 Replacement ($507 million)
• Red Hill Water Treatment Plant ($248 million),
• Pacific Warfighting Center Expansion ($184 million),
• Pacific Missile Range Airfield Pavement Upgrades ($142 million),
• Kāne‘ohe Bay Company Compound $134 million),
• Wheeler Aircraft Maintenance Hangar ($90 million),
• Kāne‘ohe Bay 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment Armory Expansion ($77 million),
• Helemano Wells and Storage Tanks ($72 million),
• Fort Shafter Clearwell and Booster Pump ($71 million),
• Kāne‘ohe Bay Main Gate Entry Control Point ($49 million),
• Schofield Wildfire Station ($30 million),
• Schofield Elevated Tank and Distribution Lines ($26 million),
• Schofield Water Storage Tank ($21 million),
• Maui Secure Integration Support Lab acquisition ($4 million).

Other specific military construction programs and provisions requested and secured by Case critical to Hawai‘i include: 

• $750 million for the Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment Program, which helps military installations in Hawai‘i and nationwide transition to renewable energy sources.
• Language directing the Army to provide a report on the 25th Infantry Division’s current headquarters, to include operational risks, the plan for addressing facility requirements and a detailed timeline and estimated costs for improvements to ensure adequate capability and resiliency.
• Language directing the Navy to study a long-term cost benefit analysis of Waterfront Production Facilities at each public shipyard, timeline and estimated costs for planned Waterfront Production Facilities under Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP) and actions that can be taken to accelerate the construction of SIOP-related Waterfront Production Facilities.
• Language directing the Army and Defense Health Agency to conduct preliminary construction planning to renovate Tripler Army Medical Center, to include the core buildings constructed in the 1940s and address related infrastructure needs such as a parking structure.
• Language directing a report assessing the progress of the Hawai‘i Infrastructure Readiness Initiative, a decade-long infrastructure improvement plan for U.S. Army Garrison Hawai‘i that was estimated to invest over $1 billion in Hawai‘i.
• Language supporting dual use military-civilian infrastructure investments in the FAS for the first time in generations and requesting details of how to better foster the civilian-military relationship for major planned military construction in the region.

The measure is the first one of the twelve bills to be taken up by the House Appropriations Committee that will collectively fund the federal government for FY 2027 (commencing October 1, 2026). 

The bill now moves on to the full House of Representatives for its consideration. 

A summary of the MilCon-VA funding bill is available here.

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