H.R. 3944

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026

Sponsor: John R. Carter · 0 cosponsors

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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026

This bill provides FY2026 appropriations to several federal departments and agencies for activities and programs related to military construction, veterans, agriculture, and the legislative branch.

Specifically, the bill includes 3 of the 12 regular FY2026 appropriations bills:

  • the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026;
  • the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026; and
  • the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026.

The departments, agencies, and activities funded in the bill include

  • Department of Defense military construction and family housing activities,
  • the Department of Veterans Affairs,
  • the Department of Agriculture,
  • the Food and Drug Administration,
  • the Senate,
  • various agencies that support Congress, and
  • several related and independent agencies.

(Pursuant to the longstanding practice of each chamber of Congress determining its own requirements, funds for the House of Representatives are not included in the Senate bill.)

The bill also sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations acts.

Text of the bill

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A Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026

I DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

II

III

IV

B Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026

I AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS

II

III RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

IV

V FOREIGN ASSISTANCE AND RELATED PROGRAMS

VI

VII GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 731. Added Aug 1

Where this section came from

Not in the first version (Reported in House, Jun 12).

  1. Aug 1, 2025 · Engrossed Amendment Senate S.Amdt. 3433: To limit the availability of funds for canceling large contracts without prior notice and explanation to Congress. Official page › S.Amdt. 3432: To prohibit the use of funds to reduce services under the Veterans Crisis Line. Official page › S.Amdt. 3431: To allocate amounts for the Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program. Official page › S.Amdt. 3430: To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a report on the use of third-party contractors to conduct medical disability examinations of veterans for purposes of obtaining disability compensation. Official page › S.Amdt. 3418: To provide appropriations to expedite fiber research on industrial hemp and expand cereal research into mycotoxin risk mitigation. Official page › S.Amdt. 3416: To allocate amounts for opioid prevention and treatment programs. Official page › S.Amdt. 3413: To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit a report on the efforts of the Secretary to review and implement staffing models at the Department of Veterans Affairs that will ensure timely, high quality delivery of health care, benefits, and other services furnished by the Department. Official page › S.Amdt. 3412: To improve the bill. Official page › S.Amdt. 3411: In the nature of a substitute. Official page › S.Amdt. 3409: To allocate amounts for telehealth for veterans. Official page › S.Amdt. 3220: To require a report on funding for State homes for veterans. Official page › S.Amdt. 3208: To require a briefing on the current status, path forward, and timeline to construct a new medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Reno, Nevada. Official page › S.Amdt. 3200: To increase funding for rural decentralized water systems. Official page › S.Amdt. 3190: To increase funding for the Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives Program, with an offset. Official page › S.Amdt. 3163: To fund activities relating to the suppression and control of Mormon crickets and grasshoppers. Official page › S.Amdt. 3110: To require an assessment of the feasibility of expanding the agricultural quarantine and inspection program to products entering Hawaii. Official page › S.Amdt. 3082: To address interment schedule availability at cemeteries under the control of the National Cemetery Administration. Official page › S.Amdt. 3081: To provide for the continuation of National Cemetery Administration surveys. Official page › S.Amdt. 3080: To require reports on facilities at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Official page › S.Amdt. 3073: To require a report on New World screwworm readiness and response. Official page › S.Amdt. 3070: To strike a provision relating to hemp. Official page › S.Amdt. 3025: To require a report on veterans participating in the housing choice voucher program. Official page › On the Motion to Proceed — Motion to Proceed Agreed to, 50–48 · Roll Call 422On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed — Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Agreed to, 91–7 · Roll Call 423On the Motion to Proceed — Motion to Proceed Agreed to, 90–8 · Roll Call 428On the Motion — Motion Rejected, 44–51 · Roll Call 472On the Amendment — Amendment Rejected, 44–51 · Roll Call 473On the Amendment — Amendment Rejected, 42–53 · Roll Call 474On the Amendment — Amendment Rejected, 45–50 · Roll Call 475On the Amendment — Amendment Rejected, 14–81 · Roll Call 476On the Amendment — Amendment Rejected, 15–81 · Roll Call 477On the Amendment — Amendment Rejected, 21–75 · Roll Call 478On the Amendment — Amendment Agreed to, 87–9 · Roll Call 479On Passage of the Bill — Bill Passed, 87–9 · Roll Call 480On the Amendment — Amendment Agreed to, 81–15 · Roll Call 481

(a)

(1) No Federal funds made available for this fiscal year for the rural water, waste water, waste disposal, and solid waste management programs authorized by sections 306, 306A, 306C, 306D, 306E, and 310B of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926 et seq.) shall be used for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public water or wastewater system unless all of the iron and steel products used in the project are produced in the United States.

(2) In this section, the term iron and steel products means the following products made primarily of iron or steel: lined or unlined pipes and fittings, manhole covers and other municipal castings, hydrants, tanks, flanges, pipe clamps and restraints, valves, structural steel, reinforced precast concrete, and construction materials.

(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply in any case or category of cases in which the Secretary of Agriculture (in this section referred to as the Secretary) or the designee of the Secretary finds that—

(1) applying subsection (a) would be inconsistent with the public interest;

(2) iron and steel products are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities or of a satisfactory quality; or

(3) inclusion of iron and steel products produced in the United States will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent.

(c) If the Secretary or the designee receives a request for a waiver under this section, the Secretary or the designee shall make available to the public on an informal basis a copy of the request and information available to the Secretary or the designee concerning the request, and shall allow for informal public input on the request for at least 15 days prior to making a finding based on the request. The Secretary or the designee shall make the request and accompanying information available by electronic means, including on the official public Internet Web site of the Department.

(d) This section shall be applied in a manner consistent with United States obligations under international agreements.

(e) The Secretary may retain up to 0.25 percent of the funds appropriated in this Act for Rural Utilities Service—Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program Account for carrying out the provisions described in subsection (a)(1) for management and oversight of the requirements of this section.

(f) Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to a project for which the engineering plans and specifications include use of iron and steel products otherwise prohibited by such subsection if the plans and specifications have received required approvals from State agencies prior to the date of enactment of this Act.

(g) For purposes of this section, the terms United States and State shall include each of the several States, the District of Columbia, and each Federally recognized Indian Tribe.

C Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026

I LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

II GENERAL PROVISIONS