WASHINGTON, D.C. – This morning, Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) released the following statement on the passage of H.R. 2216, the Military Construction & Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act. The bill provides the budgetary funding for the 2014 Fiscal Year for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the military construction budget within the Department of Defense (DOD), as well as other small, related Federal agencies. The bill passed late yesterday evening on a 421-4 vote with across the aisle support.

“Today’s bill provides many of the programs and benefits that are central to the promise we made to our veterans in San Diego and across the country when they committed to serving our country. This bill is important for a couple of significant reasons: it provides additional resources for the VA to address the unacceptable backlog of benefits claims impacting too many of our nation’s veterans, continues the necessary construction and upkeep of facilities at military installations, and includes provisions to address scientific research like those for prosthetics.

“I am glad that we were able to debate this appropriations bill in an open way that allowed for a fair dialogue about the necessity of providing services to our veterans. We can always be doing more to provide for our veterans. I look forward to continued opportunities to address the concerns of veteran communities that play such a significant role in San Diego.”

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