VA Spending Bill Boosts Budget For Vets To See Private Docs By 50%
Military.com reports that the House Appropriations Committee's fiscal 2026 VA spending bill would allocate about $453 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs — an $83 billion increase over this year. However, only 4% would be slated for medical care. Other news from Capitol Hill is on an FDA program that brings nonprescription drugs to market, PEPFAR funds, and more.
Military.Com:
Budget For Veterans To See Private Doctors Would See Big Boost In GOP's VA Funding Proposal
The program that allows veterans to see private doctors using Department of Veterans Affairs funding would get a 50% boost under a spending plan released by House Republicans on Wednesday. Overall, the House Appropriations Committee's fiscal 2026 VA spending bill would give the department about $453 billion -- a whopping $83 billion more than Congress approved for the department for this year. (Kheel, 6/4)
MedPage Today:
HELP Committee Supports Reauthorizing FDA Program To Streamline Review Of OTC Drugs
Lawmakers expressed bipartisan support for reauthorizing an FDA program that helps streamline the process for bringing nonprescription drugs to market during a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Wednesday. Democrats, however, questioned whether the recent workforce reduction at the agency could hamper the program's implementation, while HELP Committee Chair Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), criticized the agency for failing to move more drugs from prescription to over-the-counter (OTC) status. (Firth, 6/4)
The Hill:
WH Budget Chief Pressed On PEPFAR Funds, Says Africa ‘Needs To Absorb More Of The Burden’
Office and Management Budget Director Russell Vought on Wednesday was pressed on proposed cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) pursued as part of a new rescissions request from the Trump administration. During a budget hearing Wednesday, Vought defended proposed reductions as targeting items like “teaching young children how to make environmentally friendly reproductive health decisions” and efforts he claimed were aimed at strengthening “the resilience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer global movements.” (Folley and Weixel, 6/4)
NPR:
Health Care Mess At Commerce Prompts Questions From House Democrat
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is demanding answers from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about why employees fired from his department were denied health care coverage they had already paid for. "I urge you to take immediate action to remedy the financial and physical injury done to employees who had their health coverage illegally cancelled," wrote Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, acting ranking member of the committee, in a letter to Lutnick. "I also request information about how you are ensuring that such abuse of employees never occurs again." (Hsu, 6/4)
The Hill:
Schumer Renames Trump Megabill The ‘Well, We’re All Going To Die Act’
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) gave a new name to the “big, beautiful bill” on Wednesday, calling it the “Well, We’re All Going to Die Act.” Schumer appeared at a press conference alongside Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and stood next to a sign that read “Well, We’re All Going to Die Act,” a reference to previous comments from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa.) (Suter, 6/4)
