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Tom Reed continued to stand with Veterans by supporting the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs spending bill, as part of an agreement with the Senate to get the bill into law. "We care about our veterans and we are proud to support the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much for us. This bill funds programs that are critical to their well-being and it was only right we supported this bill."

The bill prioritizes funding for the Veterans Administration, by focusing on providing care for over 7 million patients, allocating $52.8 billion for VA medical services.  These services include programs targeted at addressing mental healthcare, suicide prevention, traumatic brain injury and opioid safety. The bill also includes an increase for caregiver stipends, and efforts to end veteran's homelessness.

The bill also encourages increased oversight for the Veterans administration, new whistleblower protections for those working within the VA who report wrongdoing and reallocates resources to increase funding to the VA Inspector General to help get the VA back on track.

In addition, the bill also included a total of $1.1 Billion to combat the Zika virus over the next two years. The money was primarily reallocated from unused funding to combat the Ebola virus, rather than new spending. It will go toward emergency response efforts at the state and municipal levels, as well as the research and development of Zika vaccines.

"This is a very concerning virus that could have a lifetime worth of implications for children across our nation. We are responsibly funding the programs that we need to combat this problem," said Reed.

The bill now goes on for final approval from the Senate and then to the President for his signature.

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