By Taylor Boyd
U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine are pressing the administration to significantly boost funding for Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities, warning that years of underinvestment will increasingly leave Virginia veterans without the care access they’ve earned. In a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas Collins, the senators urged the administration to align its Fiscal Year 2027 budget request with the VA’s own identified infrastructure needs, including expanding access to care and modernizing aging facilities in order to better meet the health care needs of Virginia’s large and growing veteran population.
For many years, funding submissions have fallen short of the VA’s own identified maintenance and modernization needs. For example, in Fiscal Year 2026, the White House budget request covered less than five percent of the VA’s identified 10-year construction and maintenance needs. In their letter, the senators called for funding levels that more accurately reflect the long-term needs of Virginia’s sizeable veteran community.
“We write to urge that in the President’s upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget request, as well as future budget requests, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) include significantly increased funding for the expansion and modernization of the VA’s infrastructure portfolio nationwide,” Kaine, D–Richmond and Warner, D-Alexandria, wrote.
While the impacts of this inadequate funding are being felt across the country, Virginia’s large population of veterans and their family members means the Commonwealth is particularly affected. The recent opening of outpatient clinics in Spotsylvania and Chesapeake as well as the reapproval of a Hampton Roads clinic lease initially authorized under the PACT Act – all of which were fought for by Sens. Warner and Kaine – have made strides in delivering care to veterans.
The senators continued, “But still, more must be done. In recent years, for example, the VA conducted market analysis looking at the Department’s asset portfolio nationwide. This was an extensive review, examining the current and future health care needs of veterans nationwide, analyzing whether the infrastructure laydown was aligned geographically with where veteran populations were projected to shift over the coming decades, and whether the quality of those facilities could appropriately serve those communities.”
The senators noted that the VA’s analysis of veterans’ health care needs led to numerous findings and recommendations, including:
• In Northern Virginia, the VA projected a 7.8% increase in the enrolled veteran population within the next 10 years, which will increase the demand for outpatient primary care, mental health, specialty care, dental care, and other VA services. It was concluded that additional clinics in Prince William, Loudoun, and Fairfax counties would support this increased demand.
• In Central and Eastern Virginia, the VA concluded that existing and projected demand would support additional clinics in Petersburg, Chesterfield, and Hanover County.
• In Hampton Roads, the VA concluded that existing and projected demand would support the broad modernization of the Hampton VA Medical Center as well as the establishment of a new medical center in the region.
• In Southwest Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, the VA concluded that existing and projected demand would support the broad modernization of the Salem VA Medical Center as well as the establishment of a new clinic in Bedford.
“These significant infrastructure needs are multiplied around the country, in areas where veterans may be having to travel long distances, wait weeks for medical appointments, or receive care in aging facilities. Beyond quality and timeliness of care, these infrastructure backlogs also force short-term and inefficient solutions upon the VA, necessitating increasingly more funding toward ongoing maintenance of outdated facilities,” the senators wrote.
The senators concluded the letter by pressing for upcoming FY 2027 funding requests presented to Congress to be better aligned with projected veteran care needs in Virginia and across the country. They also requested to be provided with follow-up briefings and information regarding OMB and the VA’s strategy for delivering on needed facility investment aligned with the VA’s own conclusion of construction and modernization needs.
