This week, from his perch on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., helped shape the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Act to help support the military and veterans communities in the Sunshine State.
Rubio weighed in on the bill on Tuesday.
“As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I am proud to have fought for these critical provisions benefitting Florida’s military and veterans,” said Rubio. “The MilCon-VA bill includes meaningful funding for veterans programs and military construction projects across Florida, as well as funding for opioid treatment programs and PTSD research. The Sunshine State continues to carry a long and prideful tradition of supporting our servicemen and women, and I will continue to honor their service and sacrifices by fighting for them in Washington.”
Rubio included $1.8 billion for the VA’s homeless prevention programs and more than $400 million for Opioid Prevention and Treatment programs in the VA. The Florida Republican also wanted to impact VA medical facilities with “language directing the VA to ensure that physicians with revoked medical licenses are not conducting medical disability examinations on behalf of the Department" and directing the VA to address security deficiencies that GAO recently identified at two Florida medical centers by requiring the VA take steps to improve its overall risk management process.” The legislation also makes the VA come up with a plan to add more doctors in its Caribbean Healthcare System and explore how virtual reality can help veterans suffering from PTSD.
The bill also impacts Florida including the VA’s handling of Camp Lejeune Contaminated Water exposure claims and adding unding for Phase 2 of the Cape Canaveral Gravesite Expansion.
Rubio also added almost $175 million to help military constructions projects across the Sunshine State including adding LCS support and training facilities at Mayport, new buildings for F-35A crews at Elgin AFB and a KC135 Beddown flight simulator training and creates Eglin Air Force Base’s Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Initial Joint Training Site.
