The Department of Veterans Affairs $488 billion budget request for fiscal 2027 represents a 7.7% increase over 2026, according to budget documents. (Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs’ proposed budget for fiscal 2027 is $488 billion, which represents a 7.7% increase over 2026 and covers more than $337 billion in compensation, pensions and other mandatory benefits for millions of veterans, according to new budget documents.
The uptick in VA funding aligns with President Donald Trump’s budget priorities, according to the White House.
The VA, which is the nation’s largest integrated health care system, expects to provide monthly disability compensation to more than 7.4 million veterans in 2027.
More than 9.2 million veterans will be enrolled in VA medical care, according to budget documents.
Trump’s administration on Friday released its 2027 budget request for funding the federal government. It includes $1.5 trillion for defense spending, an increase of 44% over 2026, according to the Office of Management and Budget.
The proposed budget emphasizes border security, veterans’ services, and military investments, and seeks cuts to many nondefense, domestic spending programs, according to the Office of Management and Budget.
“The 2027 budget builds on the president’s vision by continuing to constrain non-defense spending and reform the federal government,” wrote Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, in a message to Congress, when the budget was submitted.
The plan is considered a blueprint and a starting point for Congress to begin the annual appropriations process.
The VA’s $488 billion request represents a 58% increase in the agency’s annual funding level since 2023, according to budget documents.
“VA will continue to listen to the ‘voice of those we serve’ — our veterans — as we work with federal, state, and local partners, including veterans service organizations to best utilize the funds requested,” according to the VA’s Budget in Brief for 2027.
The 55-page document was released by Richard F. Topping, chief financial officer and assistant secretary for management at the VA.
The VA’s request would create the Warrior Independence and Self-Sufficiency Ethos (WISE) Office to oversee programs to address veteran homelessness.
WISE is the result of a May 2025 presidential executive order to “help veterans achieve long-term self-sufficiency, independence, and stability.” The new office would help veterans achieve long-term self-sufficiency, independence, and stability, according to budget documents.
The budget request calls for $144.9 billion in discretionary spending, a 9% increase over 2026. This funding covers medical care, mental health services, homelessness prevention and benefits claims processing, according to budget documents.
Approximately $337.6 billion will cover mandatory program spending, which is $22.6 billion more than 2026.
Mandatory spending spans compensation and pensions, readjustment benefits, housing and insurance, and continued funding for the toxic exposures fund, which awards benefits to veterans with illnesses and injuries connected to burn pits, radiation and other hazardous materials during military service.
The budget request supports a replacement medical center in Indianapolis, and the purchase of land for a new medical center in San Antonio.
The VA expects to employ 443,327 workers — “or full-time equivalents” — in fiscal 2027, which will run from Oct. 1, 2026, to Sept. 30, 2027.
Approximately $4.2 billion in discretionary dollars would fund continued development and implementation of the VA’s new digital health records network.
The VA is accelerating modernization of its health records, which will make them interoperable with the Defense Department’s medical records system, according to budget documents.
