This bill (H.R. 2577) would provide $56.5 billion in discretionary funding for transportation and housing and urban development-related agencies, and $83 billion in discretionary funding for military construction and veteran’s affairs projects. Additionally, as amended, the bill would provide $1.1 billion in funding to combat the Zika virus for the remainder of fiscal 2016 and for fiscal 2017.
The Senate passed H.R. 2577 on May 19,2016 by a vote of 89 to 8 (Roll Call 82). We have assigned pluses to the nays because any federal involvement in the transportation or housing markets via regulations or subsidies is an overstepping of constitutional boundaries. Government involvement in the housing market can cause market distortions, and subsidizing housing for those who cannot afford it is a form of wealth redistribution. While helping veterans is arguably constitutional, the Department of Veterans affairs, and the Veterans Health Administration in particular, is a bloated, inefficient bureaucracy and a perfect example of the failures of socialized medicine. The federal government ought to cover veterans’ healthcare costs but allow them to use the same private sector healthcare services that non-veterans use. This would be cheaper, offer better care, and be more efficient than the current VA boondoggle, and be constitutional.
