{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://pappas.house.gov/media/press-releases/pappas-continues-to-fight-for-manchester-va-improvements", "Pappas Continues to Fight for Manchester VA Improvements", "2026-06-25", "2026", "2026-06", "Democrat", "House", "NH", "Chris Pappas", "P000614", "pappas.house.gov", "pappas", "https://pappas.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), Ranking Member of the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, continued his push for updates at the Manchester VA Medical Center (VAMC) by requesting an update from Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), Doug Collins, on VA\u2019s ongoing efforts for the construction and expansion of new facilities at the Manchester VAMC. Pappas underscored the importance of sustaining the project's momentum through the remainder of this fiscal year and into Fiscal Year (FY) 2027.\n\nPappas highlighted that the funding for the Manchester VAMC improvements will be delivered through FY 2027 appropriations he helped shape, \u201cIn the case of the Manchester VAMC, the necessary funding is included in the FY 2027 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act that passed the House earlier this year. That legislation provided more than $2 billion for VA Major Construction projects and recurring expenses, funding that could be put towards implementing the Manchester VA project. The legislation passed the House with wide bipartisan support, after the House adopted an amendment that I offered emphasizing support for the Manchester VAMC improvements.\u201d\n\nPappas emphasized that the Trump administration will be able to use that funding for the project as soon as FY 2027 appropriations are signed into law, regardless of authorization status, writing, \u201cProjects like this are regularly begun by presidential administrations, including yours, once the money has been appropriated. For example, the VA started construction to upgrade the St. Louis John Cochran VA Medical Center in Spring 2025. Authorization for that project was only enacted two weeks ago through S. 2393, more than seven months after FY 2026 appropriations were signed into law and more than year after construction began. The VA\u2019s authority to start construction efforts at Manchester once funding has been appropriated is well established.\u201d\n\nPappas closed by urging the Administration to proceed without delay, and take all efforts to prepare for the project as soon as the relevant appropriations are made, \u201cGiven your Administration\u2019s support for these improvements and the necessary funding available in the House Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, I urge you to do everything in your power to make this project a reality and begin the improvements as soon as possible following enactment. Please respond no later than July 15 with the current status of the Department\u2019s efforts to upgrade the Manchester VAMC and projected next steps once this funding is signed into law.\u201d\n\nThe full letter can be found here.\n\nBackground:\n\nLast year Pappas led the New Hampshire delegation in introducing the Veterans Full-Service Care and Access Act, legislation that would require the VA to operate at least one full-service Veterans Health Administration hospital in each of the 48 contiguous states. He has consistently pressed the Department of Veterans Affairs to take every necessary step to improve care for veterans across New Hampshire.", 1, "2026-06-27T21:44:12Z", "2026-06-27T22:11:26Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://pappas.house.gov/media/press-releases/pappas-continues-to-fight-for-manchester-va-improvements"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4306970406323671, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}