The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee chairman expects legislation on the issue to curb fees lawyers can charge veterans to pass sometime this year.
The measure advanced out of a key Senate committee for the first time.
Lawmakers are eyeing NORAD's capabilities after a suspected Chinese spy balloon and other objects pierced North America's airspace.
The money is part of a larger $1.7 trillion spending plan for federal operations.
The Pentagon will receive a $69.3 billion budget increase over FY 22 on top of another $27.9 in emergency funding to support Ukraine.
A growing chorus of Republicans have criticized U.S. military assistance for Ukraine, and many are calling for more oversight.
Some portions of the sweeping veterans policy measure will go into effect as soon as it becomes law. Others will take years.
The VA’s top health care post had been unfilled since early 2017.
A planned deployment of the system to sites in Idaho this weekend has been delayed in response to lingering problems.
A backlog of more than 500,000 requests has accumulated in the last year.
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