WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate has approved key priorities to strengthen North Dakota’s military missions and provide the state’s veterans with health care, benefits and recognitions they have earned in the 2026 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs funding bill

Sen. John Hoeven, R-ND, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, included provisions in the bill to:

– Advance nuclear modernization at Minot Air Force Base including directing the Air Force to prioritize and fund security enhancements at the existing Weapons Storage Area, and develop a plan, including a construction timeline for Sentinel launch facilities that incorporates concurrent construction at all three missile bases.

– Benefit the North Dakota National Guard, including $1.5 million in additional funding for the N.D. National Guard’s Jamestown Readiness Center; and a Hoeven -provision to ensure the Army National Guard meets lodging needs at facilities such as Camp Grafton’s Regional Training Institute.

Veterans Affairs

– Support the construction of additional infrastructure at Rural Initiative national cemeteries, such as the Fargo National Cemetery and ensure the VA prioritizes investments that involve state and local contributions.

– Improve veteran access to long-term care by recruiting and retaining more partners and pressing the VA to work toward permanently exempting providers from onerous contracting requirements at the Department of Labor.

– Expand access to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) by encouraging the VA to continue researching the therapy as a treatment for post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury, while permitting case-by-case referrals for HBOT through VA Community Care.

“We secured provisions in this bill to keep our nuclear modernization efforts on track for Minot Air Force Base and to advance the construction of Guard facilities in Jamestown and at Camp Grafton,” Hoeven said. “This legislation also helps keep our promise to care for and honor our veterans with our provisions to keep the momentum going to construct infrastructure at the Fargo National Cemetery, and improve veteran access to critically-needed health care services, like long-term care and HBOT.”

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND, said the FY26 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Legislative Branch Appropriations Act also provides $702.8 million for the Supportive Services for Veterans Families program, which serves every county in North Dakota through the Williston, Minot, Devils Lake, Grand Forks, Fargo, Jamestown, Bismarck, and Dickinson regional Community Action Agencies.

Cramer is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

In April, Cramer and U.S. Senator Chris Coons, D-Del., introduced the bipartisan Every State Counts for Veterans Mental Health Act to provide priority consideration of SSG Fox SPGP applications to entities in states, such as North Dakota, which have not previously received a grant. The FY26 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations title reflects Cramer’s work so North Dakota veterans receive suicide prevention support if they need it by including language improving access to suicide prevention services.