Peace Garden News

The U.S. Senate has approved funding measures aimed at supporting North Dakota’s military infrastructure and veteran services, according to Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The Fiscal Year 2026 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (Milcon-VA) funding bill includes provisions that focus on nuclear modernization at Minot Air Force Base. The legislation directs the Air Force to prioritize and finance security upgrades for the base’s Weapons Storage Area. It also requires a plan with a construction timeline for Sentinel launch facilities that accounts for simultaneous work across all three missile bases.

For the North Dakota National Guard, the bill allocates $1.5 million in additional funding to support improvements at Jamestown Readiness Center. It also contains a provision by Hoeven ensuring that lodging needs are met at facilities like Camp Grafton’s Regional Training Institute. This follows $2 million previously secured by Hoeven in fiscal year 2024 for planning and design of related housing projects.

The legislation addresses several priorities for veterans in North Dakota. It supports further infrastructure development at Rural Initiative national cemeteries, such as Fargo National Cemetery, and calls on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to give preference to investments involving state and local contributions—similar to efforts led by the working group headed by Hoeven at Fargo National Cemetery.

Additional measures seek to improve veterans’ access to long-term care through increased recruitment and retention of providers, while encouraging permanent exemptions from certain Department of Labor contracting requirements. The bill also promotes expanded access to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), urging continued research into its effectiveness for treating post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries, along with case-by-case referrals via 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,” said Hoeven. “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.”