In the nature of a substitute.

SA 3411, submitted by Ms. Collins, is an amendment to bill H.R. 3944. Its purpose is to replace the entire text following the enacting clause of the original bill to create the "Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Agriculture Appropriations Act, 2026."

The amendment aims to change and add the following:

• Military Construction and Veterans Affairs: It appropriates funds for the Department of Defense to build and equip facilities for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and their National Guard and Reserve components. It also funds family housing, the NATO Security Investment Program, and various Department of Veterans Affairs services, including medical care, pensions, housing loans, the National Cemetery Administration, and initiatives for suicide prevention, homelessness, and women veterans. It also provides for the American Battle Monuments Commission, the Armed Forces Retirement Home, and the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

• Agriculture and Rural Development: It provides specific funding for the Department of Agriculture, including the Office of the Secretary and the Chief Economist. This includes allocations for food safety inspections, agricultural research, rural housing and utility loans, and nutrition programs like SNAP and WIC. It also funds the Institute for Rural Partnerships and new pilot programs for bison production, tribal school lunches, and affordable housing technical assistance.

• Operational Constraints and Accountability: The amendment sets strict rules on spending, including:

  • Banning first-class travel.
  • Limiting new passenger vehicle purchases to 2018 levels.
  • Prohibiting funds for computer networks that do not block pornography.
  • Capping indirect cost rates for nonprofit cooperative agreements at 10 percent.
  • Requiring the Committees on Appropriations to approve the creation of new programs, office relocations, or the privatization of federal functions.
  • Requiring notification to Congress before ending grants of $1,000,000 or more.

• Regulatory Prohibitions and Security:

  • Prohibits the use of human embryos in certain drug research.
  • Blocks the FDA from issuing new population-wide sodium reduction guidelines until a specific survey is published.
  • Stops the FDA from enforcing certain produce standards for almonds, pulse crops, hops, and wine grapes.
  • Prevents the purchase of seafood or poultry from the People's Republic of China for school meal programs.
  • Prohibits the use of IT equipment from specific Chinese entities.
  • Adds the Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for transactions involving agricultural land and industry, specifically concerning Iran, Russia, North Korea, and China.

• Domestic and Legal Mandates:

  • Requires that iron and steel for rural water and waste projects be made in the U.S. unless a waiver is granted.
  • Mandates that at least 10 percent of certain rural loans and grants go to persistent poverty counties.
  • Updates legal definitions for hemp, industrial hemp, and hemp-derived cannabinoid products while protecting the sale and transport of legal hemp.
  • Cancels (rescinds) prior unobligated balances, including $200,000,000 from Food For Peace Title II Grants.