The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has had its share of bad news in recent years, from the possibility of closing facilities and the need for $4.1 billion to build and upgrade facilities to mounting pressure to lease more of its facility space.
Finally, there is some good news.
The department recently announced it will spend $4.8 billion in fiscal year 2026 to modernize, repair and improve its healthcare facilities. The funds are part of the Veterans Health Administration’s Non-Recurring Maintenance (NRM) program, which makes infrastructure improvements to healthcare facilities.
This is the largest single-year NRM investment in VA’s history. The program funds one-time maintenance projects for facilities, equipment and infrastructure that are not part of routine, recurring maintenance. These projects include significant maintenance, replacements and upgrades needed to maintain operational capability and advance healthcare delivery.
The funding will cover projects at VA facilities across the nation and includes:
The VA will determine specific projects quarterly. The full list of the projects for the first quarter of FY26 totals $468 million.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.?
