WASHINGTON — Higher than anticipated costs for mandated veterans’ benefits and medical care for toxic exposures will drive the Department of Veterans Affairs budget for fiscal 2025 to more than $400 billion — a roughly $30 billion increase to the amount that Congress approved, the agency said. Congress has appropriated a $31.7 billion increase to the $369.1 billion spending plan to cover veterans disability compensation and medical care through the Toxic Exposures Fund that is required under federal law, said Peter Kasperowicz, the VA press secretary. The increase provides the VA with necessary funds to cover fiscal 2025, which ends Sept. 30, the agency said. For fiscal 2026, which starts Oct. 1, the VA is requesting $441.3 billion — a 10% increase from 2025, according to a budget summary released Friday. VA Secretary Doug Collins pledged to prioritize critical VA programs in 2026 that address suicide risks, homelessness, substance abuse, chronic pain and access to rural health care, according to the budget documents. “President [Donald] Trump is committed to balancing the budget, while providing necessary funding for critical non-defense discretionary priorities that include caring for the nation’s veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors,” according to a summary in the documents. The 2026 budget requests $301.2 billion in mandatory funding, an increase of $34.2 billion from the previous year, for disability compensation, pensions, readjustment funds and other veterans benefits required by law. But for fiscal 2025, Congress paid $25.7 billion in additional funds to cover higher than anticipated requests for mandatory benefits, and another $6 billion for medical claims from toxic-exposed veterans. The medical claims were made to the Toxic Exposures Fund, which covers veterans exposed to toxic substances during military service, including pollution from burn pits, radiation and industrial solvents. The fund was created under the PACT Act of 2022, which established service-connected disability payments and health coverage for toxic-exposed veterans.