WASHINGTON — Veterans health care programs would receive another big boost under a $132.4 billion measure passed by the House today.

The 12 percent increase for the veterans medical services account is but the latest in a recent string of generous increases. Funding for veterans has long had strong bipartisan support.

The bill passed by a 415-3 vote, making it the most bipartisan of the seven appropriations bills to have passed so far. The 12 annual spending bills will total $1.2 trillion for agency operating budgets passed each year by Congress — known in Capitol Hill argot as the "discretionary" portion of the $3.6 trillion federal budget.

The veterans funding measure contains sweeping increases for most of the programs it covers. It would pay to hire about 1,200 additional claims processors to relieve backlogs, provide money to cover more veterans whose health problems are not related to their service, and raise the reimbursement rate that veterans get for their drives to receive care to 41.5 cents per mile.

Also Friday, a House Appropriations subcommittee approved $163.4 billion in discretionary funding for labor, health and education programs, a 7 percent boost. The measure ends a long-standing prohibition on funding for needle exchange programs to prevent the spread of the HIV virus and other diseases among intravenous drug users.

It also contains $567 billion for so-called mandatory spending on benefit programs such as Medicare.

In addition, it drops funding popular with Republicans for abstinence-only sex education. Critics have labeled the program ineffective.