Copyright Newsweek
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has said that the ongoing federal government shutdown is impacting services for around a million American veterans. Why It Matters The VA’s accounting of service disruptions, detailed in a press release on October 30, came before the shutdown reached a historic milestone: on Tuesday night it became the longest in U.S. history, surpassing the previous record set in 2019. The department attributed the blame for the shutdown on the Democrats. The Senate has failed for the 14th time to pass a short-term funding bill to reopen the government, and while there have been recent signs of bipartisan movement on the matter, lawmakers have not yet come to an agreement. What To Know Because some VA funding is provided in advance by Congress, the department says core health care operations remain functioning—medical centers, outpatient clinics and Vet Centers are open and continuing to treat patients. The VA also said that the routine processing and delivery of benefits—including compensation, pension, education and housing assistance—will continue, and burials at VA national cemeteries will proceed. Still, in its press release the department detailed a number of significant interruptions to other programs that do not have uninterrupted funding. According to the VA, as of last week more than 900,000 veterans are currently unable to reach the GI Bill Hotline because that service has been suspended. Counseling and case-management services through the Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR & E) program are also paused after staff supporting those services were furloughed. The VA said more than 100,000 enrolled veterans are affected by this. The VA also reported a growing backlog of new applicants for the VR & E program, which on October 30 stood at 61,988. It warned that this backlog was increasing daily. In-person services have also been curtailed: 56 regional benefits offices are closed to the public, and the VA’s regional office in Manila has been shuttered after its legal authority to operate expired on September 30. Transition services for service members nearing separation have been halted as well. The department said more than 16,000 service members preparing to leave the military cannot receive VA transition briefings—which include job training and independent-living programs for veterans with service-connected disabilities—because the contract that supplies those services is not operational during the lapse in appropriations. The VA also said there has been an interruption to cemetery upkeep: 157 national cemeteries are no longer performing grounds maintenance or placing permanent headstones, although burials are not impacted. In response to the press release, the House Veterans' Affairs Democrats said Republicans were to blame for the ongoing shutdown, posting an image on X, formerly Twitter, of the release with every mention of "Democrats" replaced with "Republicans." What People Are Saying VA Secretary Doug Collins said: "The Democrats’ government shutdown is limiting services for Veterans and making life miserable for VA employees, and things are only going to get worse as time goes on. It’s time for Democrats to stop using the suffering of Americans as political leverage to give free health care to illegal immigrants. I call on them to open the government and enable VA to provide the complete and comprehensive services America’s Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors have earned." House Veterans' Affairs Democrats said on X: "We made some corrections to your Press Release, Secretary Collins. Republicans control everything, yet blame Democrats for the shutdown? Stop using veterans as pawns & reopen the government. When you have the House, Senate, & White House, you own the results—not the minority party." What Happens Next The federal government shutdown continues, and while the deadlock has seemed unbreakable over the last month, Majority Leader John Thune has said a compromise could be coming. "I just think, based on, sort of, my gut of how these things operate, I think we're getting close to an off-ramp here," Thune said this week.
