House passes $3 billion VA supplemental budget ahead of Friday deadline

A bill to cover a $3 billion shortfall in veterans benefits through the end of the month passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday, three days before the benefit payments were due to be suspended.

Lawmakers overwhelmingly passed the Veterans Benefits Continuation and Accountability Supplemental Appropriations Act Tuesday night, sending it to the Senate ahead of a Friday deadline to ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs can process benefit payments for 7 million veterans.

House Republicans — led by Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif. — introduced a bill less than two weeks ago that would help cover $2.89 billion in additional costs for the Veterans Benefits Administration.

“We are not throwing money at the problem. This bill includes critical oversight measures to ensure every dollar is spent appropriately, and we will get answers about how the VA allowed this to happen,” Garcia said in a statement. “Our veterans deserve better than bureaucratic failures, and we owe it to them to fix this broken system.”

The additional funds are intended to cover part of a projected $15 billion shortfall between this year and fiscal 2025, falling in fiscal year 2024. VA officials briefed the House Veterans Affairs Committee on the shortfall in July, saying it is related to compensation and pensions, as well as the cost of VBA compensation benefits.

VA officials also are predicting a potential $11.97 billion shortfall in fiscal year 2025 due to rising staffing and drug costs at the Veterans Health Administration.

The House bill would also require the Department of Veterans Affairs to report to the appropriate committees of the House of Representatives and Senate on the status of requested funding for fiscal years 2024, 2025, and 2026 within 60 days of enactment of the bill and to update it every 90 days until September 30, 2026.

The VA inspector general would also investigate the root cause of shortfalls in VBA and VHA and report to the appropriate committees within 180 days, according to provisions of the bill.

After the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act expanded eligibility for VA benefits for veterans with 23 respiratory conditions linked to burn pits used by the military, the VA began ramping up its hiring efforts, including hiring 61,000 new VHA employees in fiscal year 2023 to handle the growing influx of patients and beneficiaries.

But in January, The executive power of the government learned that parts of the VA network were cutting hiring to cover budget shortfalls, and some were implementing “cost-avoidance strategies” that included “strategic hiring/deployment,” overtime reductions, travel restrictions and other actions.”

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, said in a statement Tuesday that the Senate needs to act quickly to pass the bill.

“Funding veterans benefits is a cost of war that must always be paid — simply put,” he said. “The fact is that the VA is providing more disability benefits to more veterans and survivors than ever before, including benefits related to toxic exposure, and that is a good thing. We have a sacred responsibility to ensure that veterans and their families have confidence that their benefit checks will arrive on time and within 14 days, and I urge my Senate colleagues to put veterans first and pass this funding bill immediately.”