The House passed funding legislation that would shore up part of a $15 billion budget shortfall at the VA, but so far has no plans to provide the agency with the remaining billions it needs.
The Veterans Benefits Continuity and Accountability Supplemental Appropriations Act, introduced by Rep. Mike Garcia, California Republican, would inject the agency with $3 billion in cash to make up for part of the gap.
Mr. Garcia’s legislation comes after VA officials warned Congress in July that they expected the agency would outspend this fiscal year’s budget by $2.88 billion and go over President Biden’s fiscal 2025 budget request by a further $11.97 billion.
The VA warned that if the bill did not pass by Sept. 20, up to 7 million veterans and their beneficiaries may be without their benefits and pensions by Oct. 1.
“We can’t afford to leave our vets high and dry without the medical care and the GI benefits that they’ve earned, but we can’t also afford to just give the VA a blank check without figuring out the root cause of this issue to be solved,” Mr. Garcia said.
The bill, which passed under a procedure that does not require a full vote of the House, would provide $2.3 billion for VA compensation and pensions and $597 million for readjustment benefits, which are used to help transition service members out of the military.
While Mr. Garcia’s legislation doesn’t address the agency’s expected financial shortfall next year, it would require that the Biden administration and Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough produce a report within 60 days of the bill’s passage that details how much money is left in pension and benefit accounts up to 2026.
It would also require reports on the accuracy of financial projections and the movement of money under the VA in fiscal 2025, plus a green light for the VA inspector general to investigate how the shortfall during this fiscal year happened.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, and the GOP have largely blamed the budget shortcoming on the agency.
“This egregious miscalculation by the Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs has not only raised serious questions but exposed a grave failure,” Mr. Johnson said in a statement. “Preventing any potential lapse in our veterans’ benefits remains top priority for Congress.”
The VA’s financial woes are tied to a massive uptick in veterans seeking benefits after the passage of the Honoring Our PACT Act in 2022, which grants benefits to veterans exposed to toxic substances and burn pits.
Democrats largely supported the measure, but contended that Republicans needed to go all the way and fund the remaining $12 billion shortfall expected in the next fiscal year.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida Democrat, said that the demand for benefits for toxic exposure and burn pits existed long before the Honoring Our PACT Act was passed in 2022, and that the shortfall was a result of the law working.
“The smoke and mirrors that is being stirred up by our friends on the other side of the aisle is just that. There is massive demand for the health-care benefits and the additional PACT Act benefits that thankfully Democrats provided,” she said.
The boom in veterans enrolling in benefits has seen the agency hire more employees to handle the surge, which was spurred by an aggressive campaign launched by the VA after Congress passed the legislation.
Shortly after the VA’s shortfall warning in July, Sen. Sherrod Brown, Ohio Democrat, introduced similar legislation that includes similar oversight parameters.
Meanwhile, the supplemental funding bill comes as Congress tries to ward off a partial government shutdown.
Mr. Johnson plans to stick with his play call to pair a six-month government funding patch with legislation that would require proof of citizenship to vote.
Lawmakers will vote on that funding patch on Wednesday, which is expected to fail because of a lack of unanimity among Republicans.
While the bill has received flak for inclusion of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, the length of the bill and the lack of an increase to military spending, a lack of funding to address the remaining $12 billion shortfall at the VA has come under fire too.
The White House argued that without the money, the “VA would be forced to make difficult tradeoffs in its efforts to preserve quality veteran care,” like slashing its staffing levels.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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