The House on Tuesday is set to consider legislation that would fill a nearly $3 billion gap in veterans benefits ahead of a Sept. 20 deadline.
Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., introduced the supplemental appropriations bill last week with top GOP leaders on the Appropriations Committee and House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill. It will be considered under suspension of the rules, an expedited procedure requiring a two-thirds majority of lawmakers present and voting to pass.
The Department of Veterans Affairs said up to 7 million veterans and their beneficiaries were at risk of missing their Oct. 1 benefits if Congress did not act. A 2022 law that expanded eligibility for veterans exposed to toxins overseas led to an influx of demand and the funding gap, the VA has said.
The bill would provide $2.3 billion for VA compensation and pensions and $597 million for readjustment benefits.
The Senate is expected to try to pass the bill under unanimous consent later in the week to ensure that veterans receive their benefits payments as scheduled.
The Senate’s version of the bill, introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, included different oversight language. Senate leaders, however, are expected to bring up the House’s version, sources familiar with the situation said.
[Bipartisan Senate group offers bill to plug VA benefit shortfall]
Senate leaders tried to get unanimous consent for their chamber’s bill in late July, but were blocked by some Republicans who wanted a hearing on the topic to be scheduled. The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee has a Sept. 18 oversight hearing on the shortfall.
While the VA had been warning lawmakers of higher-than-expected demand for services after enactment of the 2022 benefit expansion, it was only in July that the agency officially put a number on the funding shortfall. Garcia’s bill would require the Veterans Affairs secretary to submit a report within 30 days to the Appropriations and Veterans’ Affairs committees on corrections the department is making to improve budget forecasting.
The VA secretary would also be mandated to submit a report on the status of funds made available for compensation, pension and benefits for the current and next two fiscal years every 90 days until the end of fiscal 2026.
The VA is facing an additional $12 billion gap in its fiscal 2025 health care accounts, a topic which has emerged as a sticking point in the debate over the stopgap spending measure that is needed by Oct. 1 to avert a partial government shutdown.
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