Veterans appointed a financial manager by the Department of Veterans Affairs won’t automatically be barred from buying guns under must-pass legislation to fund the VA that Congress is expected to approve this week.
The legislation would bar the VA from reporting veterans who are found incapable of managing their own finances to the FBI’s national background check database without first getting a judge’s consent.
The provision — a win for Republicans on Capitol Hill — was included in a bipartisan compromise deal between the House and Senate unveiled Sunday that funds the VA, military construction and several other portions of the government for fiscal 2024. The deal could avert a potential partial government shutdown if it is passed by the end of the week.
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The most controversial policy riders included in earlier drafts of the VA and military construction funding bill, including GOP efforts to block the VA’s abortion policy and bar gender-affirming care for transgender veterans, were not included in the compromise deal.
Also excluded from the deal were bipartisan efforts to allow VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana in states where it is legal.
But Republicans scored a win with the veterans’ gun rights provision.
Under existing VA policy, the department reports the names of veterans for whom it appoints fiduciaries to the…
