Seeking to avoid a disruption in veterans benefits payments later this year, a bipartisan group of senators has introduced a bill to fix a nearly $3 billion shortfall for disability and education benefits the Department of Veterans Affairs expects to face by October.
The movement in the Senate to shore up VA benefits accounts comes as VA Secretary Denis McDonough responded to a key House chairman’s demand for more information on the budget shortfall by the lawmaker’s deadline, but it’s unclear whether that will be enough to stave off a subpoena.
Both developments revolve around a roughly $15 billion budget shortfall the VA told Congress earlier this month it now projects to face this year and next. The budget gap includes $2.9 billion for disability and education benefits this fiscal year and $12 billion for medical care next fiscal year.
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If Congress does not enact a fix to address the benefits funding gap by Sept. 20, “Compensation and pension payments to over 7 million veterans and survivors and readjustment benefit payments to over 500,000 individuals that are scheduled to be delivered on Oct. 1, 2024, are at risk,” the department told Congress in a slideshow earlier this month that was obtained by Military.com.
As such, seven senators from both parties announced Monday afternoon they were introducing a bill to…
