The Department of Veterans Affairs said the ongoing government shutdown has forced nearly 37,000 of its employees to be furloughed or work without pay.
According to an Oct. 30 news release, more than 900,000 veterans are unable to get assistance from the GI Bill Hotline, which has been shut down.
Additionally, VA said more than 100,000 enrolled veterans cannot obtain Veteran Readiness and Employment program counseling or case management services, as those employees have been furloughed.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins again blamed the Democrats for the shutdown.
“The Democrats’ government shutdown is limiting services for veterans and making life miserable for VA employees, and things are only going to get worse as time goes on,” he said in the release.
Democrats are in the minority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and both parties' leaders have blamed the other for not taking action to reopen the government.
A total of 56 VA regional benefits officers are also shuttered as a result of the shutdown, which began when funding for the federal government lapsed on Oct. 1, after the Republican-led House and Senate failed to garner enough support from Democrats for a funding bill.
“It’s time for Democrats to stop using the suffering of Americans as political leverage to give free health care to illegal immigrants,” Collins said, claiming that the Democrats' demands for health care subsidies in the Affordable Care Act would go to undocumented immigrants. “I call on them to open the government and enable VA to provide the complete and comprehensive services America’s veterans, families, caregivers and survivors have earned.”
More than 16,000 service members preparing to leave the military cannot receive VA transition briefings, as the contract that provides for the service is not operational during the shutdown. Transitioning service members will continue to have online access to the full content of the TAP briefing.
Because VA receives some advance appropriations from Congress, its medical centers, outpatient clinics and Vet Centers remain open and are operating normally during the shutdown. Additionally, VA benefits are being processed and delivered, including compensation, pension, education, and housing benefits. Burials are also continuing at 157 VA national cemeteries, but grounds maintenance is not being performed and permanent headstones are not being placed.
For more information on how the government shutdown is impacting VA, see here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.