As the end appears to be in sight for the longest shutdown in U.S. government history, two Department of Veterans Affairs employees who have been working for more than 40 days without pay spoke with Connecting Vets about how the shutdown is impacting them and the veterans they serve.
Army veteran Keith Allen serves as executive director of VA’s Riverside National Cemetery in California and Cherlene Norman, who processes disability claims at VA’s Phoenix, Arizona office. They said the shutdown has impacted them both professionally and personally.
“The majority of my staff are veterans, but all of my staff are 100 percent committed to our mission,” he said. “Morale is still positive, but I can see the strain starting to take a toll. November 7, 2025, will be the first missed paycheck, and that will hurt my staff.”
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. The stalemate appeared to end on Nov. 10, when eight Senate Democratic caucus members backed a deal from Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), which would keep the government funded through January.
In an Oct. 30 release, VA said the ongoing government shutdown has forced nearly 37,000 of its employees to be furloughed or work without pay.
A total of 56 VA regional benefits officers remain shuttered as a result of the shutdown. 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. That’s where Norman, who is not a veteran, comes in.
“During the shutdown, my work has not been impacted,” she said. “I am still working during this time, just missing the paycheck for now. I was hired to serve veterans and that is what I am continuing to do daily. My goal is to touch as many veterans daily as I can."
Norman said she always looked for something bigger with prior employers before joining the VA two years ago.
“I wanted something that made me feel like I was doing something positive for others,” she said. “When I was presented with the job posting for the Rating Veteran Services Representative, I knew that was something that would fulfill that need.”
Norman reviews veteran claims for disability benefits by reviewing all supporting evidence and medical records to determine if a connection can be made between service and current diagnoses.
“It is an honor to be able to serve veterans through this process, and I truly feel like I have made a difference in veteran lives when I leave work each day,” she said.
Burials are also continuing at 157 VA national cemeteries, including Riverside, but grounds maintenance is not being performed and permanent headstones are not being placed.
“Presently, Riverside Cemetery is still offering the full schedule of burial options to veterans and their survivors,” Allen said. “We are conducting approximately 25 – 35 burials every day.”
Allen served in the Army from 1982 to 1984 and was an Air Assault Infantry soldier with the 101st Airborne Division. He began work with the U.S. Postal Service in 1987 and earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 2004. He began looking for other opportunities to work within the federal government and found the VA to be a perfect fit.
“In May of 2006, I started my VA career in Tampa, Florida as a project engineer," he said. "In August 2022, I was offered the greatest honor to lead the Riverside National Cemetery.”
Allen said working without pay puts a strain on any household, and his is no different.
“We cut back where we can and stretch dollars as far as they can go,” he said. “Our nation’s veterans sacrificed for us, so we will do the same here at Riverside National Cemetery. Hopefully, this does not last long enough to put us in a position to have to decide between gas to go to work or food to feed our families.”
Norman agreed.
“The shutdown is starting to get hard on myself and my family,” she said. “With the second missed paycheck at the end of this week, the uncertainty is looming. For now, we are making ends meet, but I am unsure of what it is going to look like if there is a third missed check, especially with the holidays coming up quickly.”
She added that morale is the best it can be right now within her department.
“There is a lot of fear regarding not being able to afford childcare, groceries, gas, mortgage and so on,” she said. “Everyone is trying to be as supportive as possible and try to lift each other up, but the positivity only goes so far.”
As a result of the shutdown, VA said more than 900,000 veterans are unable to get assistance from the GI Bill Hotline, which has been shut down. More than 100,000 enrolled veterans cannot obtain Veteran Readiness and Employment program counseling or case management services, as those employees have been furloughed.
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.
The House of Representatives could vote on the Senate measure to reopen the government as early as Wednesday.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.