Congress fails to address VA budget shortfall before leaving town

Congress failed to pass legislation before leaving town to address a roughly $3 billion budget shortfall for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), as officials warn millions of veterans’ benefits are at risk in the coming weeks.

Some senators had been hopeful of expediting legislation to patch the shortfall before leaving this week for a monthlong recess as a Sept. 20 deadline looms. But that effort fell short amid increased scrutiny over what some Republicans have alleged is mismanagement at the agency.

“We have been told for a long time that we have sufficient funds … We’re only learning this now,” Sen. Jerry Moran (Kan.), a top Republican on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said this week, adding the discovery of the shortfall came after both chambers had already begun advancing full-year funding legislation for military construction and the VA.

“I’m unconvinced that the Department of Veterans Affairs was incapable of knowing a problem at that point in time, and the [Office of Management and Budget] has never said anything,” he said.