September 20, 2024, is a date all Veterans should be paying attention to. Once again, there are budgeting issues in Washington D.C. affecting the Veteran community. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is facing a shortfall of finances and as a result, Veteran benefit checks may suffer. If lawmakers don’t figure things out soon, disruptions for Vets receiving benefits could begin as early as October 2024.
Why Your Veteran Benefit Checks May Be in Limbo
What’s simple is Veteran benefit checks need lawmakers to work together and allocate appropriate funding for the VA quickly.
However, in order to do so, they will need to put politics aside, create a short-term budgeting solution, and prevent the federal government from shutting down.
Under less hostile circumstances, this can already be challenging. However, in an election year with both major parties considerably polarized, there are fears that the people who might suffer are the heroes who fought to keep us all free.
Veteran benefits to families equaling tens of millions of dollars could be disrupted starting in October 2024. This is due to a partial government shutdown.
Just under $3 billion needs approval for the rest of 2024. An additional $12 billion is needed to cover 2025 expenses for the VA by the September 20 deadline.
Looking at the Next Fiscal Year
There are big bucks at play for fiscal year 2025 (FY25) to the tune of a defense budget reaching an estimated $833 billion.
Lawmakers believe this is achievable; however, due to potential negotiations, it’s the timeline that remains in question.
An increase in Veteran benefits checks from regular compensation to pensions and more are all at risk of disruption.
One big reason for this is the increase in Veteran benefits that continue to come as a result of the PACT Act.
FY24 has seen a record-setting number of Veterans and survivors receive disability payments, totaling more than 1.1 million people.
At the same time, there have been around 413,000 new Veterans who have enrolled in VA healthcare within the last year. This is a year-to-year increase of 27%.
The potential shutdown isn’t a new situation where the VA and lawmakers have been working to find a solution for months now, all to no avail as of this writing.
The Politics Behind Veteran Benefit Checks
Despite two months of negotiations to find a solution, VA officials and lawmakers continue to come up short of funding Veteran benefits.
Some politicians believe that the issues facing the VA are due to the current leadership’s failure to manage the organization.
Beyond the budgetary issues, some lawmakers are also upset about the communication leading to this potential ordeal.
So, while one side makes a case for an increase in benefit payments and another blames leadership for the issues, Veterans are the ones left to potentially pay the price.
Families will be hoping for relief over the next week and there is hope. Bipartisan lawmakers have come together to provide the Senate with the framework to make things happen.
However, it’s within the House of Representatives where questions still remain, even if there is bipartisan support in the Senate.
Members of the House Appropriations Committee have called for the use of their plan. This would provide around $3 billion in VA funding.
The plan doesn’t just help provide Veteran benefits but also will dive deep into the potential issues that led to this situation in the first place, in the hopes of preventing them from happening again in the future.
Furthermore, the American Legion has been vocal about finding a solution. Its even asking its members to ask Congress to find a fix to avoid the disruption.
If the deadline isn’t met but a solution is created afterward, there will still be processing issues for Veteran benefits checks.
Hopefully, everyone is able to come together. This will help Vets receive the compensation they more than deserve without any disruptions affecting it.
Suggested reads:
- Sgt. Reckless Was a Marine War Horse Beloved by All
- Navigating the PACT Act Claim: What to Anticipate After Filing
- Did James Earl Jones Serve in the Military?