The U.S. Capitol as seen on March 21, 2024. (Gianna Gronowski/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Time is running out for a group of senators seeking to expedite a vote this week on legislation to cover a $3 billion shortfall at the Department of Veterans Affairs that threatens to cut off benefits for veterans by the fall.
Expediting a vote on the bill would bring it to the Senate floor before lawmakers leave for their monthlong recess, which could start as early as Friday.
But Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and a handful of GOP senators effectively halted a vote Thursday and demanded a congressional hearing on the VA shortfall.
An expedited vote requires unanimous consent from all 100 members of the Senate. One senator’s opposition can halt the proceedings.
Tuberville’s office confirmed he and other senators are demanding the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee immediately schedule an oversight hearing into the reasons for the budget shortfall, which is projected to climb to $15 billion through 2025.
VA leaders have said record demand for benefits is driving the budget shortfalls.
VA Secretary Denis McDonough told lawmakers in July that claims filed by veterans exposed to toxic materials have increased spending for disability compensation and health care.
Veterans have filed nearly 1.5 million claims for compensation since adoption of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act in 2022, known as the PACT Act, according to the VA. In July, veterans submitted nearly 20,000 claims per week for compensation, according to the agency’s online dashboard.
Demand for education benefits under the GI bill also is higher than anticipated, the VA said.
“Conversations are still ongoing following Sen. Tuberville and his colleagues calling for an oversight hearing as to how the shortfall occurred,” Hannah Eddins, Tuberville’s press secretary, said Thursday afternoon.
But Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., the chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said Thursday that he agreed to the oversight hearing.
He accused Tuberville of playing partisan politics with veterans benefits as the Senate prepares to recess.
“We can’t hold veterans and their earned benefits hostage until September. Our veterans and their families rely on these benefits to help cover groceries, rent and electric bills. These benefits must be paid regardless of any hearing, and we have an obligation to provide veterans certainty now by passing this funding bill immediately,” Tester said.
Congress must act by Sept. 20 to address a $3 billion shortfall for veterans to continue to receive their pensions and disability compensation through the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
“Senate Republicans have placed a hold on the legislation preventing it from passing,” said Liz Timmons, press secretary for the Senate VA Committee.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, introduced legislation Monday to cover the 2024 shortfall, along with Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Co-sponsors are Sens. Tester, Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and John Boozman, R-Ark.
The bill does not address the projected $12 billion shortfall for fiscal 2025.
Last month, Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, accused McDonough and other VA leaders of misleading lawmakers in testimony at budget hearings in the spring.
“This is not just fiscal mismanagement. It is strategic whiplash,” he said of the budget shortfall.
