House Republicans rolled out an emergency funding plan Friday to address a roughly $3 billion budget shortfall facing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, was joined by other members on the committee and House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Mike Bost (R-Ill.) in unveiling the bill, dubbed the Veterans Benefits Continuity and Accountability Supplemental Appropriations Act.
“My bill is focused on both ensuring our veterans receive the care they’ve earned and demanding accountability from those in charge,” Garcia said in a statement Friday. “We need to fix what’s broken, not just fund it, and make sure our heroes are never left behind by the failures of this administration.”
His comments come as the VA has faced increased scrutiny, particularly from Republicans, as officials warn millions of veterans’ benefits are at risk in the coming weeks.
The VA is calling on Congress to provide about $3 billion in mandatory benefits funds for fiscal 2024, as well as roughly $12 billion more than what the administration requested in fiscal 2025 for medical care.
The VA has cited the PACT Act, a landmark law that passed with bipartisan support in 2022, as the key driver behind the budget shortfall, pointing to increases in enrollment in VA health care, appointments and applications benefits. Officials have also signaled more funding could be needed in recent months as the VA continued to ramp up outreach efforts.
“These important results for veterans and survivors exceeded even the most aggressive projections and expectations,” an agency spokesperson said.
Veterans’ compensation and pension benefit payments, as well as their readjustment benefits, could be delayed if Congress doesn’t provide additional funding by Sept. 20, the VA told lawmakers earlier this year.
House Republicans haven’t detailed when the bill could come up for a vote. GOP leaders are also preparing to roll out a stopgap measure to fund the government past a Sept. 30 shutdown deadline.
In a statement Friday, House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) called the shortfall “a glaring failure” by the Biden administration in what he described as one of the VA’s “largest financial discrepancies in recent history.”
“It also reflects a grave departure from their budget submission provided mere months ago. Our heroes deserve more than this incompetence. Through this bill, we ensure that promised benefits remain secure and enact needed oversight to guarantee full accountability and transparency.”
The five-page bill unveiled by Republicans on Friday contains similar language to legislation rolled out by a bipartisan group of senators several weeks ago.
The bill calls for about $2.9 billion in additional funding for the VA, of which about $2.3 billion would go toward the Veterans Benefits Administration for compensation and pensions, and roughly $597 million would be put toward readjustment benefits.
Both bills also direct agencies to review the circumstances surrounding the shortfall, as well as the causes. But the House bill goes further.
The Senate bill calls on the Government Accountability Office to initiate a review into the shortfall and identify “possible remedies” the VA can take to prevent shortfalls in the future and improve budget submissions.
It also requires the VA secretary to submit a report to Congress within 30 days of the bill’s enactment identifying “potential cost savings measures within the Central Office of the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
However, the House bill requires the VA secretary to submit reporting to lawmakers detailing ways to improve forecasting and budget assumptions, while mandating reporting for further information on changes to estimates going forward.
It additionally requires the inspector general of the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct a review of the circumstances surrounding the budget shortfall and the causes — instead of the GAO.
Updated: 10:58 a.m. on Sept. 9