President Joe Biden’s Department of Veterans Affairs is expecting to fall roughly $15 billion short of what the department needs to cover health care and benefits for this year and next year, potentially putting veteran benefits at risk.
According to Military.com, Veterans Affairs officials recently told Congress that the shortfall is partially due to more veterans utilizing the department’s services than initially expected. Under the PACT Act, the department said Veterans Affairs benefits accounts could be $2.9 billion short this year, while health care accounts could be approximately $12 billion short next year due to multiple factors, including unexpected prescription drug and staffing costs.
In a statement obtained by Military.com, the department explained it was working with Congress and the White House to solve the budget shortfalls without harming veterans reliant on its health care and other resources.
“Right now, due in large part to the historic PACT Act, VA is delivering more care and more benefits to more veterans than ever before,” Veterans Affairs Press Secretary Terrence Hayes said. “These results are life-changing for veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors, and VA will continue to push to make sure that they get the care and benefits they deserve.”
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A slideshow presented to Congress and obtained by Military.com warns that the budget shortfall could cause disruptions for veteran benefits payments. The slideshow warned, “If VBA (Veterans Benefits Administration) has insufficient funding available, then compensation and pension payments to over 7 million veterans and survivors and readjustment benefit payments to over 500,000 individuals that are scheduled to be delivered on October 1, 2024, are at risk.”
The budget shortfall concerns have led to Congress criticizing the department’s leadership. Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), who serves as chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman, sent a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough last week demanding answers for the budget shortfall.
“This represents by far the largest budget shortfall the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has experienced under any administration and a repudiation of the FY 2025 budget request that the Biden-Harris administration presented just four months ago,” Bost wrote. “Not only have your chief financial officers thrown out the dollar amounts requested for many key accounts, they have abandoned many of the estimates and projections that underpinned their budget. This is not just fiscal mismanagement; it is strategic whiplash.”
