Senate passes $3 billion VA spending patch, addressing urgent budget shortfall
By
Samantha-Jo Roth
September 19, 2024 1:08 pm
.
The Senate passed an emergency bill on Thursday to address a nearly $3 billion shortfall that the Department of Veterans Affairs is facing, sending the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk.
The bill passed by voice vote which would allocate about $2.9 billion in additional funding for the VA. About $2.3 billion of which would go directly to the Veterans Benefits Administration for compensation and pensions. The rest of the funding would go toward readjustment benefits.
The legislation comes after the VA warned lawmakers in July that veterans’ compensation and pension benefit payments, as well as their readjustment benefits, could be delayed next month if Congress doesn’t provide additional funding by the end of the week.
In rare and swift bipartisanship, both the House and Senate passed the spending bill by unanimous consent that avoided taking a recorded vote in each chamber.
The House passed the bill, spearheaded by Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA) earlier this week through a procedural vote that didn’t require the full House to be present. The bill includes a mandate that the VA would issue a report on the funding shortage to Congress and include future accountability guidelines to make sure resources are managed properly. The VA secretary would also need to report to lawmakers on any future changes to the budget estimates.
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/3159809/senate-passes-3-billion-veterans-spending-bill/
