If the federal government’s partial shutdown continues into late October, Veterans Affairs Department compensation in November for more than five million beneficiaries—including nearly 4 million military veterans—would halt, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki told lawmakers on Wednesday. Further, “once mandatory funds are depleted at the end of this month, nearly 5,600 veterans a day will not receive a decision on their disability claims,” he said in testimony before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Education benefits would also take a hit if the shutdown doesn’t end soon, he said. More than 10,000 VA employees are now on temporarily furlough due to the shutdown, said Shinseki during the Oct. 9 hearing. “It’s a shame that Washington’s dysfunction has led to the furloughs of thousands of dedicated VA employees and may jeopardize benefits for some veterans,” said Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), HVAC chairman, in a statement. (Shinseki’s prepared testimony) (AFPS report by Donna Miles)
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
