WASHINGTON, DC -- Ahead of a September 20 deadline, the U.S. House of Representatives finally voted yesterday to pass a nearly $3 billion supplemental appropriations bill to ensure millions of veterans and their survivors receive their monthly benefits.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed is urging the Senate to take up and pass the bill to fill the multi-billion dollar hole in veterans benefits funding.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has warned that up to 7 million veterans and their beneficiaries are at risk of missing their October 1 benefits if Congress fails to act.

The budget shortfall is due to the fact that the 2022 PACT Act law has been successful in helping more veterans exposed to toxins during their military service get the help they need. 

“Congress needs to do its job and provide these funds to our veterans and their families and prevent any adverse impacts to VA patients.  The men and women who served our nation in uniform are depending on these benefits and deserve them in a timely manner without needless uncertainty.  This bill should have already passed on a bipartisan basis to ensure VA hospitals are fully staffed, and can deliver care for our veterans without needless delay or disruption,” said Reed, who helped pass the PACT Act, and is a cosponsor of the Veterans Supplemental Appropriations Act (S.4997).

According to the VA, about 740,000 veterans have enrolled in VA health care since the PACT Act was signed. That is approximately a 33 percent increase over the previous two-year period before the PACT Act was signed into law.

VA Secretary Denis McDonough told lawmakers earlier this year that claims filed by veterans exposed to toxic materials increased spending for disability compensation and health care services, with veterans filing about 1.5 million claims for compensation over the last two years.

Earlier this summer, Senators had tried to fast-track the funding patch but several Republicans objected and demanded a hearing before voting on the measure.  The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing on the matter today.

Now that it has been approved by the House, the emergency veterans spending bill must then be approved by the full U.S. Senate before it can be sent to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.