Government shutdown impacting Veterans Affairs. Details on benefits, medical care, more

By Melina Khan, Updated 12:30 PM PDT, Tue October 14, 2025

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' services are limited as thousands of its employees have been furloughed during the ongoing government shutdown.

The agency, which oversees health care and other benefits for veterans, is not operating as usual due to a lapse in federal funding appropriations.

The shutdown entered its 14th day on Oct. 14 as lawmakers remained at an impasse over spending proposals.

Some VA services, including compensation and pension benefits, are not impacted. Other areas, like transition program assistance, have ceased during the shutdown.

VA Secretary Doug Collins told Georgia radio station AccessWDUN on Oct. 10 that most of the affected services have to do with the agency's outreach efforts.

"Good news is we operate off of an advanced appropriation," Collins said. "Which means our hospitals, our clinics, disability benefits, those kinds of things are already pre-funded."

Live updates: Government shutdown hits Day 14, White House says more layoffs to come

Is the VA still open during shutdown? See impacted services

Roughly 15,000 of the VA's more than 460,000 employees have been furloughed during the shutdown, according to the agency's contingency plan.

As a result, the following services are not available during the government shutdown:

• Transition program assistance and career counseling

• Call centers:

  
  

  • VA’s GI Bill hotline (1-888-GIBILL-1) and Memorial Products Applicant Assistance unit (1-800-697-6947)

    
    

• VA benefits regional offices are closed

• Public Affairs and unfunded outreach to veterans, including social media, VetResources emails and responses to press inquiries

• Grounds maintenance or placement of permanent headstones at VA cemeteries

• Applications for pre-need burial at VA cemeteries

• Printing of new Presidential Memorial Certificates

• VA Central Office outreach to state, county, tribal, municipal, faith-based and community-based partners

  
  

Are VA benefits still going out during the government shutdown?

Yes, VA benefits, including compensation and pension payments, are still going out.

The following VA services are still available and operating as usual despite the shutdown:

• VA Medical Centers, Outpatient Clinics and Vet Centers

• VA benefits, including compensation, pension, education and housing benefits

• Burials at VA national cemeteries, applications for headstones, markers and burial benefits

• The Board of Veterans’ Appeals is continuing decisions on veterans’ cases

• Call Centers:

  • VA’s primary call center (1-800-MyVA411) and the Veterans Crisis Line (Dial 988, Press 1)

  • The VA Benefit Hotline (1-800-827-1000)

  • The National Cemetery Scheduling Office (1-800-535-1117)

• Suicide prevention programs, homelessness services and caregiver support

  
  

Congress members criticize VA's shutdown response; Collins blames Democrats

Several members of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees have criticized Collins and the VA's response to the shutdown.

The Oct. 7 letter, which was signed by, among others, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA) and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), asked Collins to reverse what the lawmakers called the "weaponization" of the shutdown.

The letter said the VA has not responded to communications from members of Congress, including inquiries from veteran constituents.

According to the letter, the VA's Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs said that it cannot respond to communications from members of Congress during the shutdown. The lawmakers say this claim is misleading, adding that the office should be able to respond to communications by utilizing non-furloughed employees or prioritizing carryover funding at its disposal.

"The fact that VA has chosen not to prioritize communication with Congress on policy matters is clearly a leadership decision and a direct affront to our constitutional duty to oversee the work of the Department," the letter says.

Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins speaks during a visit to the Eugene, Oregon, VA Clinic on May 1, 2025. By Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Collins, meanwhile, has repeatedly blamed Democrats for the shutdown. In an op-ed for The Hill published on Oct. 10, three days after the congressional letter addressed to him was released, Collins called the actions of Congressional Democrats "one of the biggest displays of hypocrisy in recent history."

"Democrats in Congress have accused the Trump Administration of destroying the Department of Veterans Affairs, cutting benefits and services, and hurting veterans along the way," he wrote. "There is no truth to their claims, of course."

Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.

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