Over 30K VA workers unpaid due to Dem shutdown, but hospitals stay open and benefits keep being processed.

Question

More than 30,000 Dept Veteran Affairs employees are going without pay because of the Democrats’ government shutdown. But VA hospitals and clinics aren’t affected – they are open – and VA benefits are still being processed. Learn more here: department.va.gov/contingency-pl…

Answer 1

This claim has some truth weaved into its misleading information. 

Yes, it is an undeniable fact that government employees, including those who work for the VA. USA Today equates it to roughly 15,000 however; Half of what the claim suggests. The only evidence suggesting upwards of 30,000 losing their pay is only based in the words of VA secretary Doug A. Collins, a known Trump loyalist, and a man who also bases this on the fault of the democrats.

The most important pieces of information to understand when trying to make sense of the government shutdown boils down to two major factors; what the original dispute in legislation was over, and who holds more power within the chambers.

As with any government shutdown, the root cause stems from the various chambers not being able to pass the budgeting bill for the government by its deadline, due to disagreements on where money is to be allocated. This shutdown in particular had a major dispute over healthcare spending. Democrats want to push programs to drop healthcare premiums for millions Americans, while widening the scope of access to health services to citizens. Republicans refuse to include this in the bill. Reputable sources such as NPR, the BBC, and Harvard Kennedy School all state this to be the case. 

According to these sources, In terms of who holds power, republicans control both chambers of Congress, but are 60 votes short of passing the bill in the Senate. This allows for a small gap of wiggle room available to the democrats. 

In actuality, this is a GOP shutdown. The party in power often has the ability to negotiate and appease the other side while leveraging the deal to still further their own goals. That is the logic of compromise that the US Government supposedly holds within its framework. Yet, the Republicans refuses to even budge, even though the democrats push a problem that should ideally be bi-partisan. 

As unfortunate as the shutdown and lack of pay is, the problem is simply more nuanced than pinning the blame of the party in opposition to the governing party and calling it a day. 

Answer 2

The claim that over 30,000 employees in the Department of Veteran Affairs are going without pay because of the government shutdown seems to be true, but also slightly exaggerated.

The Government Executive states that many VA employees are currently going without pay due to the government shutdown that began this October. In the article, VA Secretary Doug Collins states that over 30,000 VA employees have been sent home without pay. He also states that: other employees including staff at the Veterans Benefits Administration will be forced to work without pay, and will do so until the government shutdown is resolved. However, Doug Collins is a known Republican and Trump supporter, and has been known to blame democrats for other problems. A neutral party, the Bipartisan Policy Center backs up the claim that some VA employees have gone without a paycheck, however nothing about the amount of employees. They also support the fact that some federal employees are working without pay, but they didn't specify what departments.

According to CBS News, a left leaning media outlet, most of the Veterans Health Administration staff are still working and a lot of benefits have been put on pause due to lack of funding. Employees working without pay are not eligible for unemployment benefits, while employees who were sent home may apply for unemployment depending on state rules. NPR also agrees with the claim that employees are either working without pay or being sent home with pay.

It seems as though the initial claim that employees in the Department of Veteran Affairs are going without pay due to the government shutdown is factual. However, the specific number of employees doesn’t seem to be stated, so that number may be exaggerated.