2025 budget stakes: Veterans could lose vital health, food and other assistance

Abstract: Proposals that Congress could enact this year, including through fast-track “reconciliation” legislation, would take away medical coverage, food assistance, and other aid from veterans, significantly raising their costs for buying groceries and seeing a doctor. These impacts would be on top of the huge staffing cuts being implemented at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the harmful effects that will have on the care and services provided to former service members and on employment for veterans, who make up over one-quarter of the VA workforce.

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