No VR&E Counselor, No Payments? How the VA Shutdown Impacts Veterans
The federal government shutdown has furloughed all Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E, Chapter 31) counselors nationwide. That means thousands of disabled veterans may face delays in tuition payments, subsistence allowances, and approvals for training plans.
If you rely on VR&E for school or living expenses, here’s what you need to know about how the shutdown impacts claims processing, what to do if your payments stop, and how to contact your Senator or Representative to demand action.
VR&E Shutdown
If you’re a veteran using Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E/Chapter 31), you may have received an email like this when reaching out to your counselor:
“Thank you for contacting me. As a result of a lapse in appropriation, I am unable to continue performing my duties and responsibilities at the Department of Veterans Affairs. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. You may leave a message and I will respond when appropriations are in place, and I am able return to a duty status.
“If this is an urgent matter, there are many VA services that remain operational and may be able to assist you. To access VA’s Human Capital Contingency Plan, please go to VA Contingency Plan for a full list of functions that are continuing and those that are suspended during this time.may leave a message and I will respond when appropriations are in place, and I am able to return to a duty status.”
In plain English: your VR&E counselor is furloughed. And that means no counseling, no new approvals, no plan changes—and potentially no payments until the shutdown ends.
As a VA-accredited attorney, I always hate to see shutdowns impact disabled veterans. While rare, these shutdowns can have an impact on disabled veterans that lasts a lifetime.
What Shuts Down Under VR&E
- No counseling services. You won’t be able to meet with your VR&E counselor.
- No adjudications or new plans. Entitlement decisions and rehabilitation plans are on hold.
- No approvals for tuition or supplies. Schools and vendors may not get timely authorizations.
- Payments at risk. Subsistence allowances may not be processed if your counselor needs to certify attendance.
Meanwhile, VA compensation payments (like your monthly disability pay) continue. GI Bill stipends also appear unaffected. But VR&E veterans are stuck in limbo.
If You’re in Training Right Now
If you rely on VR&E for tuition or living expenses, here’s what you should do:
- Contact your school’s financial aid office immediately. Explain that VR&E is shut down. Ask if there are emergency scholarships or payment deferrals.
- Keep receipts and documentation. If you cover expenses out of pocket, save proof—you may be reimbursed later.
- Communicate with professors/programs. Let them know this disruption is not your fault and may affect your ability to stay enrolled without outside help.
If You’re Waiting on a Decision
If you were:
- waiting for an entitlement decision,
- waiting on plan approval,
- or waiting on a retroactive induction,
… you’ll wait longer.
Even if the shutdown ends soon, the backlog will push timelines back at least a month or more.
Why This Matters
VR&E exists because disabled veterans already have employment handicaps or serious employment handicaps. Cutting this program during a shutdown effectively cuts off the path to economic independence for veterans who need it most.
Unfortunately, VA leadership has once again placed VR&E on the chopping block while other programs continue.
What You Can Do: Contact Congress
If this affects you, don’t sit quietly. Contact your elected officials and let them know how the shutdown is harming you.
- Representative Derrick Van Orden chairs oversight within the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. He used VR&E to attend law school himself and has been vocal about problems in the program.
- Send a practice tweet: @derrickvanorden.
- You can also contact your own Senator or House Representative and request a congressional inquiry.
Make it personal. Explain:
- You are a disabled veteran.
- You rely on VR&E benefits you have earned.
- The shutdown means you may not get subsistence payments, tuition coverage, or needed support.
- You need Congress to protect VR&E from being shut off every time appropriations lapse.
Final Thoughts
As a veterans’ rights attorney, I’ve seen how critical VR&E is to helping disabled veterans achieve independence and long-term success. Freezing the program every time there’s a funding fight in Washington is unacceptable.
If this shutdown affects you, take action:
- Document everything.
- Ask your school for emergency assistance.
- Reach out to your elected officials and demand VR&E be treated as essential.
You’ve earned these benefits. Don’t let bureaucratic gridlock take them away.
✍️ Benjamin Krause is a VA-accredited attorney, journalist, and host of the Veteran Rights Podcast. He represents veterans nationwide in VR&E and VA benefits matters.
The Veterans Healthcare Administration is the middle man that deprives people of full healthcare. Let’s get rid of the expensive jobs program that prevents veterans from receiving full healthcare.
Used to be if they found degenerative disk disease they wouldn’t even mention any kind of treatment in hopes you’d just jump through their flaming hoops forever. They knew surgery was the only thing that would solve those problems but they’d never mention it. That’s really malpractice. All to cover for the rotten ass, substandard VA. They don’t mind paying 400K people to provide rudimentary healthcare though. They don’t mind astronomical costs to run a guinea pig farm either.
Thanks so much for your effort!
They got two “sides” in there, the “mental health side” and the “primary care side.” That’s double the chance you get fucked and still go to at least one side for something afterwards. You’ll get no denial of care letter or apology from management. That’s the rug sweeping team. Patient advocate, an intelligence gathering operation for VA attorneys. They’ll decide how to deal with you appropriately once they’ve put it in your asshole. Usually it’s silence and behaving as though nothing happened.
How does the shutdown effect VA healthcare? It doesn’t. Why? Because there ain’t nothing to it anyway. Shots and pills. They can stockpile all that shit. What have they actually done with all the money they’ve been given? That’s the real question. What have the cheap ass mother fuckers done with all that goddamn money? And when will they come clean and start reporting the deaths from their Incompetence and denial of care? Release the names of the dead and take responsibility. We want to see people fired.