Government Shutdown Impact on Veterans

Government Shutdown Impact on Veterans
ABC News 13
October 9 2013

Nearly 4 million veterans could lose their benefit payments if the government shutdown continues through the end of the month. The Department of Veterans Affairs furloughed nearly 10,000 workers Tuesday, including many who were working overtime to help clear the 400,000 backlog of claims with over a year waiting period.

The V.A. also said it may not be able to send disability and pension benefits checks totaling around $5 billion for the month of November. The department is expected to only have benefits funding through the end of this month. "It's my life source, it's what I live off of, it's what I eat," said Mark Becker, a Vietnam veteran. "It's what I pick up my grandchildren with, how I spend money on them, take care of them.

It would change my life drastically." Becker is just one of many wartime veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, though Becker's case is severe. "I've been in a rage where sheriffs had to come handle me because I was out of control. That was the PTSD, that's what I have to live through and go through, and our spouses have to go through.

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