WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House passed legislation to plug a $3 billion shortfall in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) budget, giving the Senate three days to approve the legislation before funding runs out and millions of veterans lose their benefits and payments.

VA officials said their projected budget shortfall of $15 billion by next year is largely the result of a law passed in 2022 that expanded benefits for many veterans.

The Heath Robinson PACT Act was named for an Ohio National Guardsman who died at age 39 of lung cancer 10 years after deployments in which he was exposed to toxic burn pits.

The law expanded benefits for veterans with 23 respiratory illnesses related to toxic burn pits commonly used by the military during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In two years, the PACT Act has provided more than a million veterans with benefits, according to the VA.

Now the program has become a victim of its own success. Amid ballooning costs for higher-than-expected staffing and prescription drugs, among other factors, the VA is running out of money for the program.

The VA had expected to spend about $193 billion this year on benefits payments for veterans. Officials alerted Congress in July that without a cash infusion of $2.9 billion, some benefits would expire on Sept. 20.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, was one of the earliest supporters of the PACT Act, which was originally projected to cost at least $400 billion over 10 years.

“I heard people say we shouldn't pass this because it's too expensive,” Brown said in an interview with Spectrum News. “They never say it cost too much to send people to war. Some people in this body say it only cost too much when they come home to take care of them. I don't buy that philosophy.”

Brown co-sponsored a $3 billion stopgap measure in July to prevent any interruption in VA benefits and payments.

“I hear from veterans that if they don't get this check, that should be in the mail for their service monthly. They really depend on it. So we can't afford to let the VA run out of money. Congress has got to do its job,” Brown said.

On Tuesday the House passed similar legislation. The bill also requires the VA to provide a status report to Congress every three months until Sept. 30, 2026.

Brown urged Senate leadership to take the measure up for a vote as soon as possible.

The VA undersecretaries for health and benefits were grilled during a Wednesday hearing before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

“How do you plan to ensure that it doesn’t happen again?” asked Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.

The VA officials pledged to increase communication and transparency with Congress on its budget, among other measures.