PHOENIX — The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that while many critical services for veterans will continue uninterrupted, some programs and operations will be paused.
According to the VA, medical care at VA medical centers, outpatient clinics and Vet Centers will remain open.
Benefits such as compensation, pension, education and housing assistance will continue to be processed and delivered. Burials at VA national cemeteries will go on as scheduled, and applications for headstones, markers and burial benefits will still be accepted.
The Board of Veterans’ Appeals will continue to issue decisions on veterans’ cases.
The VA’s primary call center, 1-800-MyVA411, and the Veterans Crisis Line — available by dialing 988 and pressing 1 — will remain open around the clock.
Suicide prevention programs, homelessness services and caregiver support will also remain in place.
However, several services will be suspended.
Transition program assistance and career counseling will stop, as will the VA’s GI Bill hotline (1-888-GIBILL-1) and National Cemetery Applicant Assistance line (1-800-697-6947). Benefits regional offices will close.
Public affairs and outreach efforts — including social media updates, VetResources emails and responses to press inquiries — will also cease.
At national cemeteries, ground maintenance and placement of permanent headstones will be paused, and applications for pre-need burial will not be processed.
Printing of new Presidential Memorial Certificates will stop, and outreach to state, county, tribal, municipal, faith-based and community partners by the VA Central Office will be suspended.
The VA emphasized that essential health care, benefit delivery and crisis support for veterans will continue despite the changes.
