Veterans’ benefits run out Nov. 1 unless ‘brinksmanship’ on budget ends

By Mark Flatten

Published October 9, 2013 4:00am ET

Veterans’ benefits run out Nov. 1 unless ‘brinksmanship’ on budget ends — Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki testifies before the House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on the effects the government shutdown is having on benefits and services to veterans. About 3.8 million veterans will not receive disability compensation next month if the partial government shutdown continues into late October, Shinseki told lawmakers. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) | Evan Vucci

Payments to 3.8 million disabled veterans will cease Nov. 1 unless the impasse over federal spending is broken, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki told a House committee Wednesday.

But that hardship can be avoided if warring partisans agree not to use veterans as “pawns” as they battle over the federal budget and government shutdown, members from both parties on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs said.