When Washington runs out of spending authority, the military keeps working, but the paycheck pipeline can clog. Veterans Affairs keeps core services going thanks to advance appropriations, but some support functions slow or pause. The longer a shutdown lasts, the more those stopgaps fray.
For the record, the last government shutdown ran from December 22nd, 2018, to January 25, 2019 (35 days). It was the longest in US history.
What keeps running for veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs built in insurance after past budget fights. VA medical care is funded in advance, and major benefits like disability compensation, pensions, and education payments are mandatory spending. That means clinics stay open, prescriptions are filled, and GI Bill checks continue even during a funding lapse.
VA’s own contingency page says “veterans will still be able to access their health care, benefits, and memorial services,” although some noncritical tasks go on hold.
There are limits. During a lapse, maintenance of cemetery grounds is curtailed, and placement of permanent headstones can be delayed. Applications tied to pre-need burials may also pause. If the shutdown stretches, smaller VA support offices thin out as more staff exhaust carryover funding and face furloughs, which can slow claims processing and call centers.
Active duty: work continues, pay can slip
Uniformed personnel report for duty. That is explicit in the Pentagon’s 2025 contingency guidance. Training, operations, watch bills, and deployments proceed.
The catch is pay: if Congress has not passed either full appropriations, a continuing resolution, or a stand-alone “pay our troops” bill, paychecks can be delayed even as service members keep working. Civilian teammates who do “excepted” work also continue without pay until funding resumes.
A funding lapse also shutters or shrinks many civilian-run functions on base. The Office of Personnel Management tells agencies to furlough non-excepted staff and limit work to legally “excepted” activities. That can ripple into training ranges, depot maintenance, family programs, and admin services. The longer it lasts, the more commanders triage.
Commissaries, health care, and daily life
In recent shutdown playbooks, DeCA (Defense Commissary Agency) prioritized keeping commissaries open, with authority to scale back stateside stores while protecting overseas access and perishables. Public statements have varied by episode, but the direction in recent guidance has been to keep doors open as long as feasible, then wind down if required. TRICARE care continues, because the care is already obligated under existing contracts, though some referrals and admin timelines can stretch if supporting civilians are furloughed.
Financial lifelines often appear from outside government. Banks that serve troops have rolled out paycheck-bridge programs in past lapses and again this week, including no-interest loans for affected members. Those programs help with rent and groceries, but they are temporary patches, not policy.
Special case: the Coast Guard
In the 2018–2019 partial shutdown, the Department of Defense was funded while the Department of Homeland Security was not, so Coast Guard families went unpaid even as they stood the line. Lawmakers have repeatedly introduced bills to ensure Coast Guard pay during any future lapse, but Congress must actually pass them each time. Without that, Coasties are exposed in a way their DoD counterparts may not be.
Fair? No. True? Yes.
What’s been put in place
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Advance appropriations for VA keep health care and benefit payments moving. That is the single biggest protection for veterans.
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Pentagon contingency orders specify who works, what stops, and confirm that troops continue to serve even if pay is delayed.
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Agency-wide furlough rules from OPM set the legal guardrails for excepted activities and shutdown furloughs.
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Private and nonprofit backstops sometimes cover urgent gaps. In 2013, Fisher House advanced death gratuity payments until DoD could reimburse families. Banks again offer paycheck-bridge loans during the current lapse.
If the shutdown drags on
Stopgaps are built for sprints, not marathons. Here’s what erosion looks like over time:
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Pay and morale: Even if Congress ultimately makes everyone whole with back pay, delayed paychecks force families to borrow, miss bills, or burn savings. Each missed pay period multiplies stress, especially for junior enlisted and Coast Guard families if their specific pay bill stalls in Congress.
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Operations and maintenance: Excepted missions continue, but furloughed civilians mean fewer hands in depots, logistics hubs, and training support. Deferred maintenance stacks up and can take months to unwind.
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VA friction: Core benefits still pay, clinics still treat, yet claimant services and cemetery support degrade more each week as carryover funds thin and more staff are furloughed. Backlogs don’t explode overnight; they build up gradually.
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Family support ecosystem: Commissaries and exchanges strive to remain open, but prolonged lapses can force hours cuts or closures in some locations. Community programs reliant on appropriated staff scale back. Private bridge loans help once or twice; they are not a plan for an extended stoppage.
The takeaway for our readers
This isn’t abstract Beltway theater. It is whether a lance corporal’s rent clears, whether a retired infantryman’s meds refill, and whether a Gold Star family’s benefits arrive without delay. The system has shock absorbers: VA advance funding, Pentagon contingency orders, and community stopgaps. But none of those replace stable appropriations.
The people on the line, and those who already stood it, shouldn’t have to bankroll Washington’s standoff.
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** Editor’s note: If you or your unit are affected, check your service’s finance channels, your bank’s relief offers, and VA’s contingency page for live updates. – GDM