Although not affected as strongly or severely as other cabinet-level departments, VA is nowhere close to business as usual due to the current government shutdown. The impasse is now in the middle of its 17th day of a lapse in federal funding appropriations for health care and other benefits for veterans. Lawmakers remain in a stalemate over spending proposals.

Many VA services, including compensation and pension benefits, are not affected as VA operates off an advanced appropriation. This means that VA hospitals, clinics, disability benefits, and other similar health care deliveries are already pre-funded. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals is also continuing to make decisions on veterans’ cases.

The services affected, on the other hand, are connected to VA’s outreach efforts. These include transition program assistance, career counseling, and call centers, all of which are not functioning as they normally do. The same is true of burials at VA national cemeteries and applications for headstones, markers, and other burial benefits. According to a contingency plan produced by VA, roughly 15,000 of VA’s more than 460,000 employees have been furloughed during the shutdown.

Check out a list of VA services impacted and those not impacted by the shutdown in a list distributed by the Department in early October.