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Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald said Thursday he's confident that Congress will act soon to address a looming budget crisis that could force his agency to shut down some VA hospitals, freeze hiring and take other belt-tightening steps. During a visit to the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, McDonald expressed optimism that by the end of next week Congress will endorse transferring up to $3 billion from the Veterans Choice program to close the Department of Veterans Affairs' budget gap. (Callahan, 7/23)

A new multibillion-dollar funding crisis has surfaced at the Department of Veterans Affairs that threatens the health care of thousands of America’s military members if not immediately fixed. Members of Congress lambasted the VA on Wednesday for hiding the details of a $2.5 billion budget shortfall that could force some VA hospitals to shut their doors as soon as next month -- leaving hundreds of American military members without a place to go for their medical needs. (Pergram, 7/23)

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has reduced its chronic backlog of veterans’ disability claims – deemed unacceptable by President Barack Obama when he campaigned for office – but so far, the agency is struggling to meet its self-imposed deadline of eliminating long wait times by 2015. (Glantz, 7/23)

The Veterans Health Administration has 41,500 job vacancies for doctors, nurses and other medical professionals across its sprawling health care system while it struggles to provide timely medical care for veterans, according to records obtained and analyzed by USA TODAY. (Hoyer and Zoroya, 7/23)