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Protect regular order for budgeting for the Department of Veterans AffairsSection 1 › Proposal

What counts as a shortfall

To protect regular order for budgeting for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, section 1, Sec. 1. Written by .

What counts as a shortfall

The document says “meansWho acts: CongressHow: statuteSec. 1 in the PDF
What the document says

“The term "shortfall", with respect to a fiscal year, means that the amount of appropriations required by the Department of Veterans Affairs for such fiscal year to meet all of the statutory obligations of the Department during that fiscal year exceeds the amount of appropriations requested for the Department for that fiscal year in the budget of the President submitted pursuant to section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, for that fiscal year.”

To protect regular order for budgeting for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, Sec. 1

A shortfall is defined against the President's budget request, not against what Congress finally appropriates. It exists where the money the Department needs to meet its statutory obligations for a fiscal year is more than the money requested for it in the budget submitted under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code.

What the document actually says

“The term "shortfall", with respect to a fiscal year, means that the amount of appropriations required by the Department of Veterans Affairs for such fiscal year to meet all of the statutory obligations of the Department during that fiscal year exceeds the amount of appropriations requested for the Department for that fiscal year in the budget of the President submitted pursuant to section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, for that fiscal year.”

To protect regular order for budgeting for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, Sec. 1
That sentence, in plain words

A money gap means the VA needs more than it was asked to be given. It has jobs the law says it must do. If those jobs cost more than the President asked for, there is a gap.

What this is about

The word gap could mean many things. So the law pins it down. It sets the test against the money in the President's yearly plan.

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How to cite this
  1. The document itself

    Protect regular order for budgeting for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Public Law 119-33, sec. 1, 139 Stat. 483 (2025).
    https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ33/html/PLAW-119publ33.htm

  2. This page

    “What counts as a shortfall,” Protect regular order for budgeting for the Department of Veterans Affairs, section 1, Sec. 1. Read the Mandate, https://readthemandate.org/pl-119-33/proposal/sec01-shortfall-defined/ (retrieved August 26, 2026).

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