When Washington shuts down, student veterans still need rent money and tuition paid. Education benefits are mandated to continue during a lapse in funding, but reality has been uneven. Survivors using Chapter 35 have faced delayed stipends tied to a new VA processing system, a problem that collided with the shutdown and left thousands short on school and housing cash, Military Times reports.

Advocacy groups say the fix must include restoring the GI Bill hotline as an essential service so students can get answers in real time, according to Veterans Education Success.

Thousands of veterans and dependents have missed GI Bill and Chapter 35 payments.

Hotlines Dark, Offices Closed, Stress Rising

During the funding lapse, the GI Bill hotline went offline, dozens of regional benefits offices closed, and grounds maintenance at more than 150 national cemeteries paused—even as burials continued, WRDW reports. VA said nearly 37,000 employees were furloughed or working without pay, limiting services many students and families rely on.

GI Bill and Housing: Supposed to Flow, But…

VA guidance says core benefits—including education and housing—continue during a shutdown, a point echoed in a field guide widely shared with veterans, VA Claims Insider explains. Yet students and survivors described missed monthly housing allowances and tuition disbursements amid the tech transition, with advocates warning that landlords’ patience wears thin long before semester deadlines.

Many cannot pay rent or tuition because stipends never arrived.

Who’s Hit Hardest

Chapter 35 dependents—surviving spouses and children or dependents of veterans with permanent and total disability—were singled out by the system change. With Ask.VA down, the GI Bill hotline closed, and the School Certifying Officials hotline offline, many could not even verify enrollment to trigger payments, The American Legion reports. Veteran Readiness and Employment counseling also stalled, blocking new enrollments and changes for the next term, the Legion adds.

What Veterans and Families Can Do Now

Lawmakers pressed VA for answers and timelines on back pay, citing prior shutdowns when payments continued as normal and pointing to a mismatch between VA’s public assurances and the lived experience of students and survivors, according to a joint letter summarized by Veterans Education Success.

Advocates advise students to document school communications, ask certifying officials to note hardship, and remember that schools cannot legally drop them solely over delayed VA payments, the Military Times reports.

The GI Bill hotline was shut down during the government shutdown.

Beyond the Campus: Enlisted Transitions and Family Impacts

Shutdown ripple effects are reaching active-duty and recently separated troops. Transition briefings for more than 16,000 outgoing service members paused under lapsed funding, and questions about future military pay added uncertainty across the force, Military.com reports. Tuition Assistance approvals also stalled, leaving military students without new authorizations or support, The American Legion notes.

The Bottom Line

Core VA benefits are designed to keep flowing through a shutdown. But when hotlines go dark, offices close, and new tech falters, veterans, survivors, and military families feel the gap between policy and paycheck. That gap is where rent is due.

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