Published September 30, 2026. The benefits-news items below were current as of that date. This is an archived issue of our weekly email — subscribe here to get new issues first.
No October shutdown — the government is funded through December 11
Fiscal year 2026 ends tonight, and this year there is no shutdown countdown. On September 2, the President signed H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, a short-term stopgap that funds federal agencies through December 11, 2026 and extends a range of veteran programs. (Source: White House bill-signing statement, September 2, 2026; congress.gov.)
For eligible retirees, that takes one worry off the table for October and November: the stopgap covers those months, with no lapse in funding. The next deadline to watch is December 11, when Congress has to pass full-year spending bills or another stopgap.
The other date on the money calendar is October 14, when BLS publishes September inflation data — the last of the three readings that set the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment for retired pay, CRSC, and VA compensation. (Source: BLS CPI release schedule.) We won’t print a projected percentage here; the official number is two weeks out.
Does this touch your check? Not the amount. The stopgap changes no rates. What it does is remove an October funding lapse from the picture while the COLA is being finalized.
A new order moves military records to VA from day one
On September 8, the President signed an executive order, “Accelerating Access to Veterans’ Benefits and Employment Opportunities.” It directs VA and the Department of War to share service members’ Military Personnel Files and Service Treatment Records with VA starting the day they join. VA says the change could cut processing time for recently separated service members by another 20 to 30 days on average. (Source: VA Office of Media Relations news release, September 8, 2026.)
Two things to keep straight. First, the order is aimed at future separations and requires IT and contract changes before it works — it is not a switch that flipped this month. Second, as VA describes it, the order is about VA’s access to your records. It says nothing about your branch CRSC board, which still decides combat-relatedness on the evidence in your packet.
Sending a CRSC packet with VA letters and no service records
A VA decision letter shows a condition is service-connected and rated. It usually does not show how it happened. A CRSC board is asking a different question: was this caused by combat, hazardous duty, training that simulates war, or an instrumentality of war?
That answer lives in service records — the treatment note written after the incident, the award citation, the deployment orders, the line-of-duty paperwork. Packets built on VA letters alone leave the board to guess, and boards do not guess in the veteran’s favor. It is one of the most common reasons a well-rated condition comes back “not combat-related.”
This week, check whether you actually hold a copy of your own service records.
Not the VA’s copy — yours. Look for your personnel file and your service treatment records. If you can’t put your hands on them, request them now; copies can take weeks to arrive, and a packet is only as strong as the records behind it.
Once you have them, find the one entry that ties each rated condition to a specific event. That entry is what a CRSC board needs to see, and eligible retirees who can document it may qualify for potential back pay.
Not sure which records matter for your conditions? Book a free 15-minute review — flat fee if you move forward, never a percentage of your back pay.
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