The Department of Veterans Affairs would have to ensure that its staffing levels can deliver timely care and benefits under a spending bill advanced by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday. The language in the Senate's version of the fiscal 2026 VA appropriations bill offers a mild, but notable bipartisan rebuke of staffing cuts at the VA, which have been pared down but are still expected to eliminate about 30,000 jobs. The bill "includes important bipartisan provisions to protect