WASHINGTON — Almost one-tenth of Department of Veterans Affairs employees are missing paychecks this week due to the nearly month-long government shutdown.

The lapse in funding for roughly 37,000 employees has forced the VA to either furlough or request them to keep working without pay, even though not all of its congressionally appropriated spending had expired when the shutdown began Oct. 1.

“The Democrats’ government shutdown is limiting services for Veterans and making life miserable for VA employees, and things are only going to get worse as time goes on,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins in a statement.

The VA had been undergoing a staffing reduction earlier this year projected to leave 455,000 employees at the department by the end of the fiscal year, the day before Senate Democrat

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