As veterans groups nationwide pressure government leaders to end the three-week shutdown, GW is drawing up plans to protect its military students from potential long-term effects.

Even if the Department of Veterans Affairs doesn’t make tuition payments to GW military students on time, the University will waive fees and interest associated with late bill payments.

GW would also consider emergency loans, working with the Office of Military and Veteran Student Serivces on a “case-by-case-basis,” according to an administrator in the Student and Academic Support Services office.

“In the event that there is a longer delay of benefits, we will continue working with our colleagues across the University to support our military students in any way we can,” Andy Sonn, assistant vice president for student and academic support services wrote in an email this week.

University President Steven Knapp told the Faculty Senate last week that student veteran payments was one of the few ways GW could be affected by the shutdown. He said GW would do its best to support its military and veteran student population, including 25 disabled veterans.

Without a deal on Capitol Hill, veterans who fund their education through post-9/11 GI Bill benefits could miss out next month on as much as $2,200 in monthly living assistance. They could also lose access to key Veterans Affairs resources like vocational rehabilitation counselors.

Nearly 100 veterans and servicemembers gathered Tuesday on the National Mall to protest the shutdown’s impact on their benefits, urging the Obama administration and Congress to uphold their responsibility to the nation’s servicemembers.

During a speech Tuesday morning, Garry Augustine, executive director of Disabled American Veterans, called on lawmakers to begin considering veterans as “a national priority,” according to The Daily Caller.

“Our message to the president and Congress: defaulting on paying veterans benefits is not option,” he said.