AP PHOTO In this June 21, 2013, file photo, the seal affixed to the front of the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington. A House committee unveiled a disputed plan Friday, to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to shift $2 billion from other programs to cover a sudden budget shortfall.

WASHINGTON — A House committee unveiled a disputed plan Friday to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to shift $2 billion from other programs to cover a sudden budget shortfall that could threaten medical care for thousands of patients in the coming weeks.

The proposal by the House Veterans Affairs Committee would provide a six-month funding fix to the department’s Choice program, which offers veterans federally paid medical care outside the VA and is a priority of President Donald Trump. To offset spending, the VA would trim pensions for some veterans and collect fees for housing loans.

At least six veterans’ organizations, including Veterans of Foreign Wars, immediately announced their opposition to the House plan.

VA Secretary David Shulkin has warned that without congressional action, the Choice program would run out of money by mid-August.

The House plan comes after days of closed-door negotiations in which veterans’ groups opposed taking money from VA programs to fill Choice’s budget gap, describing it as an unacceptable step toward privatizing the department. With just a week left before a month-long August recess, House Republicans and Democrats tentatively agreed on a six-month plan to allow more time to debate long-term funding and the VA’s future direction.

Under the plan, the reduced pensions would affect veterans in nursing homes who are covered by Medicaid, while veterans would continue to pay fees for housing loans guaranteed by the VA. Those provisions were temporarily put in place in the 2014 legislation establishing Choice and agreed to by veterans, who supported other parts of the bill, which provided additional investment in the VA. Originally set to be restored in 2024, the reduced benefits would continue until 2027.

A House vote was planned next week.

Carlos Fuentes, legislative director of Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the organization would urge members of Congress to vote against the bill.

Joe Chenelly, executive director of AMVETS, warned that the House plan would set a dangerous precedent by “cannibalizing” VA services to pay for outside care.

“The bottom line here is that Congress is taking money out of the VA to put in Choice. That is a bleed-it-dry tactic that we all oppose,” Chenelly said.