Currently in front of Congress is a major legislative bill called the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (TCAVA) which could reshape healthcare, disability compensation, and support programs for millions of US Veterans.
The proposed legislation combines parts of more than 60 previously introduced bills to benefit Veterans. Introduced in the House as H.R. 9237 by Representative Mike Bost (R-IL) with 30 co-sponsors and introduced in the Senate as S. 4744 by Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) with 5 co-sponsors, it is both massive and highly controversial.
Supporters of TCAVA describe the legislation as one of the most significant expansions of services for Veterans in decades. However, those opposing the measure argue that the way these services would be funded could reduce certain future disability payments.
What are the major provisions of TCAVA?
- Allow full retirement pay for combat-injured Veterans who were medically retired. (Currently, VA rules dictate that many affected Veterans must surrender part of their retirement pay when they collect disability compensation. This would benefit an estimated 59,000 Veterans.)
- Extend entitlement for various benefits and services to remarried surviving spouses.
- Fund improvements in traumatic brain injury treatment, expanded suicide prevention programs, and increase assistance for family caregivers.
- Provide billions of dollars for direct VA care, modernizing information technology and cybersecurity systems, and would authorize a $1.8 billion medical facility in Manchester, New Hampshire.
- Protect Veterans’ access to community healthcare when VA appointments aren’t available quickly, or when VA medical facilities are too far away.
- Boost certain VA education and training benefits.
Why is TCAVA controversial?
The main point of contention is its budget offset. To fund the broader package an estimated $57 billion would be cut from future Veterans' disability benefits for sleep apnea and tinnitus.
Under the changes proposed in Section 108 of the bill, sleep apnea wouldn’t automatically qualify for a 50 percent rating simply because a Veteran uses a CPAP machine. Ratings would instead reflect the symptoms and impairment remaining after treatment. Tinnitus could stop being rated as a separate 10 percent disability and instead be assessed as a symptom of another service-connected condition. The changes would be applied to future VA rating decisions. Existing ratings for sleep apnea and tinnitus would be protected.
Supporters of the bill—organizations like The American Legion and the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)—argue the bill secures funding for long-overdue priorities They characterize it as necessary legislation to keep Veteran-allocated funds within the Veteran community.
Those opposing the bill—principally a coalition of 15 groups, including Common Defense, DAV, and VFW—strongly oppose the bill on the grounds that it forces future generations of Veterans to bear the financial burden of current benefits. Opponents are urging Congress to remove Section 108.
