Taking Care of Our Veterans

This year, we can celebrate 250 years of independence and freedom in the United States because men and women have put their lives on the line to keep our nation safe and free. These heroes deserve to be taken care of when they come home, but far too often, they face obstacles and delays to the benefits they deserve.

Ahead of our nation’s 250th birthday, I’m teaming up with my colleagues on the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees to take historic action to change that with the introduction of the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act. This bill combines more than 60 bipartisan bills we’ve been working on to modernize the VA, expand support for disabled veterans and families, and deliver care and benefits to veterans more efficiently.

That includes the Major Richard Star Act, a crucial bill to provide pay parity for wounded veterans. Under current law, service members who are forced to retire due to combat injuries are ineligible to receive full retirement pay on top of their disability compensation; the bill would correct that disparity and provide wounded veterans with the retirement pay they deserve.

Our Take Care of America’s Veterans Act also includes eight of my bills to support our veterans:

• Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act to provide the first significant benefits increase in decades for the most severely disabled veterans and Gold Star Families.
• Home Affordability for Guard and Reserve Act to expand VA home loan eligibility by allowing more Guard and Reserve members to qualify for these loans with competitive interest rates and no down payment required.
• Clear Communications for Veterans Claims Act to review the notices that the VA sends to veterans about benefit claims and determine how to make communications shorter and clearer.
• CRUISE Act to streamline payments for disabled veterans’ vehicle modifications within the VA and eliminate the backlog of overdue payments.
• ASSIST Act to ensure disabled veterans have accessible transportation by covering a wider range of medically necessary vehicle adaptations.
• Delivering Digitally to Our Veterans Act to empower veterans to choose faster, more reliable communication about the benefits they earned.
• ARCA Act to enhance oversight and streamline the VA’s process for acquiring IT and medical systems, logistics platforms, and large service contracts.
• Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement Act to upgrade the VA’s scheduling platform to empower VA employees to easily book appointments at the VA and community health care providers using a single interface.

Other highlights of the bill include the Veterans ACCESS Act to expand the community care program and the Love Lives On Act to ensure veterans’ surviving spouses can continue getting their benefits after they remarry, regardless of age.

These critical, bipartisan reforms will expand benefits and improve service for those who wore the uniform. Whether providing pay parity for wounded veterans who had to retire early, reducing health care wait times, or helping service members afford a home, this historic legislation will strengthen support for these American heroes and their families.