News & Opinion

Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.), and House Committee on Financial Services Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.), published the below opinion piece in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette ahead of Veterans Day to highlight how House Republicans are working hard to modernize how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) delivers care and benefits through recently passed legislation that would improve the burial process for veteran families, study cancer rates in military pilots, ensure proper training for those handling military sexual trauma claims, and expand education and economic opportunities for veterans through the G.I. Bill. This op-ed comes as the Democrats continue to hold vitally important government services for veterans and their family’s hostage through their 38-day shutdown.

Chairman Bost and Chairman Hill: Progress, Not Politics, for Our Veterans

By Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill. and Rep. French Hill, R-Ark.

November 7, 2025

Some claim Republicans are cutting care and benefits for our veterans. The facts say otherwise.

Every veteran has earned the right to timely care and benefits. For years, veterans were trapped in a bureaucratic “black hole” waiting months or even years for help. That era is over. Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and VA Secretary Doug Collins, VA is finally turning the corner and delivering real results for veterans.

These results speak for themselves. Since January 20, 2025, the backlog of veterans waiting at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for their earned benefits has dropped by more than 37 percent, a remarkable turnaround after backlogs increased 24 percent during the Biden administration. Under new leadership, VA is now processing a record number of disability claims and has reached an all-time fiscal year high of completing approximately 2.52 million disability claims. But these aren't just statistics; behind every number is a real veteran and their family getting the benefits they have earned faster, and without a tangle of red tape slowing down the process.

Despite what critics claim, access to health care is expanding, not shrinking. VA has opened 16 new health care clinics across the country since the start of this year, and Secretary Collins is reversing the Biden-era control over veterans’ health care choice, in return bringing care closer to veterans' homes.

The department is also investing an additional $800 million in infrastructure improvements to ensure facilities provide safe and effective patient care. Through the MISSION Act, which was sent to President Trump’s desk with our support and signed into law in 2018, VA has established a public-private partnership that makes it easier and faster for enrolled veterans to access care from non-VA providers when it better serves their personal needs. This is particularly important for rural veterans, who should not have to drive hours for a simple appointment, and it shows how access to health care is expanding both within the VA system and beyond it.

Even with these measurable improvements, critics continue to deploy scare tactics about changes at the VA. One of their favorite misleading claims is that the VA workforce is being slashed by 30,000. What those yelling from the sidelines conveniently ignore is that these reductions come through natural attrition and voluntary retirements — not layoffs — and will not impact veteran care or benefits.

Of the more than 450,000 employees at VA, more than 350,000 positions are exempt from hiring restrictions, and all mission-critical roles remain fully staffed. But this discussion on staffing levels misses the real point: it's not how many people work at VA, it's whether VA is effectively serving our veterans. By that measure, the department is succeeding like never before.

We are working alongside Secretary Collins and President Trump to tackle long-standing problems that previous administrations ignored, because the status quo was not cutting it. VA has implemented reforms to make it easier for survivors to get benefits, accelerated deployment of its integrated electronic health record system, and partnered with Medicare and Medicaid to recover $106 million in duplicative billing — money that can now go directly to serving veterans.

Progress goes beyond health care and benefits. In fiscal year 2025 alone, more than 37,000 homeless veterans have already been housed, continuing our commitment to effectively end veteran homelessness. Our determination to improve the VA is also reflected in the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (MilConVA) that recently passed the House. It fulfills the president’s budget request by increasing VA funding by 3 percent over last year’s enacted level, and fully funds veterans’ benefits, including $131.4 billion for medical care — hardly the cuts critics claim.

Congressional Republicans are also working hard to modernize how VA delivers care and benefits through recently passed legislation, like simplifying forms that veterans must complete for disability compensation, improving the burial process for veteran families, studying cancer rates in military pilots, ensuring proper training for those handling military sexual trauma claims, and expanding education opportunities through the G.I. Bill.

The bottom line is simple: America's veterans deserve quality health care close to home and benefits delivered on time, without bureaucratic red tape.

Veterans kept their promise to America, and we must keep ours. That starts with a VA that is efficient, effective, and responsive. Thanks to the Trump administration and Republican leadership, we are making sure our veterans receive the benefits they have earned. The progress is real, the improvements are measurable, and our commitment will not waver.

Rep. French Hill represents Arkansas’s 2nd Congressional District and serves as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Rep. Mike Bost represents Illinois’s 12th Congressional District and serves as Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.