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Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-Ill.), delivered the following opening remarks, as prepared, at the start of the full committee’s legislative hearing to discuss H.R. 6047, the Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act, landmark legislation that would increase the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) monthly compensation benefit for service-connected, catastrophically disabled veterans and the surviving families of servicemembers who were killed in action, as well as 100% disabled or deceased veterans. These VA benefits have not been significantly increased in decades. To read more about Sharri Briley’s story, click here. To read more about Eric Edmundson’s story of service and his life today, click here.

 

Good morning, everyone.

 

The Committee will come to order. The Chair may declare a recess at any point.

 

Before we begin, I want to pause to recognize Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who is recovering, and Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, who sadly passed from her injuries.

 

When our National Guard are called from their civilian lives to serve, they answer it without hesitation.

 

That bravery and sense of duty is the cornerstone of what makes our Military so exceptional. We hold their families, their units, and all those affected in our thoughts.

 

I am glad to be here today to consider the following bills: H.R. 6047, The Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act of 2025, and H.R. 4077, the GUARD Veterans’ Healthcare Act.

 

Before I discuss the bills before us, I would first like to welcome all the witnesses who are here to testify on the impact that one of these bills would have on the veteran community.

               

Mr. Edmundson, thank you to you and your family for traveling to Washington to be here.

 

Mrs. Briley, thank you for traveling to be here.

 

The institution of Congress and this Committee is honored to have two great Americans like you both – sitting before us today.

 

As a father, I know the weight that both of you carry each day for your families, and I just want to say thank you.

 

We are here today to discuss H.R. 6047.

 

This landmark bill would create a significant increase in benefits for a forgotten group of veterans and their families.

 

This bill would permanently increase the monthly rate of V.A.’s Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, D.I.C., by an additional 1% every year, for the next five years.

 

D.I.C. is a tax-free V.A. benefit that surviving spouses and dependents receive if their veteran loved-one’s death was active duty, training-related, service-connected, or if the veteran was rated 100% disabled for 10 years.

 

While D.I.C. is increased to keep up with inflation, the base-rate has not been increased since 1993—that’s over thirty years.

 

This bill would change that by adding an additional 1% on top of any increase to account for inflation for the next five years.

 

Surviving families of our nation’s heroes – like Sharri Briley who this bill is named after – would benefit from this increase.

 

Sharri is the surviving spouse of Donovan Lee ‘Bull’ Briley, an Army special operations helicopter pilot who lost his life during the Black Hawk Down incident in Somalia in 1993.

 

Sharri and Donovan’s daughter was just five years old when her father came home from that mission in a casket wrapped in the Stars and Stripes.

 

President Lincoln made a promise to families like the Briley’s – and the thousands more like them – in 1865 – over 100 years before Donovan would take an oath to give his life on behalf of the United States of America – that if it came to that, our nation would ensure – without hesitation – that his widow and his child – were taken care of and treated with dignity.

 

This bill would help us do that.

 

The bill would also permanently increase V.A.’s special monthly compensation, or S.M.C., by $10,000, for catastrophically disabled veterans who receive R. 1, R. 2, or T.

 

These three tiers are the highest levels of service connected compensation, for veterans whose conditions go far beyond the 100% disability rating.

 

Veterans at these rates require regular in-home aid and attendance under the supervision of a medical professional.

 

Veterans like Eric Edmundson, who H.R. 6047 is proudly named after.

 

Eric’s parents, his sister, his wife, and his children care for him every single day.

 

Their caring does not stop because it’s the weekend, or because it’s 5pm, or because they want a break.

 

They are the unsung heroes – the great Americans who sacrifice every day to care for our veterans whose lives were forever changed by their service and live with the visible and invisible wounds of war.

 

Families like the Edmundson’s would never expect you to say thank you, but we owe them a debt of gratitude that can never fully be repaid.

 

This bill is for them – and the thousands of families like theirs – it’s a step forward – and it reminds those families that America has got their back.

 

In order to pay for this bill, we would require any veteran rated at 70% and below to pay the home loan funding fee on their second home, the rate that all other veterans currently pay.

 

That’s an average of $35 a month.

 

No changes would be made to a veteran's first home buying experience.

 

This ensures that veterans still have access to the American Dream of owning a home without paying the funding fee on their first use, regardless of their rating.

 

Opening the funding fee is a realistic way to get this done.

 

This bill costs over seven billion dollars, and this is the path forward to get this across the finish line on behalf of the families it would positively impact, all while following PAYGO. 

 

This legislation is the first realistic attempt by Congress, in years, to get something done for over 500,000 recipients of these V.A. benefits.

 

This bill represents a realistic attempt to increase V.A.’s largest survivor benefit.

 

This bill ensures the sacrifices of our military families and catastrophically injured veterans are not forgotten.

 

I’m sure there are many who will try to avoid the reality of the situation and try to say that we can make these expansions without an offset. 

 

Under my leadership, I live in the real world, and I’m focused on getting things done.

 

I’m focused on working with our Republican conference to make it a little easier for families to make ends meet – especially the families of our American heroes.

 

I remain concerned by the lack of bipartisanship and rhetoric that continues to come from our friends of the other side of the aisle during these debates on bills that would directly address the problems we serve on this Committee to solve.

 

My staff and I have spent months trying to understand what the other side of the aisle would need in order to support this good bill.

 

Unfortunately, we have not received a response.

 

This is disappointing as I want this to be a bipartisan bill.

 

This is because Eric and Donovan weren’t serving Republicans or Democrats when they went overseas, they were fighting for America.

 

I took that same oath when I joined the Marine Corps and I have carried it with me every single day on this Committee – especially as Chairman.

 

There may be some that have concerns about the offset, which I understand, but inaction or handwringing is a recipe for nothing getting done.

 

I have heard that some critics of the bill have even told witnesses today that they should hold out for a better deal in the next Congress.

 

That somehow our attempt to move this bill is somehow some trick or partisan game.

 

My message to that remains simple: there is no place for partisan politics when it comes to veterans.

 

Especially, with a bill that helps catastrophically disabled veterans and gives survivors an increase that is 30 years overdue, in a fiscally responsible way.

 

I look forward to a thoughtful discussion on the legislation before us.

 

I would also like thank Congressman Barrett, my friend and fellow veteran, for his leadership on this issue.

 

I also want to take a moment to express serious concerns with H.R. 4077—the so-called GUARD Veterans Health Care Act.

 

Despite its promising title, this bill risks doing the exact opposite of what it claims—it could harm veterans.

 

This legislation is intended to allow V.A. to recover costs from Medicare Advantage plans.

 

But in reality, this would function as a punitive tax on Medicare Advantage plans that millions of veterans rely on.

 

Over half of eligible Medicare beneficiaries—including many veterans—choose these plans because they offer robust benefits and broad access.

 

This bill would force those plans to absorb new costs, which would inevitably lead to fewer benefits, smaller networks, and increased premiums for veterans and non-veterans alike.

 

Worse, the bill would draw over $1 billion annually from the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, accelerating its depletion and threatening Medicare’s long-term sustainability.

 

I should remind my Democratic colleagues that veterans earn their V.A. benefits, and their Medicare benefits. It is wrong to put these two programs at odds with each other.

 

If the goal is better coordination between V.A. and Medicare, there are better ways to do that—this bill isn’t it.

 

Let’s not pass a law that punishes veterans while pretending to protect them.

 

I now yield to Ranking Member Takano for his opening remarks.