My Fellow Veterans:
My name is Mike Bost, and it is my privilege to be the Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, representing Illinois’ 12th Congressional district in Congress. I am also a veteran of the United States Marine Corps who comes from a long line of service to our great country in uniform. I am writing to you today to set the record straight about a message you may have recently received about my bill in Congress, H.R. 9237, the “Take Care of America’s Veterans Act.”
This bill is a comprehensive package of veterans’ legislation that would positively impact the lives of millions of veterans and their survivors. Notably the bill includes:
- The Major Richard Star Act – would restore offset retirement pay to Medically retired, disabled servicemembers
- The Veterans’ ACCESS Act – would improve the way that VA healthcare is delivered in the community and other healthcare workforce improvements
- Briley-Edmundson Act – would increase pensions for survivors and provide needed increases in compensation for our most severely disabled veterans
- Love Lives On Act – would allow surviving spouses to re-marry at any age and retain their pension, survivor’s benefits plans, and Tricare; and
- Nearly 60 other bipartisan and commonsense provisions to help veterans and improve VA care and benefits.
I want to set the record straight. Nothing in this bill would cut benefits for current disabled veterans, period – if I thought it would, you can trust I wouldn’t be pushing for it.
In order to follow federal law, and Congressional rules, when increasing federal spending for benefits and entitlements, Congress must pay or offset for these improvements. In other words, we must first find savings. This is a longstanding requirement and has been followed by Congress regardless of which party was in charge—and it’s the way any non-profit, private business, or family balances its checkbook. As a fiscal conservative, I take this responsibility seriously while also balancing the needs of my fellow brothers and sisters in arms.
The proposed offset in this bill would codify a draft regulation originally proposed by the Biden administration policies that would protect veterans with existing Tinnitus and Sleep Apnea ratings, but future veterans seeking these ratings from VA would be evaluated under new criteria. As VA themselves testified before Congress, these changes reflect modern science and medicine, and the VA plans to make these changes final this year. VA’s updates to its medical evaluations have long reflected the idea that conditions should be rated based on their actual impact on a veteran’s health and how that disability affects their earnings capacity. This change is no different. But instead of this money returning to the Department of the Treasury, I want this money to benefit you, your loved ones, and your children. That’s it. Efforts to paint this as ‘Congressional bookkeeping’ or ‘money-pinching’ are plain wrong.
Today, a CPAP prescription alone qualifies for a 50 percent disability rating, resulting in compensation greater than that provided for a below the knee amputation or the removal of a kidney. According to VA, approximately 90 percent of future sleep apnea claimants would be asymptomatic with treatment. Veterans whose sleep apnea continues to cause significant functional impairment remain eligible for 50 and 100 percent ratings.
Disability ratings for sleep apnea going forward would consider how successful treatment is in alleviating a veteran’s symptoms for future beneficiaries. Under the proposed rule, disability ratings for tinnitus would be assigned as a symptom of another underlying disability, rather than an individual condition. Simply put: veterans currently rated with either of these conditions would keep their rating and not see a reduction in their monthly payments and their benefits would not be cut.
I know that all of the back-and-forth from Washington can be confusing. Frankly, I find it frustrating because even in today’s politically charged environment we shouldn’t make veterans issues partisan. Congress should get things done. The significant expansion of benefits that this bill would provide could help millions of veterans and survivors are worth the reasonable – and bipartisan – science-backed changes for future veterans. Updates to VA’s disability benefits system protect the integrity of the benefits for veterans like me and you, and our brothers and sisters who will raise their right hand after us. As a Marine, I proudly took an oath to never leave a fellow comrade behind – the proposals in this bill meet that sacred obligation.
Congress must support the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act. If you have any questions, please contact me or my staff if we can ever be of any help to you or your family.
Chairman Mike Bost, Semper Fi
