18Jun
Groups Reject Legislation’s Disability Cuts, Demand Removal Before Any Path Forward
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Common Defense led fourteen other veterans and military service organizations in sending a letter to Congress demanding the removal of Section 108 from the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (TCAVA, H.R. 9237 / S. 4744). As currently drafted, the coalition is calling for a no vote.
Common Defense and the 14 organizations, collectively representing millions of veterans and military families, supports TCAVA’s core provisions like the Major Richard Star Act but opposes Section 108. Section 108 would codify disability rating reductions for tinnitus and sleep apnea purely as a budget offset. The move, if successful, shifts up to a $57 billion burden onto 1.5 million future veteran claimants. Impacted individuals include current Post-9/11 servicemembers and Reservists, who would be forced to pay for benefits earned by those who served before them.
“I’m an Army veteran. I have cancer. Right now, I’m being treated at the Bronx VA, a hospital that exists because of the promise this country made to people like me when we signed up to serve,” said Common Defense Executive Director and U.S. Army veteran Jose Vasquez. “That promise doesn’t come with fine print that says the next guy pays less because Congress needed a budget line. Section 108 doesn’t just cut benefits – it writes betrayal into law. We’ve been fighting to protect what veterans have earned, not watch it get traded away before a new generation even gets the chance to claim it. Strip Section 108. Then sit down with the veterans community and do this right.”
Within the letter, the coalition clarifies that their opposition is not toward the bill’s intent. Key excerpts include:
- “TCAVA contains numerous provisions our community has long supported..” “We want to see those measures become law, but TCAVA pays for them with a permanent price..”
- …”the cost of this bill should not be paid by the youngest and most recently wounded among us, many of whom are still serving..”
- “We therefore ask Congress to strike Section 108 in its entirety so that the rest of the legislation can be considered on its merits.”
The full coalition letter was signed by: Black Veterans Project, CommonDefense.us, Hispanic Veterans Leadership Alliance, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Minority Veterans of America, National Security Leaders for America, Swords to Plowshares, The Chamberlain Network, Union Veterans Council, Unite for Veterans Coalition, Veterans for Common Sense, Veterans for Responsible Leadership, Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute, and 50501 Veterans.
COALITION ORG QUOTES
“While we appreciate many of the aspects of the bill, we reject the idea that America’s veterans should be paying for other veterans, or that veterans should be pit against each other, to include veterans with sleep apnea, tinnitus, or searching to buy a home through the VA Home Loans. The provisions of this bill should be paid for without PAYGO.”
- Dr. Kyleanne Hunter, CEO, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
“The Union Veterans Council is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our brothers and sisters across the veteran community because a promise made to one generation of heroes cannot be kept by breaking it for the next. We will not allow Congress to balance its books by cutting $60 billion from disabled post-9/11 veterans while simultaneously laying off the dedicated public VA workers who care for them. Wounded warriors and federal workers are not ledger entries to be balanced against.”
- Craig Romanovich, Executive Director, Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO
“America made a promise to the young people who fought in the Global War on Terror. If you served your country, served your neighbors, and came home carrying injuries that would follow you for the rest of your life, this nation would take care of you. This bill breaks that promise on the backs of the veterans who answered the call.”
- Chris Purdy, CEO, The Chamberlain Network
“The Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute (VHPI) is proud to stand alongside the veterans and military service organizations signing this letter in opposition to Section 108 of the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act. This section not only denies vulnerable veterans compensation but also access to needed healthcare services. Other portions of the bill would continue the dangerous outsourcing of veteran care to the private sector. This coalition letter asks Congress to stand with us to ensure veterans have access to the benefits they have earned, high quality healthcare, and that the Veterans Health Administration continues to serve the entire nation.”
- Oscar Arbulú, Interim Executive Director, Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute
To take action and urge Congress to oppose TCAVA, visit commondefense.us.
###
Common Defense Civic Engagement (501c4) (CDCE) is the nation’s largest grassroots organization of veterans and military families. Founded in 2016, we organize to defend the Constitution, oppose Forever Wars, and fight for a democracy where liberty and justice truly exist for all.