Common Defense Responds to Washington Post Story on Veterans Affairs Disability Claims
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8, 2025
Washington. — This week, the Washington Post published a story on veterans disability claims that misrepresents veterans and undermines public trust in the system designed to care for those who served. The article attempts to dismiss veterans’ pain and sacrifices as “dubious” claims and questions the legitimacy of what it refers to as "minor or treatable afflictions." This type of rhetoric contributes to the long-standing conservative effort to privatize the VA. For decades, right-wing politicians and their donors have sought to transform the VA into a profit-making venture for insurance and healthcare corporations. Now, they are attempting to erode public confidence in the system.
Whether it involves combat wounds, PTSD, or chronic conditions developed after years of service, every veteran deserves access to the benefits and healthcare they earned and were promised upon their return home.
Naveed Shah, an Army veteran and Political Director at Common Defense, released the following statement:
“This kind of story perpetuates a false narrative that veterans are abusing the system. It minimizes our service and lays the groundwork for dismantling the VA, something Republican administrations have tried to do for years. Veterans aren’t the problem. The issue lies within an under-resourced system that is constantly attacked by politicians who prefer privatization over genuine reform. We will not stand idly by while they turn public opinion against those who have served.”
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Common Defense Civic Engagement is a grassroots, veteran-led organization (501c4) that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.