The U.S. House of Representatives postponed a scheduled vote this week on the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (H.R. 9237) amid internal Republican opposition and a split among major veterans service organizations. Introduced by House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Mike Bost (R-Ill.), the bill seeks to expand benefits for disabled veterans and military survivors but faces criticism over its proposed funding mechanism.
The legislation includes the Major Richard Star Act, which would provide increased retirement payouts for approximately 50,000 combat-injured veterans at an estimated cost of $13 billion over 10 years. To offset these costs, the bill utilizes $57 billion in projected savings generated by Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to update disability ratings for sleep apnea and tinnitus. Supporters, including the American Legion and Wounded Warrior Project, argue this is the most viable path to passing long-stalled benefits expansions.
Opponents, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Disabled American Veterans (DAV), argue that using disability rating changes as a budget offset sets a precedent of cutting benefits for one group of veterans to fund another. These groups, along with House Democratic leadership and some Republicans like Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), maintain that disability compensation should not be used as a financial offset. The bill also contains provisions regarding private-sector healthcare options and education benefits that have drawn additional scrutiny from advocacy groups.