Military benefits bill divides veterans over how to pay
The Take Care of America's Veterans Act packages nearly 60 veterans bills, including the Major Richard Star Act, but a House vote fight over offsets is tearing allies apart. Supporters call it a rare chance to expand care. Opponents warn financing would slash future disability benefits for tinnitus and sleep apnea, and say Congress can fund priority reforms another way. Coverage in Celebrity Breaking News is tracking the Capitol clash as veterans groups and lawmakers decide whether one package or piecemeal votes can still deliver long-sought benefits.
Key Takeaways
- The Take Care of America's Veterans Act bundles nearly 60 bills, including the Major Richard Star Act and Love Lives On Act.
- Debate centers on offsets tied to future disability ratings for tinnitus and sleep apnea.
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Mark Takano say Congress can fund care without cutting disabled veterans' benefits.
- Senate Veterans' Affairs Chair Jerry Moran says current recipients keep benefits and projected VA savings should stay with veterans programs.
- Takano wants the omnibus split so the Major Richard Star Act can advance on its own.
What is in the Take Care of America's Veterans Act?
According to Military Times, supporters cast the omnibus as the best chance in years to pass more than 60 veterans bills.
The package includes the Major Richard Star Act and the Love Lives On Act, plus expanded caregiver support, survivor benefits, community care improvements, education reforms, and mental health initiatives affecting millions of veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors.
Many of those measures have broad bipartisan backing. The fight is over how to pay for them before the package can move.
Why is the funding plan dividing veterans groups?
In a Fox News opinion piece, Blumenthal and Takano argue Republicans would finance the bill with cuts for millions of veterans eligible for disability benefits for tinnitus and sleep apnea.
They say 46 Senate Democrats told VA Secretary Collins they oppose that offset, and warn the approach pits veterans against veterans.
Moran counters that the plan "takes no benefit away from anyone who is receiving those benefits," pointing to planned VA rating updates for tinnitus and obstructive sleep apnea. He argues projected savings should fund veterans programs instead of returning to the broader federal budget.
Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander Carol Whitmore has rejected that trade-off, telling a joint Veterans' Affairs hearing that disability compensation is "the cost of war."
Could Congress pass the Major Richard Star Act alone?
Takano told Military Times Congress should abandon the omnibus if lawmakers cannot agree on the funding mechanism and advance the Major Richard Star Act and other bipartisan bills individually.
"I believe the Major Richard Star Act would pass in a heartbeat," he said. That measure would let certain combat-injured medically retired service members collect military retired pay and VA disability compensation without a dollar-for-dollar deduction.
Blumenthal and Takano propose alternatives such as redirecting a portion of nearly $100 billion in unobligated Defense Department funds from H.R. 1. They say they want Star Act priorities enacted, but reject a "take it or leave it" path that cuts other veterans' benefits.
For Takano, the core question is whether one group of veterans should shoulder the cost of another's gains: "All veterans have sacrificed. We shouldn't be asking one group of veterans to sacrifice for the other."