Veterans Come Together to Oppose the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act

The Unite for Veterans Coalition (U4V) is proud to join many of its member organizations in sending a letter to Congress that demands it remove Section 108 from the Take Care of America's Veterans Act (TCAVA).

While we collectively support the intent of several of TCAVA’s provisions, we reject Section 108 which would codify disability rating reductions for tinnitus and sleep apnea purely as a budget offset. If enacted, this section would place a $57 billion burden onto 1.5 million future veteran claimants. Impacted individuals include current Post-9/11 service members and reservists, who would be forced to pay for benefits earned by those who served before them.

Nearly 3.2 million veterans currently receive compensation for tinnitus — the single most common service-connected disability in the United States. Sleep apnea affects hundreds of thousands more. These are not administrative errors or generous interpretations of eligibility. They are the documented physical consequences of military service: years of weapons fire, aircraft noise, sleep deprivation, and combat stress that follow veterans home.

Veterans' disability compensation exists because service causes injury. It is not a budget line item, and it should not be treated as one. Funding for it should not come from the pockets of disabled veterans.

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.

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