The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act is a comprehensive, generational bill that could make resources and healthcare more accessible, responsive, and timely for more than 32 million veterans, service members, caregivers, families, and survivors. Introduced this June, the bill combines over 62 provisions — most of which are bipartisan — on mental health, combat-injured and disabled veterans, healthcare, women veterans, rural and underserved veterans, military-to-civilian transition assistance, and family and caretaker support. 

For those of us who regularly hear from veterans about the issues that matter most to them, the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act brings many of those concerns together in one legislation. The bill includes several provisions addressing needs that veterans have consistently identified as top VA priorities, including access to care, suicide prevention, brain health, transition assistance, and accountability and transparency. For instance, in a Mission Roll Call survey, an overwhelming 92% of veterans nationwide supported timely access standards for VA healthcare. 

As part of the bill, the Veterans ACCESS Act would make it easier for veterans to receive care through both the VA and the Veterans Community Care program and establish clearer standards for when veterans can receive treatment outside the VA healthcare system. The BEACON Act would expand coverage for providers to assist veterans with mild-to-moderate TBI. The Honor Our Promise to Veterans Act would address appointment delays, staffing shortages, provider quality, and the infrastructure needed to deliver timely care.

The bill also addresses the financial challenges combat-injured and disabled veterans face. 

The Major Richard Star Act is one of the most fought-for pieces of legislation in the veteran community. Currently, nearly 60,000 medically retired combat-injured veterans unfairly forfeit a percentage of their retirement pay to receive disability compensation. The proposal would eliminate that offset, allowing combat-injured veterans who medically retire before completing 20 years of service to receive their full military retirement pay alongside VA disability compensation. 

While the bill largely supports veterans, it also recognizes the impact of military service on loved ones and caregivers who are often family members. A veteran’s injury or illness can affect a spouse’s employment, their children’s lives, and a family’s financial stability. Caregivers may leave their jobs or reduce their hours to provide full-time care, shouldering costs that can last for years without proper support.

The bill addresses these challenges through provisions such as the Veteran Caregiver Reeducation, Reemployment and Retirement (3R) Act, the Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act, and the Love Lives On Act, which would provide greater financial stability and support to families, survivors, and caregivers while recognizing the long-term responsibilities and costs that can accompany a veteran’s service-connected disability or death.

Veterans have spent years telling us where the system needs improvement and what support they need after service, and this legislation is a rare opportunity to address many of those priorities in a single bill. While the bill has raised some concerns about the federal budgetary process and the VA’s evaluation of certain disability claims — and those concerns deserve careful consideration as the legislation moves forward — it’s still meaningful work that 71% of veterans and more than 20 military and veteran organizations support. 

IS SLEEP APNEA WORTH MORE THAN AN AMPUTATION? VETERANS DESERVE BETTER THAN THE VFW’S STANCE

The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act would move the country closer to fulfilling its commitment to those who served, and veterans deserve that progress. Importantly, millions of veterans struggling every day with mental health needs such as PTSD or suicidal ideation could get the help they urgently need.

Veterans have sacrificed so much for our country. Now, lawmakers have a responsibility to ensure veterans have the resources and support they need to maintain financial stability and physical and mental well-being after service and even decades later. Every day this bill stalls is another day our nation’s heroes and their loved ones are delayed from long-overdue care.

Jim Whaley is the CEO of Mission Roll Call. He is the former director of communications at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. As a 20-year veteran of the Army, his awards and decorations include the Master Army Aviator Badge, Legion of Merit, Air Assault Badge and Humanitarian Service Medal.