Episode Details

Congressional Republicans have introduced the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, a 554-page package that bundles more than 60 veterans’ bills, including the widely supported Major Richard Star Act. But to satisfy budget rules, the package offsets its cost by cutting future VA disability compensation for two of the most common service-connected conditions: tinnitus and sleep apnea. The VA projects the change would reduce disability payments by up to $57 billion over ten years, affecting as many as 1.5 million veterans.

The bill effectively eliminates the standalone disability rating for tinnitus, the single most common service-connected disability, treating it as a symptom that only counts if paired with separately documented hearing loss. For sleep apnea, it ties the rating to treatment: veterans whose CPAP machines successfully manage the condition could see their rating cut toward zero.

As a combat veteran, I have tinnitus, and like roughly a quarter million other service members, I was part of the litigation against 3M over the defective Combat Arms earplugs issued during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, a case that ended in a $6 billion settlement for causing the exact hearing injuries the earplugs were meant to prevent.

Every major veterans service organization, including the VFW, DAV, IAVA, and Paralyzed Veterans of America, opposes the funding mechanism. The Major Richard Star Act can be passed as standalone legislation without cutting other veterans’ benefits.

Sources:

https://www.govexec.com/management/2026/06/gops-va-overhaul-bill-narrows-some-employees-rights-spurs-privatization-union-says/414230/

https://www.unite4veterans.org/press/vets-tcava-va-disability-rating

https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2026-06-11/major-veterans-legislation-60-bills-21939097.html

https://www.dav.org/learn-more/news/2026/dav-condemns-congressional-proposal-to-cut-disability-benefits-for-1-5-million-veterans/

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/veterans-bill-tinnitus-sleep-apnea/

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/03/27/250000-veterans-agree-6-billion-settlement-3m-over-earplugs-alleged-cause-hearing-loss.html