Boozman, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Expand VA Services to U.S. Veterans Residing in Freely Associated States

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), Chairman of the Senate Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Subcommittee, joined Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and Brian Schatz (D-HI) to introduce the Caring for Veterans and Strengthening National Security Act. The legislation would expand Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care and benefits to U.S. veterans who reside in the Freely Associated States (FAS) of Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands by providing telehealth services, mail-order pharmacy benefits and beneficiary travel reimbursements. Implementation of these services by VA relates critically to U.S. national interests with respect to global security and supports populations with some of the highest per-capita enlistment rates in the U.S. military.

"We have a duty to fulfill the promises made to those who have sacrificed for our country including veterans in the Marshall Islands and their FAS peers," said Boozman. "I'm pleased to join this bipartisan initiative to ensure access to earned benefits isn't constrained by where a veteran calls home. Providing telehealth, medication delivery flexibility and travel reimbursement will honor our compact and maintain strong ties that serve our shared interests."

"We have a commitment to support and care for those who have served our nation," said Moran. "This legislation confirms our commitment to helping veterans succeed after their military service is over and bolsters our longstanding and unique relationships with these three important countries in the Pacific. I thank my colleagues for supporting this legislation that would improve services for our nation's veterans and support our collective national security interests abroad."

"U.S. veterans in the FAS deserve the same care as all other servicemembers, without having to navigate complex, costly barriers or travel long distances just to see a doctor or get medication," said Schatz. "This bill ensures servicemembers can finally access the care they deserve."

The measure is cosponsored by Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), James Risch (R-ID), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

Here's what representatives of the FAS are saying about the Caring for Veterans and Strengthening National Security Act:

"I strongly support this bipartisan legislation to extend VA health care to veterans in the Freely Associated States," said Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Marshall Islands Kalani R. Kaneko. "This is not a political issue, it is personal and rooted in shared sacrifice. As a retired U.S. Army veteran, I recruited nearly 200 Marshallese men and women who served under the U.S. flag and earned these benefits. Allowing veterans to receive care at home strengthens families, stabilizes communities, and advances shared national security interests by reducing forced Marshallese out-migration driven by lack of access to care, while reinforcing the enduring defense partnership between the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. This legislation honors the service of Marshallese and American veterans alike and is a win-win for both nations."

"FSM is proud to have some of the highest enlistment rates of our citizens who have volunteered to serve in the U.S. military," said Ambassador of the Federated States of Micronesia to the United States Jackson Soram. "However, veterans who return home to the FSM after serving have faced significant cost and access barriers to care through the existing Foreign Medical Program. The Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2024 removed statutory barriers for veterans to access their earned VA healthcare benefits. We appreciate the strong bipartisan leadership of Senators Moran, Schatz, Wicker, Hirono, Boozman, Blumenthal, Risch, Heinrich, Murkowski, and Shaheen on the Caring for Veterans and Strengthening National Security Act, which will direct the VA to provide certain necessary healthcare services, including telehealth, mail-order pharmacy benefits, and beneficiary travel consistent with the congressional intent of the provisions of the COFA Amendments Act of 2024."

"A top U.S. military commander called Palau 'part of the homeland.' We effectively are in a Texas-sized area next to Asia," said Ambassador of Palau to the United States and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in the United States Hersey Kyota. "One reason is that we let the U.S. military base radars, missile tests, a runway, and a dock. More importantly, though, it recruits our young. Most can't come home after their service, however, because they can't get the VA healthcare to which they're entitled. That devalues their service, deprives Palau of their skills, and deprives the U.S. of compelling citizen ambassadors. President Whipps and his team have worked to have this inequity corrected, and last year's bipartisan U.S. law to strengthen the free association that binds our nations almost as one was intended to do that. This new bill would. Palau greatly appreciates it."

Text of the legislation can be found here.

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