Blumenthal Statement on Pause of Trump Administration Rule to Slash Disability Ratings for Thousands of Veterans

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today released a statement following the Trump Administration's decision to halt its new interim final rule at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that would immediately change how veteran disability ratings are evaluated. This rule would lower disability ratings and compensation awards for disabled veterans by not taking into account their baseline conditions. While VA Secretary today halted the rule, he has not outright rescinded it.

"While I'm encouraged the Secretary has temporarily walked away from his short-sighted policy to slash disability benefits for thousands of veterans, this rule must be permanently rescinded. This proposed policy would do nothing but reduce the compensation veterans are due, and scare them into avoiding the life-improving medication they need - harming their physical and mental health. I will be introducing legislation to align VA policy with the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims' ruling that a veteran's disability rating must be strictly based on that veteran's underlying condition."

Yesterday, Blumenthal joined Veterans Service Organizations, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Disabled American Veterans (DAV), in raising concerns over this rule.

Earlier this week, VA published an interim final rule to change how veteran disability ratings are evaluated without the normal public comment period. This new rule reverses the previous standard established by the Ingram v. Collins court case issued in 2025, which required VA to discount the impact of medication when evaluating the severity of claims disability. Instead, the rule directs examiners to rate veterans' disabilities as they present and disregard the impact of medication. This would require VA to issue a lower disability ratings, despite evidence showing veterans meet the requirements for higher ratings.

Through Ingram v. Collins, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims required VA to discount the impact of medications when adjudicating claims for disabilities for which the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities does not explicitly mention medications. This applies to veterans who take maintenance medications for their disabilities. The VA rule prohibits medical examiners from estimating or discounting improvements to the disability due to the effects of medication or treatment.