Duckworth Statement on Secretary Collins Abandoning his Ambush Rulemaking That Threatened to Prevent Veterans from Seeking or Accessing the Health Coverage They Earned

Duckworth Statement on Secretary Collins Abandoning his Ambush Rulemaking That Threatened to Prevent Veterans from Seeking or Accessing the Health Coverage They Earned

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) quietly rescinded its horrendous new interim final rule (IFR) that put millions of Veterans' disability ratings and care at risk and shockingly disincentivized our nation's heroes from both seeking earned coverage for service-connected disabilities and following recommended medical treatment plans. The VA's announcement comes just one week after Duckworth demanded Collins rescind and apologize for implementing this shameful rule change and just days after she called him out for merely halting enforcement instead of fully rescinding it. While the VA rescinded its IFR, the Trump Administration continues to pursue its appeal of the Ingram v. Collins ruling, which protected Veterans from these attacks to begin with.

"After calling our anger over this despicable rule 'fake news,' let's be clear: Secretary Collins' decision to finally rescind this disastrous rule is a direct result of the VSOs and the thousands of Veterans who called him on his bullshit. In less than a week, over 20,000 Veterans flooded the public comment period-that Collins initially sought to circumvent-with a wave of outrage too large to be ignored.

"While it's a relief Collins finally did the bare minimum by actually listening to the Veterans he is duty-bound to serve, this disastrous rule should never have been jammed through in the first place. It was a clear attack on our Veterans' right to receive the benefits and quality care they've earned through their sacrifices for their wounds, both seen and unseen.

"But we know this fight isn't over. The Trump Administration is still challenging the disability compensation rule in the courts, and they must withdraw their appeal immediately as well. And Republicans, Democrats and VSOs alike must work together to codify protections that would prevent the Trump Administration-and any future Administration-from implementing such shameful backdoors to cut our Wounded Warriors' benefits. Trump and his cronies have turned their backs on Veterans over and over-and no one should be fooled that they're going to let up now."

Last week, the VA shamefully circumvented the normal rulemaking process and implemented without public comment a new interim final rule would change the way the VA determines disability rating from measuring the disability itself to measuring how the disability presents during a specific appointment-meaning if a Veterans is actively treating their injuries and their symptoms appear improved in that snapshot of time, that Veteran could receive a lower disability rating than they would have without treatment.

If it was ever enforced, the rule would almost certainly have resulted in fewer Veterans applying for the PACT Act benefits they've earned through their service. The PACT Act was a historic, overwhelmingly bipartisan victory that enabled Veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits and similar hazardous environments during their service-which can lead to cancer and other devastating ailments-to finally get the care they need covered by the VA. But in order to claim this new coverage, a Veteran would need a new disability review, which would have taken place under the new rule and could have counterintuitively resulted in the Veteran's disability rating actually being downgraded despite Congress's clear intent in the PACT Act.

After public outcry from Duckworth and the Veterans' community at large, VA Secretary Doug Collins announced the VA would be "halting enforcement" of its shameful new interim final rule-but failed to rescind the rule completely, which Duckworth decried and demanded he do immediately. In a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee (SVAC) hearing this week, Duckworth railed against the new interim final rule with a panel of Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) and warned against the Trump Administration's shady campaign to eventually privatize the VA.

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