Blumenthal Leads Senate Democrats in Opposing Republican Plan to Cut Disabled Veterans' Benefits

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, today led 46 of his Democratic colleagues in opposing cuts to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits for disabled veterans who suffer from sleep apnea and tinnitus, as proposed by a draft VA rule and the Take Care of America's Veterans Act.

In a letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins, the Senators condemned a proposed reduction in benefits for more than one million veterans suffering from sleep apnea and tinnitus: "We write in strong opposition to a proposed reduction in benefits for more than one million veterans suffering from sleep apnea and tinnitus outlined in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) draft rule entitled "Schedule for Rating Disabilities--Ear, Nose, Throat, and Audiology Disabilities; Special Provisions Regarding Evaluation of Respiratory Conditions; Respiratory System" (RIN: 2900-AQ72). We urge you to listen to the growing opposition from veterans and publicly commit to addressing their concerns."

The Senators continued, "Along with the draft rule, we are equally opposed to the Take Care of America's Veterans Act because it codifies the same harmful reductions in benefits for veterans with tinnitus and sleep apnea benefits. By writing these cuts into statute, the legislation would permanently implement the very policies that veterans, medical experts, and veterans service organizations have overwhelmingly opposed. Whether implemented through regulation or enacted by Congress, these cuts would strip disabled veterans of earned compensation and health care benefits - they should be rejected outright."

The Senators emphasized how the policy would cut benefits for veterans with service-connected sleep apnea and tinnitus and pointed to veterans service organizations' opposition. They noted that tinnitus in particular is the most common service-connected disability recognized by VA, with an estimated 3.6 million veterans receiving benefits for this condition. The Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that nearly one million veterans would have their monthly disability compensation reduced by the change.

The Senators concluded by calling on VA Secretary Collins to join them in opposing these harmful cuts to benefits: "At your confirmation hearing last year, you pledged, "We're not going to balance budgets on the back of veterans' benefits." We urge you to honor that commitment by abandoning these proposals and to further reject any legislation that would permanently cut off these benefits to veterans. We look forward to working with you to ensure our nation's veterans receive the care and benefits they deserve."

Blumenthal's letter was joined by U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John W. Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Timothy Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacklyn Rosen (D-NV), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Earlier this month, Republicans introduced the Take Care of America's Veterans Act, a 553-page veterans' bill that includes a provision to pay for the Major Richard Star Act and other legislation by cutting $60 billion in benefits for more than 1.4 million disabled veterans. Leading veterans' groups, including Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), have also opposed the Republican proposal. Republicans have also blocked Blumenthal's attempts to pay for the Major Richard Star Act with $13 billion in unspent Department of Defense funds.

The Major Richard Star Act is bipartisan legislation to fix an injustice preventing combat-injured veterans from receiving their full military benefits. This legislation, which includes no proposal to slash veterans' disability benefits, has overwhelming support from the majority of both chambers of Congress, with 79 bipartisan cosponsors in the Senate and 336 bipartisan cosponsors in the House, and support from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Senate Republican leadership has blocked eight attempts from Blumenthal, including in October, March, two weeks ago, and last week, to advance or vote on this overwhelming bipartisan support.

The full text of the letter is copied below.

Dear Secretary Collins,

We write in strong opposition to a proposed reduction in benefits for more than one million veterans suffering from sleep apnea and tinnitus outlined in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) draft rule entitled "Schedule for Rating Disabilities--Ear, Nose, Throat, and Audiology Disabilities; Special Provisions Regarding Evaluation of Respiratory Conditions; Respiratory System" (RIN: 2900-AQ72). We urge you to listen to the growing opposition from veterans and publicly commit to addressing their concerns.

We laud your decision earlier this year to rescind an interim final rule after it faced significant backlash from the veterans' community. At the time you stated, "Veterans spoke, and [VA] listened." We ask that you again heed concerns from the medical and veterans' communities about the benefits they receive to address tinnitus and sleep apnea. VA must make clear it will not punish veterans seeking effective sleep apnea treatments or deny veterans with service-connected tinnitus the benefits and health care they have earned.

Tinnitus is the most common service-connected disability recognized by VA, with an estimated 3.6 million veterans receiving benefits for this condition. The most controversial proposal in the draft rule would eliminate tinnitus as a stand-alone disability - instead requiring veterans to be service connected for an underlying pathology related to hearing loss. According to the draft rule's regulatory impact analysis, more than 60 percent of veterans who submit claims for tinnitus-related benefits are not service connected for an underlying pathology. Those veterans would no longer qualify for life-saving VA health care and benefits. In total, VA's analysis concluded that nearly one million veterans would have their monthly disability compensation reduced by the change.

Our urgent concern is validated by the American Tinnitus Association's comments to the draft rule that "tinnitus often occurs independently of any other health condition." The American Tinnitus Association made clear that medical research, including VA-commissioned studies, confirms the debilitating effects of tinnitus and the need for it to remain a stand-alone disability. It warned that removing the stand-alone disability would also hinder research to improve tinnitus treatments and efforts to find a cure. Also important, the American Legion in its comments categorized the change as problematic because it conflicts with several "court decisions that recognize tinnitus as a stand-alone condition."

Sleep Apnea is a breathing disorder that involves a decrease or complete halt in airflow despite an ongoing effort to breathe. More than 763,000 veterans receive VA benefits for service-connected sleep apnea. The draft rule would reduce the level of compensation veterans receive for their service-connected sleep apnea to zero. This change is similar to a recent interim final rule you rescinded after the veterans' community made the case against reducing ratings for veterans who comply with their doctors' orders. Veterans service organizations have made clear that veterans who use effective medical devices should not have their disability compensation lowered. In its comments on VA's draft rule, Disabled American Veterans argued that using effective medication does not eliminate the underlying conditions' impact on veterans' earning potential, which is the basis for VA's schedule for rating disabilities. Medications help improve function and mask symptoms, but they do not eliminate the impact of living with a disability.

Along with the draft rule, we are equally opposed to the Take Care of America's Veterans Act because it codifies the same harmful reductions in benefits for veterans with tinnitus and sleep apnea benefits. By writing these cuts into statute, the legislation would permanently implement the very policies that veterans, medical experts, and veterans service organizations have overwhelmingly opposed. Whether implemented through regulation or enacted by Congress, these cuts would strip disabled veterans of earned compensation and health care benefits - they should be rejected outright.

At your confirmation hearing last year, you pledged, "We're not going to balance budgets on the back of veterans' benefits." We urge you to honor that commitment by abandoning these proposals and to further reject any legislation that would permanently cut off these benefits to veterans. We look forward to working with you to ensure our nation's veterans receive the care and benefits they deserve.