07/07/2026
Veterans do not turn their backs on future generations.
That is why DAV MN strongly opposes the unprecedented attack on Veterans benefits currently being proposed in Congress.
Let’s be clear about what this is.
This is not “modernization.”
This is not “reform.”
This is not “protecting taxpayers.”
This is a cut to earned Veterans benefits.
The proposal being discussed would target Veterans with service-connected tinnitus and sleep apnea. These are real disabilities. Tinnitus is real. Sleep apnea is real. The impact on sleep, health, work, family life, concentration, and long-term well-being is real.
And Congress knows it.
That is why supporters keep saying current Veterans are “protected.”
But that argument gives the game away.
If these conditions are real enough to protect for Veterans who are already service connected, then they are real enough to fairly compensate for future Veterans too.
You do not get to say, “This was a service-connected disability yesterday, but not tomorrow.”
That is not reform.
That is pulling the ladder up.
And Veterans should not be fooled by the word “protected.” According to DAV National, the proposal could apply not only to new claims, but also to reassessments or reevaluations of existing claims. That means a future claim for increase, routine exam, alleged improvement, reopened issue, proposed reduction, or review of a prior decision can put a Veteran back in front of the system.
So when politicians say, “Don’t worry, this only hurts the next guy,” our answer is simple:
That is not good enough.
Even if this only hurt future Veterans, DAV MN would still oppose it.
Because this proposal relies on Veterans doing something we do not believe Veterans will do.
It relies on current Veterans saying, “I got mine.”
It relies on older Veterans staying quiet while younger Veterans, currently serving troops, Guard and Reserve members, and future disabled Veterans are left with less.
We reject that completely.
This is especially offensive if these cuts are being used as a budget offset for the Major Richard Star Act. Fixing the injustice faced by combat-injured medically retired Veterans is the right thing to do. It should have been fixed years ago.
But you do not fix one injustice against Veterans by creating another injustice against Veterans.
You do not use one group of disabled Veterans to pay for another group of disabled Veterans.
And you do not raid VA disability compensation to solve a military retirement problem that belongs on the Department of Defense side of the ledger.
The cost of war is not a coupon Congress gets to clip out of another Veteran’s earned benefits.
This is also bigger than a monthly compensation check.
Service connection and disability ratings can affect VA health care access, priority group placement, prescription costs, travel reimbursement, VA home loan funding fee exemptions, federal hiring preference, Veteran Readiness and Employment, dependent benefits, and other earned benefits. VA’s own health care priority system and benefits materials tie many benefits to service-connected disability status and rating levels.
DAV MN supports going after fraud. We support accurate claims decisions. We support a system based on evidence, medical reality, and the law.
But we will not accept “fraud” being used as a smokescreen to cut legitimate benefits from disabled Veterans.
We sent people to war. We exposed them to blasts, gunfire, burn pits, diesel fumes, toxic air, sleepless nights, traumatic injuries, chronic stress, and years of physical damage.
Now some of those same Veterans live with ringing in their ears, CPAP machines, exhaustion, headaches, heart strain, concentration problems, and lives permanently changed by service.
And Washington’s answer is apparently:
“Sorry, you filed too late.”
No.
DAV MN strongly opposes this proposal.
Pass the Major Richard Star Act.
Fix concurrent receipt.
Support combat-injured Veterans.
But do not pay for it by cutting benefits for other disabled Veterans.
Do not pit Veteran against Veteran.
Do not balance the budget on the backs of those who served.
This is a cut.
It is wrong.
And we oppose it yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
