Revisiting the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
Congress returned to session on November 9, 2026, and according to some sources, it will spend most of its time working out must-pass legislation, including the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. Lawmakers are also debating the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, which has controversial provisions (see below).
Will this act go to the floor for a vote, or will it be rolled into the 2027 NDAA?
Revisiting the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
The fight over the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (TCAVA) (H.R. 9237 / S. 4744) pits disabled veteran benefits against controversial cost-saving measures critics say undermine the VA disability system.
The bill consolidates over 60 individual veterans’ bills into a single 550+ page omnibus bill, and lawmakers and advocacy groups are divided over whether the legislative trade-offs are worth the gains.
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What Veterans Stand to Gain
Supporters of this proposed bill (including the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation) argue that passing TCAVA is the only realistic path to enacting several major priorities before the congressional term ends:
- Ending the Combat Offset (The Major Richard Star Act). This eliminates the dollar-for-dollar offset that docks DoD retirement pay for combat-injured veterans medically retired before 20 years of service, allowing them to receive retirement and VA disability pay concurrently.
- Survivor Protections (The Love Lives On Act). Eliminates the penalty that currently strips surviving spouses of military survivor benefits if they remarry before age 55.
- Caregiver & Family Support. Expands respite care, mental health resources, and long-term support systems for designated family caregivers of wounded veterans.
- Streamlined Claims & Technology. Funds IT modernization and expands automated tools intended to speed up the adjudication of backlogged VA disability claims.
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What Critics Say
Opposition from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and federal labor unions like the AFGE and AFL-CIO includes criticism of the VA’s privatization efforts and warns of future VA disability pay cuts.
Future Disability Compensation Cuts (Section 108)
To meet congressional budget pay-as-you-go rules and offset the cost of new programs, Section 108 brings contested revisions to the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) for sleep apnea and tinnitus.
While existing recipients are “grandfathered” in, future claimants face tougher rating criteria or eliminated ratings for these two conditions. Opponents argue that writing these cuts into federal law creates a “two-tiered” system in which future veterans receive less for identical injuries, and sets a dangerous precedent of cutting compensation to pay for other benefits.
Acceleration of VA Privatization
Labor unions and veterans’ healthcare advocates warn TCAVA will drain resources from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).
This bill requires referrals to private community care if the VA cannot meet specific drive-time and wait-time metrics, even though private sector clinics may face no reciprocal standard. It also enables veterans and outside doctors to bypass certain VA authorization, which critics argue harms coordinated medical care.
Reclassification of Frontline VA Clinicians
Provisions that alter the civil service classification of VA healthcare professionals—such as moving psychologists to Full Title 38 status—have raised alarms among VA staff unions about job protections and collective bargaining rights.
The Stalemate
Pass TCAVA
Backed by Wounded Warrior Project, MOAA, and Elizabeth Dole Foundation. The argument here is that VA rating changes for conditions like sleep apnea are already happening administratively; codifying them ensures roughly $57B–$60B in savings is reinvested directly into veterans’ priorities (like the Star Act) rather than lost to the general Treasury.=
Reject TCAVA / Pass Stand-Alone Star Act
Backed by VFW, IAVA, AFGE, and AFL-CIO. Core argument? Congress should never pit veterans against each other by financing combat retiree benefits through reduced compensation for future disabled veterans, nor should it accelerate the privatization of VA healthcare.
With Congress facing a December 11 federal funding deadline, will lawmakers push the omnibus forward intact, strip out the controversial funding offsets, or abandon the broader package to attempt a clean, stand-alone vote on the Major Richard Star Act? This is an ongoing story.
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About the author
Editor-in-Chief Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter/editor for Air Force Television News and the Pentagon Channel. His freelance work includes contract work for Motorola, VALoans.com, and Credit Karma. He is co-founder of Dim Art House in Springfield, Illinois, and spends his non-writing time as an abstract painter, independent publisher, and occasional filmmaker.
