Over the past few months, we have criticized several expensive legislative proposals that would expand benefits for our nation’s veterans, including the Major Richard Star Act, the Love Lives On Act, and the Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act. American citizens who have served our country in uniform deserve our thanks and support upon their return, and some taxpayer spending on these heroes is warranted. They deserve our support in helping them reintegrate into society, including the provision of education and housing assistance, and many have unique health needs derived from their military service that merit taxpayer support in addressing. However, it is appropriate to expect the government to place some ceiling on support for veterans, in light of our nation’s massive federal debt and ballooning annual deficits. In the words of our nation’s founding fathers, Americans have the right to “pursue happiness.” Providing happiness itself is not the job of the federal government.
Navigating veterans benefit issues can sometimes be difficult for members of Congress who believe in limited government and responsible federal spending. Many of these principled members are veterans themselves, or have close family members and friends who have sacrificed for their neighbors by serving in harm’s way to protect our way of life. And, for generations of past veterans, our nation did not adequately take care of their needs. History books tell us about how, almost a century ago, veterans had to march on Washington to persuade the federal government to listen to their needs.
Since then, veterans benefits have dramatically increased, in particular with large expansions in both education and disability benefits over the last 20 years. As a result, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spending has risen significantly faster than every other department in the federal government over the past twenty years—over twice as fast as the rest of the government. On a per veteran basis, spending has dramatically grown, from around $3,000 per year in 2000 to $25,000 today. This is expected to further spike in the next 10 years, to over $45,000 per veteran by 2036. This massive increase is being spent on a progressively smaller percentage of veterans in our population, from around 40% of male Americans 40 years ago to around 12% today. This huge growth in spending, in our current fiscal circumstances, is simply unsustainable for taxpayers to support over time. Somehow, the federal government must find a way to slow down this freight train of cost increases at the VA.
This is easier said than done. For something as seemingly simple as placing stricter standards on veterans disability benefits for common and treatable diagnoses like sleep apnea, the VA has been unable to take steps necessary to flatten the cost curve for taxpayers. Some veterans receive benefits for treatable conditions like hair loss or toenail fungus, many of which are conditions that are indistinguishable from similar conditions faced by the general public as they age. Even minor attempts to add pro-taxpayer reforms to the system are usually batted away in the face of intense opposition from veterans service organizations (VSOs).
And, on top of all this, Congress must deal with regular requests from VSOs and other groups to expand benefits in certain areas, or create whole new benefits. Some new benefit requests have some validity. For example, the Love Lives On Act would allow surviving spouses of fallen soldiers and veterans to keep their benefits if they remarry under the age of 55. Current law creates an unfair system for these widows, limiting family formation and economic growth.The relative value of other proposals are more dubious, including one proposal that amounts to a double dipping of benefits for certain veterans. Regardless of their value to veterans and taxpayers alike, the costs of these benefit expansions can place significant additional strain on a VA budget that is already out of control.
This is why I am very happy to see that the veterans committees in both houses of Congress have compiled a “four corners” veterans package that not only likely pays for itself, but may actually reduce costs somewhat for taxpayers over time. The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act combines over 60 legislative proposals, including a number of veterans benefit expansions and VA operational improvements. What makes this grab-bag package of bills interesting is the fact that it is estimated to be fully paid for by Section 108 in the legislation, which would codify reductions in future disability ratings for tinnitus and sleep apnea. This section would reduce VA costs by an estimated $58 billion over the next ten years, making this bill an overall money-saver for taxpayers by returning around $1.5 billion to the Treasury by the end of the 10-year budget window. Originally proposed by the VA in 2022 during the Biden Administration, these two changes were likely to be implemented in the rulemaking process before the end of this Administration. Experts involved in the debate anticipated that, if these rules were indeed finalized, that they were unlikely to be reversed by a future administration as a result of a review of medical evidence. Effectively, this legislative provision allows the veterans committees in Congress to make use of the savings here to expand benefits in other areas, and not simply allow the savings to be used to pay down our federal debt or be returned to taxpayers.
As one would expect, this bill has caused a real split among VSOs and members of Congress. Some VSOs, like the influential American Legion, support it, as they believe that it represents the first real chance to pass large new benefits expansions in a long time with an offset that was likely to be implemented administratively anyway. Other VSOs are vehemently opposed, including the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). DAV claims that this offset will reduce disability benefits for 1.5 million veterans, reducing payments by $57 billion over the next 10 years. DAV, as well as some progressive organizations and left-wing politicians, call this offset a “poison pill,” and instead demand that Congress ignore or waive PAYGO rules and simply stick the massive bill for these veterans benefit expansions to the taxpayer. Government workers unions, including AFGE, are especially livid over the legislation, as it includes taxpayer-friendly provisions that would improve management of VA psychologists and other staff. However, this bill will likely attract enough bipartisan support to pass, as it includes a number of legislative provisions championed by members on both sides of the aisle.
One key provision included in this legislative package is the VetPAC Act. Sponsored by Senators Hirono (D-HI) and Cassidy (R-LA), this bill would create a 17 member panel of veterans and medical experts whose mission would be to independently review the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and periodically make recommendations for improvements to Congress. If implemented appropriately, this measure by itself could help calm down the simmering “internal VA vs outsourcing” fight over veterans medical care, while providing more bang for the taxpayer buck.
This overall legislative package, along with its creative offset, has created a conundrum of sorts for taxpayers. The veterans affairs committees have found a legitimate and appropriate offset for this large and expensive bill. Fiscally responsible groups, including Concerned Veterans for America, support it. However, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has not yet released a public score for the bill, and are concerned that any score it comes up with may underestimate the cost of these large benefits expansions. On top of all that, a few administrative changes by a future administration could unwind the offsets included here, saddling taxpayers with the future bill. As a result, at least until the CBO publishes a score that shows savings in the 10 year budget window, taxpayers should consider staying neutral on the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act.
Chairmen Bost and Moran, their staff, and members of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees deserve praise for pulling off an important feat with this package: a veterans benefit expansion package that pays for itself. While taxpayers should stay on the sidelines for now, I do hope that the future CBO score is strong enough to allow us to support the measure down the road.