A comprehensive veterans legislative package would advance more than 20 standalone MOAA-supported bills, bringing reforms the association has championed in the 119th Congress (and previous sessions) on behalf of servicemembers, veterans, caregivers, survivors, and their families.

More than 60 provisions in the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (H.R. 9237/S. 4744) address veterans benefits, health care, education, transition assistance, caregiver support, and survivor benefits. Four of these provisions are longstanding priorities for MOAA:

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Major Richard Star Act

For years, MOAA has fought to end one of the most inequitable policies affecting veterans: the offset that forces many combat-injured servicemembers to forfeit a portion of their military retired pay because they receive VA disability compensation.

Most Chapter 61 medical retirees with fewer than 20 years of service cannot receive both benefits, even though military retired pay recognizes years of service while VA disability pay is intended to compensate veterans for service-connected injuries.

The package includes language that would provide meaningful relief for tens of thousands of combat-injured retirees by expanding concurrent receipt of these payments.

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Veteran Caregiver 3R Act

Family caregivers provide around-the-clock care for some of our nation's most severely wounded, injured, and ill veterans. In doing so, many put their careers on hold – leaving the workforce, sacrificing retirement savings, and facing financial uncertainty.

The Veteran Caregiver Reeducation, Reemployment, and Retirement (3R) Act recognizes those sacrifices by helping caregivers rebuild their financial futures once their caregiving responsibilities end. The legislation would establish education and job training opportunities, provide employment assistance, and help address retirement security for caregivers whose years outside the workforce often result in lasting economic consequences.

Supporting military and veteran caregivers has been one of MOAA's top legislative priorities. Caring for those who served should not come at the expense of a caregiver’s long-term financial stability.

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Love Lives On Act

Surviving spouses often face an impossible choice after losing a loved one in military service: Remarry and become ineligible for important survivor benefits, or remain unmarried to preserve the financial support their families depend upon.

The Love Lives On Act would eliminate penalties that affect surviving spouses who remarry before age 55, allowing families to move forward without sacrificing earned benefits. MOAA has long supported this legislation because no surviving spouse should have to choose between financial security and finding happiness again after enduring such tremendous loss.

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Justice for ALS Veterans Act

ALS is one of few diseases the VA presumes to be a service-connected condition for all qualifying veterans because of its well-established association with military service.

This bill would reduce eligibility requirements for enhanced Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) that fail to consider the short life expectancy of those diagnosed with ALS, providing surviving spouses with increased compensation.

Looking Ahead

MOAA’s backing of this package centers on these enduring priorities and the need to provide long-overdue relief for combat-injured retirees, strengthen support for family caregivers, eliminate outdated penalties affecting surviving spouses, and improve care for veterans living with ALS.

We will continue working with lawmakers and coalition partners to advance these reforms and ensure our nation's veterans, servicemembers, survivors, caregivers, and their families receive the benefits they have earned through service and sacrifice.

Pragmatic Approach to Support 

MOAA and 21 other veterans and military service organizations are backing this package, but not without reservations. In a joint letter of support sent to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs, the organizations were direct about the concern that legislating changes to the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) is not the standard path, and ideally, Congress would deliver these long-overdue reforms without drawing on future disability compensation as the funding source. 

But coalition members also made clear why they are backing the bill. Veterans, survivors, caregivers, and families have already waited across multiple Congresses and administrations for provisions with strong bipartisan support, and the practical choice facing lawmakers is whether to keep this process moving so those resources are reinvested in the veteran community or lose the opportunity to enact the package altogether.

The letter urges Congress to preserve key protections as it proceeds: no retroactive harm to veterans currently receiving compensation, prospective-only application to future claims, and full transparency from the VA and the administration about whether related regulatory changes will move forward independently of the bill.