A major bill funding veterans benefits was pulled from House floor Thursday after a backlash against its cuts to coverage for sleep apnea and tinnitus. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
The U.S. House leadership on Thursday shelved a comprehensive veterans’ benefits bill after backlash to a provision changing the rating schedule for sleep apnea and tinnitus, two of the most common service-connected disabilities.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the surprise move to postpone a floor vote was made due to what he called “misinformation” about H.R. 9237, dubbed the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act.
“Our veterans affairs committee has done a great job engaging with veterans,” he told Punchbowl News. “There still remains, though, a lot of misinformation out there, so instead of putting the bill on the floor this afternoon, we’re going to delay it just a bit.
“We’re going to have several more weeks ahead of us before we get back here in September would be my guess when we process all this again.”
It marked the second time the bill was pulled from the House floor in two weeks and came after more heated debate over the measure on Thursday.
The sprawling bill includes some costly new veterans’ benefits supported by bipartisan majorities — such as the Major Richard Star Act, under which retired, combat-injured veterans would get their full Veterans Affairs disability compensation and retirement.
But it funds them by cutting elsewhere, including a measure eliminating the standalone 10% disability rating for tinnitus and tightening which veterans can qualify for compensation for sleep apnea.
The funding trade-off drew the fierce opposition of Democratic lawmakers and most of the major veterans’ organizations.
“This bill asks veterans themselves to pay the price for expanding benefits to others — a betrayal of the promise made when they raised their right hand,” said Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., the ranking member of the House veterans affairs committee.
“Cutting benefits for 1.5 million disabled veterans to fund other priorities would represent the largest betrayal of veterans in a single legislative act in modern history,” he said in a statement issued last week. “Changing the rating schedule for sleep apnea and tinnitus, two of the most common service-connected disabilities, will take funds directly out of veterans’ pockets.”
Takano said the GOP majority knows they will not be able to fund the Major Richard Star Act by “strip[ping] veterans of the benefits they earned. Caring for veterans is paying for the cost of war, and Republicans are not honoring the contract with this bill.”
