Weekly Column: Veterans Day--Honoring Veterans Through Action

As a country deeply grateful for American servicemembers, our responsibility remains clear: ensure veterans programs respect veterans’ service. This Veterans Day, as we honor Idaho Veterans and thank them for their service to our country and communities, we consider the progress being made to advance needed federal policy changes to improve benefits and services for veterans. In August, the Trump Administration’s U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) shared some of its progress in improving health care choice, accessibility and quality while boosting enrollment for veterans: The Boise VA Medical Center schedules an average of 206 after-hours appointment slots per week across specialty, primary care and mental health clinics--providing Idaho Veterans with more timely and convenient options beyond the traditional workday; During Fiscal Year 2025, the Boise Veterans Affairs Health Care System permanently housed 123 veterans, exceeding its goal; and As of July 18, 2026, there were 3,915 pending disability benefits claims for veterans or survivors living in Idaho, of which 483 (12.3 percent) were in backlog (pending over 125 days). This is a significant decrease from January 20, 2025, when there were 6,227 pending disability benefits claims, of which 1,565 (25.1 percent) were in backlog. Congress also enacted legislation this year to make certain veterans’ service-related disability compensation does not prevent veterans from qualifying for needed housing assistance. At the beginning of the year, President Trump signed my Disabled Veterans Housing Support Act into law, permanently removing service-connected disability compensation from counting against a veteran’s income eligibility for the Community Development Block Grant program. Later, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law on July 11, 2026, with the Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act as one of its provisions. This legislation, which I co-sponsored, similarly excludes veterans’ disability payments from annual income for housing assistance eligibility under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program. The pending Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes components of the Bring Our Heroes Home Act I introduced to eliminate obstacles preventing families and caseworkers from accessing the records needed for recovering America’s prisoners of war and missing in action. Additionally, Congress is considering the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (TCAVA), a comprehensive, veteran-focused omnibus package that includes the Major Richard Star Act. This marks momentum in the years-long effort to correct an inequity affecting thousands of combat-injured veterans medically retired from military service. The Major Richard Star Act would allow medically retired veterans with combat-related disabilities to receive both their full military retirement pay and their VA disability compensation. Under current law, only veterans with disability ratings 50 percent or higher and more than 20 years of service are eligible to receive the full amount of their U.S. Department of War retirement and VA disability payments, leaving behind more than 50,000 combat-injured military retirees. With the Major Richard Star Act as its centerpiece, TCAVA represents the largest expansion of veteran health care and benefits in over a decade and includes more than 60 bipartisan, bicameral bills to support veterans, servicemembers, survivors, caregivers, military families and VA staff. This legislation also includes another bill I am leading with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), the End Veterans Overdose Act to allow veterans and their caregivers to obtain lifesaving opioid overdose reversal medications, such as naloxone, at no cost from VA pharmacies without first needing a prescription. Enactment of this measure will help expand access to critical overdose prevention resources and battle the ongoing substance use crisis among our nation’s veterans by removing barriers to life-saving overdose reversal agents. As Americans, we are born free because of the servicemembers willing to back our extraordinary Constitution with their lives. Thank you, Idaho Veterans, for your steadfast service. I will continue to work steadily to ensure veterans receive the best care and support possible. # # #