Dear Senators and Representatives:

The undersigned veterans and military service organizations write in opposition to the Take Care of America's Veterans Act (TCAVA, H.R. 9237 / S. 4744) as currently written. Section 108 must be removed before this bill can be considered on its merits. As drafted, we insist on a no vote.

We do not come to you in opposition to this bill's purpose. TCAVA contains numerous provisions our community has long supported, including the Major Richard Star Act, the Love Lives On Act, and the Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Support Act. We want to see those measures become law, but TCAVA pays for them with a permanent price. Section 108 would, for the first time, write the reduction of a service-connected disability rating directly into law to fund other spending. That is a dangerous precedent, not a budget line. If it stands, any rating, for any condition, can be cut whenever Washington needs an offset.

By the bill's own terms, these revisions would apply to claims filed after the date of enactment. This means the veterans covering the tab of TCAVA are Post-9/11 servicemembers and veterans: a Marine who just returned from a deployment, still working through the after-effects of blast exposure; a recently separated Navy veteran gasping for breath in her sleep who has not yet filed a claim; an Army Reservist whose symptoms have not yet surfaced.

These are examples of the estimated 1.5 million veterans who would be denied up to $57 billion over ten years in earned benefits. This is not savings measured against waste. It is savings measured against veterans who have not yet had the chance to claim them.

We recognize the fiscal pressures that shape every piece of legislation. But the cost of this bill should not be paid by the youngest and most recently wounded among us, many of whom are still serving. A promise made to one generation of veterans cannot be honored by breaking it for the next.

We therefore ask Congress to strike Section 108 in its entirety so that the rest of the legislation can be considered on its merits. We stand ready to work with members of both parties to find offsets that do not come at the expense of those who have borne the battle.

Our organizations have spent decades holding the line on the principle that benefits earned through service are not a ledger entry to be balanced against. We ask you to hold it with us now.

Respectfully,

Black Veterans Project

CommonDefense.us

Hispanic Veterans Leadership Alliance

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM Union)

Iraq and Afghanistan of America

Minority Veterans of America

National Security Leaders for America

Swords to Plowshares

The Chamberlain Network

Union Veterans Council

Unite for Veterans Coalition

Veterans for Common Sense

Veterans for Responsible Leadership

Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute

50501 Veterans