John Plahovinsak
On April 7, 2025, the House of Representatives passed five (5) veteran-related bills by voice vote. Several days later, two (2) other veteran-related bills were approved by the House.
These seven (7) bills are now forwarded to the U.S. Senate for their consideration and subsequent approval. This is the first step of many that must occur before legislation is enacted into law.
H.R. 586 Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act. This bipartisan bill would commission a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) study to investigate the prevalence of cholangiocarcinoma, a rare bile duct cancer, in veterans who served in the Vietnam theater of operations.
This study is the first in a series of steps necessary for the VA to consider policy changes that would prioritize care for veterans with potential liver fluke exposure.
H.R. 877 Deliver for Veterans Act. This bill would expand the authority of the VA Secretary to include delivery costs when paying the full purchase price of an automobile or other conveyance for certain disabled veterans or members of the Armed Forces.
During the previous 118th Congressional Session, this bill was introduced as H.R. 522 and passed by the House with 19 cosponsors. It was referred to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, where no action was taken.
H.R. 970 Fairness for Servicemembers and their Families Act of 2025. This bill requires the VA to periodically review and report on the maximum coverage available under the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) and Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) programs. The VA must review the coverage amount every five (5) years, taking into account the average percentage by which the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased in the preceding five (5) fiscal years.
H.R. 983 Veterans Education Transparency and Training (VETT) Act. The VETT Act would modify the approval process for certain courses of education for purposes of VA’s educational assistance benefits. The VETT Act would require the VA to establish and regularly update a website to serve as a central location for information about training for school certifying officials regarding VA educational benefits.
H.R. 983 Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves (MGIB-SR) Tuition Fairness Act of 2025. This bill would direct the VA Secretary to disapprove courses of education offered by a public institution of higher learning that does not charge the in-State tuition rate to a veteran using certain educational assistance. This bipartisan bill was previously introduced in the 118th Congressional Session as H.R. 7323 and passed. It was referred to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, where no action was taken.
H.R. 1039 Clear Communication for Veterans Claims Act. This bill would direct the VA Secretary to enter into an agreement with a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) for an assessment of notice letters that the Secretary sends to claimants for benefits under laws administered by the VA. The FFRDC would evaluate each notice letter and feasibly alter these notices to reduce paper and costs to government. The notices will be clearer to veteran claimants, better organized, and more concise.
H.R. 1228 Prioritizing Veterans’ Survivors Act. This bill mandates that the Office of Survivors Assistance (OSA) must operate within the Office of the VA Secretary. This bill ensures that OSA has direct access to the VA Secretary to fix policy and program-wide problems. Currently, OSA operates within the Pension and Fiduciary Service of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA).
My Opinion: While these seven (7) veterans-related bills have passed through the House and are awaiting Senate action, there are other bills that the House should act upon that already have generated significant support.
For example, the H.R. 2102, The Major Richard Star Act. Medically retired veterans are forbidden from receiving their full retirement pay, which they earned, and disability compensation. Enactment of this bipartisan Act would correct this unjust situation. H.R. 2102 already has 243 cosponsors in the House of Representatives for this legislation, and a Senate companion bill, S. 1032, already has 58 cosponsors to pass this needed legislation. During the last Congressional Session, this same bill had 326 cosponsors in the House of Representatives, but it was never voted upon.
Other proposed bills, which should be acted upon, are: H.R. 1732, Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding (GUARD) VA Benefits Act, which has 85 cosponsors in the House, including Ohio Representatives. This bill imposes fines on individuals for soliciting, contracting for, charging, or receiving any unauthorized fee or compensation with respect to the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of any claim for Department of Veterans Affairs benefits.
Both of these bills (H.R. 2102 and H.R. 1732) have been supported by the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and many other veteran service organizations.
Congress must pass these bills before it is to late to act for our veterans!
BioSketch: John Plahovinsak is a 32-year retired Army veteran, who served from 1967 to 1999. He is on the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of Ohio’s Legislative Committee and the Adjutant of DAV Chapter #63 (Clermont County). He can be contacted at: [email protected].
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