Veterans

The men and women who wear the uniform of this country deserve not only our deepest respect, but also our unstinting support. They have earned it. Congressman Rahall is dedicated to making sure our men and women in the military, as well as our veterans, receive not only the top-quality health care they deserve, but also the support and services they and their families need as they transition from combat to civilian life.

Rahall has a long history of fighting to see that our veterans have the access to the highest quality and most affordable health care that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) can provide. He has rallied his colleagues in Congress to fight cuts to veterans funding that have been proposed through the years. He is an outspoken proponent of mandatory funding for the VA and a cosponsor of the Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care Act, which aims to take the health care of our Nation’s heroes off of the budgetary chopping block.

Along with fighting for increased mandatory funding for the VA, Rahall has supported legislation to institute an automatic cost-of-living increase for veterans with service-connected disabilities; increase veteran vision benefits; provide outpatient medical care for wounded service members; improve housing assistance for disabled service members; and extend eligibility for health care for those who served in combat during the Persian Gulf War and future hostilities.

Congressman Rahall continues to work to see that legislation that would extend the statue of limitations in delays for the disability determination process that causes disabled veterans from collecting refund money that is due. He is also working to advance a proposal to express that military retiree pay should not be reduced just because a military retiree is also eligible for veterans disability compensation awarded for a service-connected disability.

He is an original co-sponsor of the Military and Family Medical Leave Act, which allows a family member up to 26 workweeks of leave during a 12-month period to care for an injured service member and the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, to reduce the number of suicides among veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Rahall has also co-sponsored legislation that would allow veterans with service-connected disabilities of less than 50 percent to claim both retired pay and disability compensation, and a legislative extension of the GI Bill.

Congressman Rahall’s work also includes two pieces of legislation that would extend veterans benefits to veterans who served in times of war, such as periods in Korea, Cambodia, and Panama, but are not eligible for certain benefits. He believes that the sacrifice made by these young men and women should be equal with the compensation awarded.