Gallego Backs Bills to Support Arizona Veterans, Service Members, and Military Families
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ahead of Veterans Day, Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-03), a Marine Corps combat veteran and leader on the House Armed Service Committee, announced his support for additional legislation to improve the lives of Arizona veterans, service members, and their families.
“As a veteran, I know how hard it can be to navigate the federal system to get the benefits our service members have earned. Supporting Arizona veterans has been one of my top priorities in Congress, and this Veterans Day, I’m proud to continue those efforts by supporting these commonsense, bipartisan bills,” said Rep. Gallego.
Today, Rep. Gallego is announcing this support for:
- The Caring for Survivors Act to increase monthly benefits rates for surviving spouses of disabled veterans and reduce the number of years a veteran must be rated totally disabled for their spouse to qualify.
- The Love Lives on Act to expand dependency and indemnity compensation to surviving spouses who remarry, continue eligibility for the Survivor Benefit Plan for certain surviving spouses who remarry, and provide commissary and exchange privileges to surviving spouses, regardless of marital status.
- The Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act to extend healthcare coverage to adult children of TRICARE beneficiaries up to age 26, with no additional premiums, bringing TRICARE in-line with private insurance plans.
- Current TRICARE coverage ends at 21 years old for adult dependents, or 23 for full-time students.
- Current TRICARE coverage ends at 21 years old for adult dependents, or 23 for full-time students.
- The VA Loan Informed Disclosure (VALID) Act to update the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s "Informed Consumer Choice Disclosure Notice” to ensure that VA home loan options are listed in a side-by-side comparison with conventional loans and loans through the Federal Housing Administration.
Rep. Gallego also previously introduced the bipartisan Restore Veterans’ Compensation Act with Rep. Gus Bilirakis (FL-12). The legislation protects veterans who receive disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from having their separation pay unfairly recouped.
Earlier this week, Rep. Gallego led a bipartisan group of his colleagues in calling on Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to explain what the Department is doing to reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury (TBI) – serious injuries that can affect service members and veterans throughout their life.
Last month, Rep. Gallego held a one-on-one call with VA Secretary Denis McDonough to discuss the VA’s plans to improve health care access for Arizona veterans. The call came after he sent a letter to the Secretary regarding recent reports that the VA is struggling to hire and retain veteran claims processors, negatively impacting the implementation of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins (PACT) Act of 2022.
In September, Rep. Gallego joined 31 of his colleagues, including Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, in urging the VA to enforce all existing protections for veterans filing initial claims for disability benefits and requesting information about the additional tools they need to hold bad actors accountable for scamming veterans. He also backs the GUARD VA Benefits Act to penalize unaccredited entities for charging unauthorized fees for “helping” a veteran file a disability claim.