Disability Assistance Chairman Luttrell Holds Second Hearing on Modernizing VA Disability Compensation Benefits Structure for Veterans

Disability Assistance Chairman Luttrell Holds Second Hearing on Modernizing VA Disability Compensation Benefits Structure for Veterans

Today, Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas), the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, delivered the following opening remarks, as prepared, at the start of the subcommittee's oversight hearing to examine the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VARSD) to discuss modernizing the system to effectively serve today and tomorrow's veterans based on current medical evidence. Although the rating schedule was created in 1945 and parts of it have been updated, the overall framework remains the same - making it difficult for veterans to be evaluated for disabilities based on current medical evidence. This hearing is the second hearing the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs has held this Congress on VA's modernization efforts specific to disability compensation benefits.

The Chair may declare a recess at any time.

The subcommittee hearing will come to order.

Good afternoon.

Thank you to our witnesses for being here today.

This afternoon, the Subcommittee is examining the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities, otherwise known as the VASRD, and the Department's efforts to modernize this system.

The VASRD is the scale that determines how a veteran's service-connected conditions are evaluated which then determines a veteran's eligibility for benefits, overall disability rating, and ultimately the amount of tax-free money they receive each month.

While the VASRD is incredibly overcomplicated, it is important to step back and know that the schedule affects real lives.

It allows VA to deliver compensation to veterans for their service-connected disabilities and ensure all veterans are evaluated at the same standard.

Congress created the VASRD with a clear purpose, to compensate veterans for the average impairment caused by their service-connected disabilities to their earning capacity.

The rating schedule was created in 1945. While parts of it have been updated over time, the overall framework remains unchanged.

In 2007, VA's Advisory Committee on Disability Compensation concluded that the rating schedule was outdated and recommended a full review of all 15 body systems.

VA formally began that effort in 2009, with a plan to complete the work by 2016.

Now ten years later VA has only completed a review of 11 body systems, out of the total 15.

According to testimony provided in a Senate hearing last year, VA has now extended its timeline into 2026.

Again, that is more than ten years beyond its original goal.

VA has made progress, but it has been inconsistent and far too slow.

The veterans of today deserve a system that evaluates their disabilities based on the medical evidence of today.

The respiratory, endocrine, musculoskeletal, and digestive systems have been updated in the past 10 years.

But several important systems remain unfinished.

The neurological, cardiovascular, and hematologic systems are still in various stages of review, despite many of these conditions being common and often complex.

Mental health remains the most concerning.

VA proposed updates to the mental health rating criteria in 2022, but those changes have not been finalized.

As a result, one of the most heavily relied upon portions of the rating schedule continues to operate under criteria that many believe no longer reflects modern, clinical understanding, or the full scope of functional impairment that veterans experience.

Just as important, VA has not undertaken a comprehensive review of the economic component of the rating schedule.

That component is supposed to connect medical findings to loss of earning capacity.

Without updating it, the system risks drifting further away from its statutory purpose of benefiting veterans.

This uneven modernization has real consequences on the veteran community and their families.

When rating criteria are outdated or inconsistent, examiners and raters are left to fill in the gaps.

That increases the likelihood that similar claims are handled differently.

Recent GAO reporting has highlighted inconsistent outcomes for similar conditions, outdated medical and occupational criteria, and quality review processes that are not strong enough to catch errors before they affect veterans.

Our veterans deserve better.

VA's current quality assurance approach relies on limited sampling that often fails to identify broader error trends.

Too often, problems are discovered only after decisions have already been issued, leading to rework, appeals, and additional delays.

Systems matter.

Standards matter.

Oversight matters.

And I want to close with this.

For veterans, the disability rating process is not an abstract policy exercise.

It is often the moment when they sit across from the system and ask for help - sometimes years after they left the military.

When that process feels outdated, inconsistent, or confusing, veterans do not just lose confidence in a form or a regulation.

They lose confidence that when they ask for help, we will be there.

Modernizing the rating schedule is not just about updating language or revising criteria.

It is about trust.

It is about ensuring that when a veteran raises their right hand and serves, the system they return to is worthy of that commitment.

As a Navy veteran, I take this topic seriously on behalf of my brothers and sisters in arms.

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today on this incredibly important issue.

With that, I yield to Ranking Member McGarvey.

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