King, Colleagues Reject Proposed Cuts to Veterans’ Disability Benefits

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), member of the Senate Veterans'Affairs Committee (SVAC), is opposing potential cuts to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits for disabled veterans who suffer from sleep apnea and tinnitus, as proposed by a draft VA rule and the Take Care of America's Veterans Act. In a letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins, King and several of his colleagues condemn the proposed reductions to benefits for veterans suffering from sleep apnea and tinnitus, which would impact benefits for more than one million veterans. While the Take Care of America's Veterans Act would address several key needs of America's veteran population, it would do so by using funds that currently help those suffering from tinnitus and sleep apnea - which are two of the most significant health problems facing America's men and women who served.

"We write in strong opposition to a proposed reduction in benefits for more than one million veterans suffering from sleep apnea and tinnitus outlined in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) draft rule entitled "Schedule for Rating Disabilities--Ear, Nose, Throat, and Audiology Disabilities; Special Provisions Regarding Evaluation of Respiratory Conditions; Respiratory System" (RIN: 2900-AQ72)," wrote the Senators. "We urge you to listen to the growing opposition from veterans and publicly commit to addressing their concerns."

The Senators continued, "Along with the draft rule, we are equally opposed to the Take Care of America's Veterans Act because it codifies the same harmful reductions in benefits for veterans with tinnitus and sleep apnea benefits. By writing these cuts into statute, the legislation would permanently implement the very policies that veterans, medical experts, and veterans service organizations have overwhelmingly opposed. Whether implemented through regulation or enacted by Congress, these cuts would strip disabled veterans of earned compensation and health care benefits - they should be rejected outright."

"At your confirmation hearing last year, you pledged, "We're not going to balance budgets on the back of veterans' benefits." We urge you to honor that commitment by abandoning these proposals and to further reject any legislation that would permanently cut off these benefits to veterans. We look forward to working with you to ensure our nation's veterans receive the care and benefits they deserve," the Senators concluded.

Joining King on the letter are U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John W. Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Timothy Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacklyn Rosen (D-NV), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Several leading veterans' groups have also come out in strong opposition to the Take Care of America's Veterans Act, including Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), theUnion Veterans Council/AFL-CIO, VoteVets, and Common Defense.

Representing one of the states with the highest rates of military families and veterans per capita, Senator King is a staunch advocate for America's servicemembers and veterans. In March, Senator King was honored by The American Legion with its 2026 Distinguished Public Service Award. Last year, Senator King was honored by the Disabled American Veterans as its 2025 Legislator of the Year. He was also recognized by the Wounded Warrior Project as the 2024 Legislator of the Year for his "outstanding legislative effort and achievement to improve the lives of the wounded, ill, and injured veterans."

On the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee (SVAC), he works to ensure American veterans receive their earned benefits and that the VA is properly implementing various programs. Last year, he introduced the VA Claim Sharks Effective Warnings Act that would protect veterans from unaccredited claims representatives seeking to defraud them of their benefits. Earlier this year, he introduced the TAP Promotion Act which would allow accredited representatives from Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs), or other organizations, to participate in Transition Assistance Program (TAP) classes to help transitioning servicemembers file Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) claims. Additionally, he introduced the Ensuring Benefits for Disabled Veterans Act, which would address an unfair rule in federal law that creates unnecessary delays when veterans with service-connected disabilities attempt to access earned education and employment benefits.

The full text can be found here and below.

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Dear Secretary Collins,

We write in strong opposition to a proposed reduction in benefits for more than one million veterans suffering from sleep apnea and tinnitus outlined in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) draft rule entitled "Schedule for Rating Disabilities--Ear, Nose, Throat, and Audiology Disabilities; Special Provisions Regarding Evaluation of Respiratory Conditions; Respiratory System" (RIN: 2900-AQ72). We urge you to listen to the growing opposition from veterans and publicly commit to addressing their concerns.

We laud your decision earlier this year to rescind an interim final rule after it faced significant backlash from the veterans' community. At the time you stated, "Veterans spoke, and [VA] listened." We ask that you again heed concerns from the medical and veterans' communities about the benefits they receive to address tinnitus and sleep apnea. VA must make clear it will not punish veterans seeking effective sleep apnea treatments or deny veterans with service-connected tinnitus the benefits and health care they have earned.

Tinnitus is the most common service-connected disability recognized by VA, with an estimated 3.6 million veterans receiving benefits for this condition. The most controversial proposal in the draft rule would eliminate tinnitus as a stand-alone disability - instead requiring veterans to be service connected for an underlying pathology related to hearing loss. According to the draft rule's regulatory impact analysis, more than 60 percent of veterans who submit claims for tinnitus-related benefits are not service connected for an underlying pathology. Those veterans would no longer qualify for life-saving VA health care and benefits. In total, VA's analysis concluded that nearly one million veterans would have their monthly disability compensation reduced by the change.

Our urgent concern is validated by the American Tinnitus Association's comments to the draft rule that "tinnitus often occurs independently of any other health condition." The American Tinnitus Association made clear that medical research, including VA-commissioned studies, confirms the debilitating effects of tinnitus and the need for it to remain a stand-alone disability. It warned that removing the stand-alone disability would also hinder research to improve tinnitus treatments and efforts to find a cure. Also important, the American Legion in its comments categorized the change as problematic because it conflicts with several "court decisions that recognize tinnitus as a stand-alone condition."

Sleep Apnea is a breathing disorder that involves a decrease or complete halt in airflow despite an ongoing effort to breathe. More than 763,000 veterans receive VA benefits for service-connected sleep apnea. The draft rule would reduce the level of compensation veterans receive for their service-connected sleep apnea to zero. This change is similar to a recent interim final rule you rescinded after the veterans' community made the case against reducing ratings for veterans who comply with their doctors' orders. Veterans service organizations have made clear that veterans who use effective medical devices should not have their disability compensation lowered. In its comments on VA's draft rule, Disabled American Veterans argued that using effective medication does not eliminate the underlying conditions' impact on veterans' earning potential, which is the basis for VA's schedule for rating disabilities. Medications help improve function and mask symptoms, but they do not eliminate the impact of living with a disability.

Along with the draft rule, we are equally opposed to the Take Care of America's Veterans Act because it codifies the same harmful reductions in benefits for veterans with tinnitus and sleep apnea benefits. By writing these cuts into statute, the legislation would permanently implement the very policies that veterans, medical experts, and veterans service organizations have overwhelmingly opposed. Whether implemented through regulation or enacted by Congress, these cuts would strip disabled veterans of earned compensation and health care benefits - they should be rejected outright.

At your confirmation hearing last year, you pledged, "We're not going to balance budgets on the back of veterans' benefits." We urge you to honor that commitment by abandoning these proposals and to further reject any legislation that would permanently cut off these benefits to veterans. We look forward to working with you to ensure our nation's veterans receive the care and benefits they deserve.

Sincerely,

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