{"id":79578,"date":"2025-10-30T18:43:29","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T18:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/10\/30\/gop-senator-proposes-commission-to-study-va-disability-ratings-system\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T20:44:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:44:57","slug":"gop-senator-proposes-commission-to-study-va-disability-ratings-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2025\/10\/30\/gop-senator-proposes-commission-to-study-va-disability-ratings-system\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP senator proposes commission to study VA disability ratings system"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the wake of a Washington Post investigation into fraud within the Veterans Affairs disability system and watchdog recommendations that the VA modernize its ratings schedule, a Republican senator has suggested creating a commission to review the VA\u2019s disability compensation program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday in Washington, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., questioned whether the Veterans Benefits Administration \u2014 the VA arm that manages disability compensation, pensions, education and employment benefits \u2014 needs subject matter experts to examine the claims processes and recommend improvements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Tuberville, the panel would be similar to the VA\u2019s Commission on Care, which reviewed the VA\u2019s health care system in the mid-2010s and made recommendations on veterans\u2019 medical services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The VA also had an Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission that reviewed the VA hospital system in the early 2020s and made recommendations to modernize it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those efforts resulted in mixed success, with some recommendations adopted, such as consolidating the VA\u2019s community care programs, and expanding access to urgent care and emergency care. But others, including the AIR Commission\u2019s recommendations to realign or close dozens of medical centers and clinics, were blocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2025\/10\/24\/judges-reject-va-secretarys-request-to-pause-veterans-claims-appeals\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP25237735869579.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Judges reject VA secretary\u2019s request to pause veterans\u2019 claims appeals<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Secretary Collins asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to stop its work during the government shutdown. Judges called the request &quot;extreme.&quot;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Government Accountability Office has recommended the VA improve management of compensation programs and update its disability ratings schedule. It has put VBA on its \u201chigh risk\u201d list for \u201csignificant waste mismanagement\u201d and needs broad transformation, Elizabeth Curda, GAO\u2019s acting director of health care, said during the hearing Wednesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A commission to address these concerns may not be the right approach, said Ryan Galluci, executive director of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Washington Office. Galluci said veterans service organizations generally have welcomed commission reviews but will object to any recommendations they see as reductions to VA services or facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI get nervous about the prospect of a commission,\u201d Galluci said. \u201cI remember with the AIR Commission \u2026 it couldn\u2019t make it past the first marker and now we are seeing the repercussions of that. \u2026 I would argue that a forum like this is certainly a good start to have these discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Washington Post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/investigations\/interactive\/2025\/veterans-affairs-fraud-fake-disability-cases\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/investigations\/interactive\/2025\/veterans-affairs-fraud-fake-disability-cases\/\">recently published several articles showcasing veterans who have abused the VA disability compensation system<\/a>, saying the $193 billion program is a target for fraud, including veterans who fake injuries or illnesses for money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Post cited VA\u2019s own Office of Inspector General reports and Freedom of Information Act documents that showed veterans who claimed to be paralyzed for years could walk or feigned blindness to collect, at least in one case, nearly $400,000 in VA disability payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nearly universally at the hearing, witnesses and lawmakers panned the reports, calling them \u201charmful\u201d and \u201cshaming,\u201d blaming veterans for the actions of outliers and not addressing the system itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe articles fail to understand or capture the purpose of [disability compensation]. Instead, they cherry pick anecdotes to wrongly claim that disability benefits system is fraught with widespread fraud,\u201d said Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the committee\u2019s ranking Democrat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blumenthal conceded that fraud does occur but said that the system should not be abandoned as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Retired Army Lt. Col. Daniel Gade, a West Point graduate and Iraq War veteran, was a lone voice in the room, criticizing the system which he said incentivizes veterans to increase their disability ratings and discourages them from working or taking steps to improve their health by complying with treatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gade said the current system \u201crobs veterans of purpose and dignity, trapping them in idleness and despair.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis system is anti-thriving, anti-productivity and ultimately, anti-veteran. Further, it discourages future generations serving by painting veterans as a troubled problem class,\u201d said Gade, who once served as Virginia\u2019s Veterans Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to VA Inspector General Cheryl Mason, 3.7% of fraud cases investigated by her office involve those perpetrated by veterans and the largest percentage of fraud investigated by the OIG is \u201cagainst VA and veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The veterans services organization that testified had several solutions for fixing the system and ensuring that veterans receive appropriate compensation. Jeremy Villanueva, associate legislative director for Paralyzed Veterans of America, said the department needed to improve oversight of compensation and pension exams done by contractors and conduct more thorough reviews of claims paperwork submitted by veterans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jon Retzer, assistant national legislative director at Disabled American Veterans, said the VA must resource its claims department and optimize technology to streamline the application and approval process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gade recommended an overhaul of a system that gives ratings for illnesses such as hypertension \u2014 \u201cforgive the expression, old, fat people\u201d conditions, he said \u2014 requiring veterans receive mental health treatment if they get disability compensation for a mental health disorder and providing VA medical care for all service-connected conditions without tying them to disability ratings, \u201cremoving an incentive for false claims.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tuberville did not say whether he will propose legislation to create a commission. Mason said the idea would be \u201cvery well placed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think it is needed to look at the VBA process like it\u2019s supposed to do at VHA,\u201d Mason said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Committee Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, promised more on the topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is not the first and will not be the last conversation we have in exploring how to better serve veterans and improve the disability system,\u201d Moran said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At a Senate hearing, Sen. Tommy Tuberville questioned whether the VBA needs subject matter experts to examine claims processes and recommend improvements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":108932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":21,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,16,26,65,21],"tags":[8479,8488,8465],"coauthors":[3120],"class_list":["post-79578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans","tag-va","tag-va-disability","tag-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"6677EYHJ4FCRNHK6FSVTSVBRRE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2025\/10\/30\/gop-senator-proposes-commission-to-study-va-disability-ratings-system\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>GOP senator proposes commission to study VA disability ratings system - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At a Senate hearing, Sen. 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