Adjust eligibility for veterans’ disability compensation

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VA Services and Retirement

Narrow eligibility for veterans’ disability compensation

The GAO has identified a list of medical conditions that are likely not caused or aggravated by military service. CBO estimates that in 2015, VA paid 716,000 veterans a total of $3.7 billion to compensate for seven of these medical conditions. Most civilian employers do not cover employees for all medical problems that may have emerged during employment, and reducing or restricting disability compensation to those veterans whose injuries and conditions are related to service could save billions while still compensating those with service-related disabilities.

SAVINGS

$26 billion over 10 years

STATUS

LINKS

CBO: Options for Reducing the Deficit: 2017 to 2026 (pg. 59)

“If we are going to effectively tackle the long-term national security threat posed by our national debt, then we need to seriously examine how our defense dollars are being spent. Waste and inefficiency within the Pentagon not only contributes to our nation’s debt and deficit, it also diminishes the effectiveness of our nation’s armed forces."

Dan Caldwell, USMC (ret.)
Concerned Veterans for America

“I'm concerned that our increasing fractious political process, particularly with respect to federal spending, is threatening our ability to properly defend our nation both in the short term and especially in the long term."

Dan Coats
Director of National Intelligence

“This guide is a much-needed first step toward encouraging politicians to consider all available options for substantive Pentagon reform. Our troops deserve better than broken bureaucracy, and politicians shouldn't fool themselves into thinking that throwing money at the problem is the solution."

Capt. Dan Grazier, USMC (ret.)
Project on Government Oversight

Solutions

Pursuing Smart Tradeoffs