Veterans need and deserve an electronic health records system built in the 21st century. This system should improve communication and coordination among health care providers to ensure better care. Whether it’s a primary care physician, a specialist or a mental health counselor, all members of the health care team need access to read and update a veteran’s records in real-time.

Despite billions of dollars pledged and already spent to overhaul the system, the majority of veterans’ health records are still stuck in an antiquated system.

In 2017, Congress allocated $16 billion to build and implement a modern electronic health records system across the Department of Veterans Affairs’ vast structure of 170 medical centers. The stated goal remains to replace the VA’s outdated, expensive system with a technologically advanced system that can directly and seamlessly interact with the Defense Department’s worldwide system.

The VA has been working to implement the new system for seven years, but it is only operational in six of the VA’s 170 medical centers. At the same time, the DOD now has its new health records system fully deployed worldwide.

Once this crucial project is complete, veterans’ health records can be securely stored and accessed on one platform from the day they enter a military entrance processing station through the entirety of their military service and transition into veteran status. Every medical record can be stored and accessed in the same way no matter where in the world they find themselves. For babies born in military hospitals, this could include records from cradle to grave.

The VA has spun its wheels for seven expensive years, trying to modernize and catch up to DOD. Until that happens, these two systems cannot “talk” to each other. A communications crater continues to exist.

The overly cautious delays must end. Aggressive, focused deployments are needed by regional systems rather than just by individual medical centers. The VA’s 170 medical centers are organized into 18 regional systems, known as VISNs. Each VISN has its own director and executive staff overseeing about 10 VA medical centers. Deploying to a full VISN would more than double what it has been able to do so far.

The DOD’s worldwide rollout of its electronic health records system was also phased, but it was much more aggressive in scope, putting the system online across Europe in one phase.

Now, election-year political theater could threaten further delay or even the unthinkable: abandoning this necessary project altogether. Lawmakers are understandably frustrated by the lack of progress and apprehensive to continue appropriating tax dollars. AMVETS appreciates that the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees take seriously their duty to provide oversight and ensure tax dollars are put to good use.

AMVETS urges lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle to demand progress and an aggressive rollout in the immediate future and to visit the sites themselves as implementation takes place.

But political speeches and threats of pulling the proverbial plug are counterproductive. Every lawmaker in both congressional chambers must share the nonpartisan position that this system must be successfully brought online systemwide.

Failure cannot be an option.

The vast majority of VA’s 9.1 million patients are still in the dangerously outdated 46-year-old Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture system (VistA). VistA costs about a billion dollars a year to maintain. It isn’t nearly as stable as it needs to be to safely house such important, sensitive records.

The Pentagon is rightfully proud of the DOD’s modern health records system, MHS Genesis, which was deployed over the past seven years with much fewer issues. The VA needs to work even closer with the DOD to make this happen as soon as possible.

Until the new system is running nationwide, we veterans remain stuck with uncertainty and dysfunction.

As the national executive director of AMVETS, one of the nation’s largest and most inclusive congressionally chartered veterans service organizations, I strongly encourage the VA to build upon its recent successes and move urgently to implement an aggressive deployment schedule to bring a modern electronic health records system to all veterans.

Through a resolution passed by AMVETS’ membership at its national convention in August, AMVETS formally urges Congress to ensure the VA is leading and taking swift action to implement a modern electronic health records system for veterans.

History affords few moments to change the dynamics of a situation. Now is that time. We must do better for veterans and their families.

Joe Chenelly is the national executive director of AMVETS, a Marine Corps combat veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and a former Military Times staff writer. Find him on X at @jchenelly.

With only one month until Election Day, the group transitioned from recruiting election workers to trying to inform the U.S. population that veterans will make up a large swath of the volunteers at election sites this November. During a time when misinformation is eroding trust in U.S. elections, the group believes veterans are the key to quashing skepticism and restoring confidence.

About one out of every 10 election workers in November will be a veteran or a family member of a veteran, according to We the Veterans.

“Many of our poll workers for this current election are actually from the veteran and military community family. We are a very trusted population of Americans,” said Julie Hendricks, director of operations for Vet the Vote. “The big push from now on is making sure that as many Americans as possible know that this group of trusted individuals are there to make your vote count when you head to your local jurisdiction.”

Between 800,000 and 1 million temporary workers will be needed to staff polling locations across the country this November, said Thomas Hicks, chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Those workers welcome and check in voters, issue ballots and explain how to use voting equipment.

Vet the Vote tackles election misinformation with Super Bowl launch

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission acts as an independent agency that supports state and local officials to administer elections. The agency partnered with Vet the Vote to help boost the nation’s confidence in the November election.

“There’s been so much negativity about elections and the way that they’re run, and it should be noted that the people who are doing this are our neighbors,” Hicks said. “They’re the folks that are part of the PTA, people you’re seeing at church, and so forth. If you go into a polling place, you’re likely to know these folks. Know that they’re doing their best to serve the country and serve you.”

We the Veterans brought on other partners to help spread their message, including NASCAR, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, Microsoft and Walmart.

The group traveled across the country this year, hosting events to teach communities about the election process and recruit poll workers. We the Veterans worked with secretaries of state in New Hampshire, Montana, Rhode Island, Vermont and Michigan to host those events, Hendricks said.

“It’s really important that we were able to partner with the people in charge of elections in those states to show communities that elections are local,” she said. “Although we count numbers nationally and talk about poll workers nationally, this is hyperlocal and state regulated. Not everybody understands that.”

The group is holding another event in Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday as a “thank you” to those veterans and military family members who are volunteering. Attendees will be able to talk to Florida and Georgia election officials and interact with ballot equipment to learn more about the voting process in those states.

This story was produced in partnership with Military Veterans in Journalism. Please send tips to MVJ-Tips@militarytimes.com.

The website was one of nearly two dozen flagged in a recent report by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a research group focusing on foreign policy and national security. The group warned that Iranian operatives were trying to pass off the sites as legitimate news outlets and use the content to cast doubt on America’s democratic process.

In addition to veterans, the sites target various minority groups, including Black, Spanish-speaking and Muslim voters, FDD reported.

“Not Our War” posts articles that disparage U.S. military operations overseas and criticize both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Many of its posts are written in a way to elicit strong reactions from veterans, and its homepage includes a tab labeled “Veterans,” said Max Lesser, a senior analyst on emerging threats at FDD.

“The broader aim of the website is to discredit US military actions across the board, but then there is another focus, which is targeting veterans,” Lesser said.

Disinformation creates ‘precarious year for democracy,’ experts warn

The cybersecurity company Mandiant warned of the same website during a briefing about election interference given to members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission earlier this year. The company, a subsidiary of Google, said the site praised the Iranian government and prominent pro-Iran political figures, denigrated the Israeli government, criticized U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and posted about divisive issues in the U.S., including the upcoming presidential election.

Experts have warned for months that U.S. adversaries — such as China, Russia and Iran — would target American voters with disinformation leading up to the election. Some of the messaging meant to sow division is reaching veterans by preying on their sense of duty to the U.S., some experts warned.

A 2017 study from Oxford University found Russian operatives disseminated “junk news” to veterans and service members during the 2016 presidential election. In 2020, Vietnam Veterans of America warned that foreign adversaries were aiming disinformation at veterans and service members at a massive scale, posing a national security threat.

“Conspiracy theories are a threat to vulnerable veterans, and they could drag your loved ones into really dark and dangerous places,” Jacob Ware, a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Military Times in May.

Microsoft reported in August that Iran had begun an election-interference campaign in the United States by setting up four websites that masqueraded propaganda as news. FDD used Microsoft’s findings to uncover other websites using the same web-hosting servers, it said.

Russian election interference scheme targeted US military competency

FDD released its report quickly after finding the other websites in an attempt to warn people they were fake before one of the posts gained significant traction online, Lesser said.

“We’re exposing it left of boom, before this network goes viral,” Lesser said. “That’s a note of optimism.”

Targeting veterans with disinformation isn’t a new tactic for Iran. Vlad Barash, a scientist at the social media research company Graphika, testified to Congress in 2019 that both Russia and Iran were trying to exploit veterans’ frustrations with the U.S. government by promoting the narrative that democracy was broken. At the time, Barash said such attacks “show no signs of stopping.”

In its report, FDD recommended the U.S. government sanction and indict the operatives running the websites. It also urged social media companies to monitor and block the domains. The FBI declined to comment Monday when asked whether it was investigating the websites.

Despite the room for improvement, Lesser said America’s response to election-interference campaigns has come a long way since 2016. He cited an increase in researchers uncovering disinformation attacks, as well as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s regular warnings about election interference and efforts by the Justice Department to seize websites spreading propaganda.

“Yes, foreign adversaries are still launching operations targeting our elections,” Lesser said. “But I think as a society, we have become markedly more resilient in terms of exposing these operations and taking action against some of the operators.”

This story was produced in partnership with Military Veterans in Journalism. Please send tips to MVJ-Tips@militarytimes.com.

Pentagon officials have said more than 100 U.S. troops were diagnosed with brain injuries following a missile attack at the Ain al-Asad base in Iraq in January 2020. The assault came in response to the American killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq a few days earlier.

While the missiles did not directly strike any U.S. forces, the barrage of strikes caused dizziness, sensitivity to light, nausea and other traumatic brain injury symptoms in dozens of troops stationed there, Defense Department officials said. In some cases, the effects lasted for weeks or months, and multiple troops had to be evacuated to Germany for medical treatment.

Most casualties from recent attacks in Middle East are brain injuries

On Tuesday, when asked by a reporter if he wished he had been tougher on Iran, given the severity of the injuries incurred in that attack, Trump downplayed the result.

“What does ‘injured’ mean?” he said. “You mean because they had a headache? Because the bombs never hit the fort…”

“None of those very accurate missiles hit our fort. They all hit outside. There was nobody hurt, other than the sound was loud. Some people said that hurt, and I accept that.”

Nearly 80 troops received Purple Hearts for injuries related to the attack, most connected to traumatic brain injury. An inspector general report released in November 2021 hinted the number of injuries may have been even higher, because military officials did not properly document all of the troops’ health issues.

Trump’s comments drew immediate criticism from Democratic Party officials and prompted condemnation from Gov. Tim Walz during the vice presidential debate on Tuesday night.

Trump also claimed at the event that “there was nobody ever tougher” towards Iran than him. Walz, who served 24 years in the Army National Guard, disputed that at the debate in New York a few hours later.

“Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than they were before because of Donald Trump’s fickle leadership,” Walz said. “And when Iranian missiles did fall near U.S. troops and they received traumatic brain injuries. Donald Trump wrote it off as ‘headaches.’”

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate and a Marine Corps veteran, did not directly address the military injuries in his comments but blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — the Democratic nominee for president — for weak policies toward Iranian aggression.

Trump has previously downplayed the severity of the Iranian missile attack against U.S. military forces. In the days following the attack, while he was still president, Trump called the injuries “not very serious” and labeled the damage caused as “minimal.”

The records intrusions were first reported by the Washington Post. In a statement, VA press secretary Terrence Hayes said the matter was referred to Justice Department investigators as soon as VA leaders were made aware of the issue.

“We take the privacy of the veterans we serve very seriously and have strict policies in place to protect their records,” he said. “Any attempt to improperly access veteran records by VA personnel is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

Neither campaign has made any public comments on the matter. The Washington Post reported the records involved included medical files but not disability or other benefits information.

Here are all the veterans running for Congress in 2024

Walz, the current Democratic governor of Minnesota, served for 24 years in the Army National Guard. Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, served in the Marine Corps for four years.

Both men have talked about their interactions with veterans services and benefits while on the campaign trail. Vance has publicly acknowledged that he used VA health care after leaving the active-duty ranks. It is not known if Walz ever accessed the medical system.

In a letter to department employees in August, VA Secretary Denis McDonough warned that privacy rules regarding veterans records must be followed to maintain the trust of patients and families.

“Viewing a veteran’s records out of curiosity or concern — or for any purpose that is not directly related to officially authorized and assigned duties — is strictly prohibited,” he wrote. “Failure to comply with these requirements may result in disciplinary action, including removal, as well as referral to law enforcement for civil penalties and criminal prosecution.”

Vance and Walz are scheduled to appear together at their only debate of the election cycle on Tuesday night in New York City.

Republican lawmakers decried the findings as abhorrent and evidence that department planners are still improperly preventing veterans from getting quick medical care outside of the VA healthcare system.

But senior VA leaders said they are committed to providing patients with the best care possible, and promised a full review of the incidents to correct the mistakes and potentially punish the administrators involved.

The report, released Friday afternoon, focused on veterans receiving care through the VA Western New York Healthcare System over the last two years.

Investigators found that local leaders “failed to resolve significant community care scheduling delays for patients with serious health conditions, despite providers’ and community care staff’s efforts to advocate on the behalf of patients.”

Changes to VA’s community care program raise concerns about vets’ health care access

Community care — where veterans can receive medical appointments and treatments at private-sector clinics but have the expenses covered by VA — has been a controversial topic in recent years, with conservatives claiming that department bureaucrats unnecessary limit those outside options.

In the New York investigation, the inspector general found that at least 42 patients had significant delays in accessing that care, despite facing serious health conditions that mandated fast action.

“For three of the 42 patients, the scheduling delay affected the provider’s management of the patient’s condition, and for 9 of the 42, the delay affected the patient’s clinical status or condition,” the report states.

In one case, a veteran with esophageal cancer had radiation therapy incorrectly denied for several months before dying from the illness. Investigators said the treatments would not likely have saved the individual, but a faster response “would likely have decreased the level of pain and improved the quality of life in the patient’s final months.”

In another case, a young veteran experiencing seizures waited more than 300 days for a consult to be scheduled, even as the patient was hospitalized several times a month for related health issues.

“Leaders failed to consistently focus on patients, respond to staff concerns, get to the root cause of concerns regarding delayed scheduling of urgent consults, and predict and eliminate risks before causing patient harm,” the report stated.

In response to the findings, “VA immediately transferred the medical center director and the chief of staff out of clinical- and veteran-facing positions pending the results of an investigation,” VA press secretary Terrence Hayes said in a statement.

“It is unacceptable for any veteran to have their care delayed, which is why we are taking immediate corrective actions to prevent this from happening again.”

Republican lawmakers demanded a full detailing of what that promise means.

“Community care is VA care, and I won’t let VA bureaucrats restrict it,” House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., said in a statement. “It is unacceptable that VA is allowing its own leadership and failures to yet again lead to patient harm.”

Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee ranking member Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, expressed similar concerns.

“The lapses in care described in this report cannot be ignored,” he said in a statement. “VA must answer to Congress, veterans and the American people by acting without delay to hold leadership and staff accountable through conducting an immediate national review of backlogged consults everywhere.”

In fiscal 2023, VA approved more than 7.8 million community care appointments, totaling more than $31 billion. That was up about 17% from the previous year, and represented nearly one in every six medical appointments covered by VA that year.

But Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have sparred in recent years over whether VA is doing enough to ensure that veterans are presented with non-department medical options when facing delays in care.

The inspector general said in the New York cases they reviewed, the delays occurred because “the community care team lacked a process to address time-sensitive, high-risk consults and had no standard operating procedures.”

They also said officials “were unfamiliar with community care basic processes and were not following all national standards” for approving such care.

The report recommends a full review of system leaders’ decisions regarding the delays, as well as overhauling procedures for approving such requests in the future.

The full report is available on the inspector general’s website.

But veteran representation in the halls of the Capitol is expected to remain much higher than in the public at large. Currently, about 6% of the U.S. population has served or is serving in the military. In comparison, about 18% of House and Senate lawmakers spent time in the ranks.

Advocates say that’s good news, since veterans bring important perspectives to key issues facing congressional responsibilities.

Here are all the veterans running for Congress in 2024

“That type of lived experience is invaluable when it comes to national security debates,” said Allison Jaslow, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “It’s essential to have a decent amount of veterans in office to protect the military, track veterans’ issues first-hand.

“There are plenty of civilians who do good work on issues like mental health and veterans care, but individuals who have lived it are more likely to engage thoughtfully on them.”

Fewer veteran candidates

In 2022, 196 candidates with military backgrounds won primaries for House and Senate races. Of that group, 97 — 17 Senate candidates and 80 House hopefuls — won their races.

This year, the number of primary winners who are veterans is down almost 10%, to 181. The smaller pool means the number of November election victors is also likely to drop.

Veteran representation in Congress peaked in the 1970s, when the number of veterans in both chambers reached 400. But after the introduction of the all-volunteer military force, both the number of veterans in America and the number running for Congress dropped steadily.

In 1980, more than 29 million veterans were living in the United States. Today that total is less than 18 million.

That population change is largely to blame for the decrease in congressional numbers. In 1986, the number of veterans who won congressional elections fell below 300 for the first time in almost four decades. It dropped below 200 for the first time in 1996. In 2014, it fell below 100.

The 116th Congress, which began in 2021, opened with 91 veterans among its members, the lowest total since the end of World War II. Depending on the outcome of races this year, the total for next year’s Congress could slip below that benchmark.

Even as the totals have dropped, the number of younger veterans mounting — and winning — congressional bids has grown in recent years.

In 2018, 54 veteran candidates started their military careers before 1980, versus 44 who joined the military after 2000. This year, 55 veteran candidates started after 2000, against 38 who signed onto military service before 1980.

Of the 75 candidates this cycle with a combat zone deployment, 62 of them served in Iraq, Afghanistan or both.

Breaking down the number of veterans in the 118th Congress

Understanding the military

About 70% of the candidates with military experience are running as Republicans. That’s slightly higher than in recent years, with GOP candidates usually averaging about 65% of the field.

But Jaslow — who served with the Army in Iraq — said some of the shared political background of those candidates can blunt the partisan divide between the major parties.

These are people who have already sacrificed and served on behalf of their country,” she said.

House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill. — a Marine Corps veteran himself — said his panel’s work depends on that first-person perspective.

“There are non-veterans on the committee too, but if you’re a disabled veteran, or a decorated veteran, there is a different understanding,” he said.

“The combat veterans on the committee in particular have always been a great help, because they have had to maneuver the Veterans Affairs health care system themselves. There’s just so much more wisdom that’s available from their experiences.”

Ten of the committee’s 25 members are military veterans. Two are among the seven women veterans serving in the House and Senate.

With Trump pick, JD Vance is first post-9/11 vet on major party ticket

The presidential factor

Not included in the list of congressional candidates are the two vice presidential nominees — Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance — both of whom served in the military.

Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating high school and served a four-year stint as a combat correspondent, during which he escorted civilian press and wrote articles for a military news service. He deployed to Iraq in 2005.

Walz served 24 years in the Minnesota National Guard, deploying to Europe in support of overseas operations in Afghanistan. His departure from the military months ahead of his unit’s deployment to Iraq has become a point of contention on the campaign trail.

This year marks the first time since 2004 that both major party presidential tickets have included a candidate with military experience. In that race, it was the presidential hopefuls themselves, Republican George W. Bush and Democrat John Kerry.

“Having two candidates who are both veterans and both post-9/11 veterans, that’s an exciting moment for our country,” Jaslow said. “And it sends a message.”

Whether that veteran vice president will have fewer veteran colleagues in Congress or a larger caucus to work with will be decided by voters on Nov. 5.

This year’s field boasts 70 incumbents, 16 women and 55 individuals who started their military careers after January 2000. Fifty-two of the candidates are Democrats, while 124 are Republicans.

Below is a list of those congressional hopefuls sorted by state, with biographical data on each. Military Times will be tracking each of these races on Election Day and be following each of the winners as they enter the 119th session of Congress next January.

Fewer vets will be on the November ballot for Congress this year

Editor’s note: Eight states do not have any veterans who won a primary contest. They are Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Wyoming. Independent candidates who did not win a primary matchup were not included in this list.

Alabama

House

District 1: Barry Moore (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army National Guard, 1990s

Member of the House Agriculture and Judiciary committees.

District 1: Tom Holmes, Democrat

Branch: Navy Reserve, 1960s

Retired state worker and advocate for the developmentally disabled.

Arizona

House

District 2: Eli Crane (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy, 2000s–2010s

Combat deployments: Afghanistan

Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

District 4: Kelly Cooper, Republican

Branch: Marine Corps, 1990s

Owns three restaurants and credits his success to the Marine Corps.

District 8: Abraham Hamadeh, Republican

Branch: Army Reserve, 2010s–2020s

Unsuccessfully ran for Arizona Attorney General in 2022.

9: Quacy Smith, Democrat

Branch: Marine Corps, 1990s–2000s

Currently a bishop with Grace Unlimited International Church.

Senate

Ruben Gallego, Democrat

Branch: Marine Corps, 2000s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Vocal member of the House Armed Services Committee now running for Senate.

Arkansas

House

District 1: Rick Crawford (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army, 1980s

Member of the House Intelligence Committee.

District 1: Rodney Govens, Democrat

Branch: Army, 2000s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Works as a court advocate for abused and neglected children.

District 2: Marcus Jones, Democrat

Branch: Army National Guard, 1990s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

His assignments included serving as program director at NATO’s Joint Warfare Centre in Norway.

District 3: Steve Womack (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army National Guard, 1970s–2000s

Serves on the House Budget Committee and appropriations’ defense subcommittee.

California

House

District 2: Chris Coulombe, Republican

Branch: Army & Marine Corps, 2000s–2010s

His assignments included running the Army’s Pacific Theater Air Assault School.

District 4: Mike Thompson (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Army, 1960s–1970s

Combat Deployments: Vietnam

Received a Purple Heart with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, was an airborne school instructor.

District 5: Mike Barkley, Democrat

Branch: Navy, 1960s

Has run unsuccessfully for Congress six times.

District 7: Tom Silva, Republican

Branch: Army, 1980s–2010s

Worked as veterans program coordinator at University of the Pacific.

District 8: Rudy Recile, Republican

Branch: Army National Guard 1980s–2010s

Also worked as a civilian in the Department of Agriculture.

District 9: Kevin Lincoln II, Republican

Branch: Marine Corps, 2000s

Served in the White House Military Office on Marine One.

District 19: Jimmy Panetta (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Navy Reserve, 1990s–2000s

Combat Deployments: Afghanistan

Son of former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

District 21: Michael Maher, Republican

Branch: Navy, 2000s

Served on the submarine USS Salt Lake City in support of overseas operations.

District 24: Salud Carbajal (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Marine Corps Reserve, 1990s

Born in Mexico, he served eight years in the military before his political career.

District 26: Michael Koslow, Republican

Branch: Air Force National Guard, 2000s–2010s

Also worked as a civilian in the Department of Defense Inspector General’s office.

District 27: Mike Garcia (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy & Navy Reserve, 1990s–2010s

Had more than 30 combat sorties during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

District 31: Gil Cisneros, Democrat

Branch: Navy, 1990s–2000s

Served as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness under Biden.

District 32: Larry Thompson, Republican

Branch: Army Reserve, 1960s–1970s

Worked as a Hollywood talent manager.

District 35: Mike Cargile, Republican

Branch: Army, 1990s

Worked as an actor and manager for an indie music label.

District 36: Ted Lieu (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Air Force & Air Force Reserve, 1990s–2010s

Member of the House Foreign Affairs and Judiciary committees.

District 39: David Serpa, Republican

Branch: Marine Corps, 2010s–2020s

Founded his own real estate company.

District 45: Derek Tran, Democrat

Branch: Army, 1990s–2000s

Son of refugees who fled Vietnam.

District 48: Darrell Issa (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army, 1970s–1980s

Served in the U.S. House for 18 years until 2019, then won re-election again in 2021.

District 50: Peter Bono, Republican

Branch: Navy, 1970s–2000s

Volunteers time to help disabled veterans with benefits claims.

Colorado

House

District 6: Jason Crow (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Army, 2000s

Combat Deployments: Iraq & Afghanistan

Served as a prosecutor during Trump’s first impeachment trial.

District 6: John Fabbricatore, Republican

Branch: Air Force, 1990s

Retired after 26 years as an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officer.

District 8: Gabe Evans, Republican

Branch: Army & National Guard, 2000s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Trained as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot.

Connecticut

House

District 1: Jim Griffin, Republican

Branch: Army, 1970s

Lost his bid for this seat in the 2020 Republican primary.

Senate

Matthew Corey, Republican

Branch: Navy, 1980s

Worked as a postal service employee and has run several restaurants.

Florida

House

District 2: Neal Dunn (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army, 1980s

Completed his medical internship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

District 5: Jay McGovern, Democrat

Branch: Navy, 1980s–2010s

Served as a naval aviator aboard multiple aircraft carriers.

District 6: Michael Waltz (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army & National Guard, 1990s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Afghanistan

Green Beret was a regular Fox News contributor before joining Congress.

District 7: Cory Mills (Incumbent), Republican,

Branch: Army, 1990s–2000s

Combat Deployments: Bosnia

Spent time in Iraq and Afghanistan as a diplomatic consultant with the State Department.

District 9: Thomas Chalifoux, Republican

Branch: Army, 1960s–2000s

Self-funded his congressional bid.

District 13: Anna Paulina Luna (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Air Force & National Guard, 2000s–2010s

One of five female veterans currently serving in the House.

District 14: Robert Rochford, Republican

Branch: Navy, 1980s–2010s

Former commander of Naval Beach Group One.

District 16: Vern Buchanan (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Air National Guard, 1970s

Sits on the House Ways and Means committee.

District 17: Greg Steube (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army, 2000s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Serves on the House Veterans’ Affairs and Oversight committees.

District 17: Manny Lopez, Democrat

Branch: Army, 1980s

Disabled veteran who suffered a neck injury during grenade training.

District 18: Scott Franklin (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy & Navy Reserve, 1980s–2000s

Combat Deployments: Bosnia

Flew combat missions over Bosnia and Kosovo.

District 21: Brian Mast (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army, 2000s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Afghanistan

Lost both legs in an IED attack in Afghanistan.

District 25: Christopher Eddy, Republican

Branch: Air Force Reserve, 1980s–2010s

Worked 13 years as an FBI Intelligence Manager.

District 28: Phil Ehr, Democrat

Branch: Navy, 1980s–2000s

Combat Deployments: Gulf War

Founded a nonprofit to counter disinformation in U.S. politics.

Senate

Rick Scott (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy, 1970s

Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Georgia

House

District 2: Sanford Bishop Jr. (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Army, 1960s–1970s

Has served in Congress since 1992.

District 3: Maura Keller, Democrat

Branch: Army, 1970s–2000s

Retired lieutenant colonel who also worked in the Atlanta VA healthcare system.

District 4: Eugene Yu, Republican

Branch: Army, 1970s–1980s

Also worked as a firefighter and police officer.

District 7: Rich McCormick (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Marine Corps, 1990s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Afghanistan

Served as the department head for emergency medicine in Kandahar.

District 7: Bob Christian, Democrat

Branch: Army, 1990s–2000s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Has also worked as a sports reporter, baker and restaurant executive.

District 9: Andrew Clyde (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy & Navy Reserve, 1980s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Serves on the House Homeland Security Committee

District 11: Barry Loudermilk (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Air Force, 1980s–1990s

Serves on the House Financial Services Committee.

District 11: Katy Stamper, Democrat

Branch: Army, 1970s–1980s

Has received criticism for her close ties to Republican lawmakers and groups.

District 13: Jonathan Chavez, Republican

Branch: Air Force, 1990s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Worked as the non-commissioned officer in charge of a joint service medical team in Iraq.

District 14: Shawn Harris, Democrat

Branch: Marine Corps & National Guard, 1980s–2020s

Combat Deployments: Afghanistan

Served as director of Joint Staff for the Army National Guard.

Hawaii

House

District 1: Patrick Largey, Republican

Branch: Air Force, 1980s-2000s

Head of maintenance for a 43-story high rise building.

Senate

Bob McDermott, Republican

Branch: Marine Corps, 1980s–1990s

Combat Deployments: Gulf War

Worked as executive director of the Honolulu Navy League.

Illinois

House

District 7: Chad Koppie, Republican

Branch: Army, 1960s

Pilot who worked for Delta Airlines for 35 years.

District 12: Mike Bost (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Marine Corps, 1970s–1980s

Current Chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

District 13: Joshua Lloyd, Republican

Branch: Army & National Guard, 2010s–2020s

Graduated from West Point in 2022.

Indiana

House

District 4: Jim Baird (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army, 1960s–1970s

Combat Deployments: Vietnam

Earned a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts while serving with the 523rd Transportation Company.

District 4: Derrick Holder, Democrat

Branch: Marine Corps, 1990s–2000s

Worked as a paralegal in the Indiana Department of Child Services.

District 5: Deborah Pickett, Democrat

Branch: Army Reserve, 1980s

Her brother-in-law is a Medal of Honor recipient.

Senate

Jim Banks, Republican

Branch: Navy Reserve, 2010s

Combat Deployments: Afghanistan

Has served in the House since 2017.

Iowa

House

District 1: Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army & Army Reserve, 1970s–1990s

Served as the first female president of the Iowa Medical Society.

District 3: Zach Nunn (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Air Force & National Guard, 2000s–2020s

Combat Deployment: Afghanistan

Served on the White House’s National Security Council prior to Congress.

District 3: Lanon Baccam, Democrat

Branch: Army National Guard, 1990s–2000s

Combat Deployment: Afghanistan

Oversaw veterans programs within the Department of Agriculture.

Kansas

House

District 3: Prasanth Reddy, Republican

Branch: Air Force Reserve, 2000s–2020s

Still serving as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve.

Kentucky

House

District 2: Brett Guthrie (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army, 1980s–1990s

Eight-term congressman is a West Point grad.

District 5: Hal Rogers (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army National Guard, 1950s–1960s

Dean of the House, he has served in Congress since 1981.

Louisiana

House

District 3: Clay Higgins (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army National Guard, 1970s–1980s

Prominent member of the House Freedom Caucus.

Maine

House

District 1: Ronald Russell, Republican

Branch: Army, 1970s–2000s

An Airborne Ranger and a Special Forces qualified Green Beret.

District 2: Jared Golden (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Marine Corps, 2000s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq & Afghanistan

Serves on the House Armed Services Committee.

Senate

Demi Kouzounas, Republican

Branch: Army, 1980s

Longtime dentist was also chairwoman of the Maine Republican Party.

Maryland

House

District 1: Andrew Harris (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy Reserve, 1980s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Gulf War

Still-practicing physician served in the Navy Medical Corps.

District 1: Blane Miller III, Democrat

Branch: Navy, 1990s–2000s

Later worked as a deep-water technical diver testing military equipment.

District 3: Rob Steinberger, Republican

Branch: Navy Reserve, 1990s–2000s

Founder of a financial consulting firm.

Massachusetts

House

District 4: Jake Auchincloss (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Marine Corps, 2010s

Combat Deployments: Afghanistan

Sits on the House Transportation Committee and select panel on China.

District 6: Seth Moulton (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Marine Corps, 2000s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2019.

Senate

John Deaton, Republican

Branch: Marine Corps, 1990s–2000s

Worked as a trial advocacy instructor at the Naval War College.

Michigan

House

District 1: Jack Bergman (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Marine Corps & Guard/Reserve, 1970s–2000s

Combat Deployments: Vietnam

Served as commanding general of Marine Forces Reserve.

District 7: Tom Barrett, Republican

Branch: Army National Guard, 2000s–2020s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Narrowly lost a bid for this congressional seat in 2022.

District 10: John James (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army, 2000s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Sits on the House Foreign Affairs and Energy committees.

Senate

Mike Rogers, Republican

Branch: Army, 1980s

Previously served in the House from 2001 to 2015.

Minnesota

House

District 2: Joe Teirab, Republican

Branch: Marine Corps, 2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney, focused on narcotics trafficking and violent crime.

District 3: Tad Jude, Republican

Branch: Army Reserve, 1970s

Was the youngest individual ever elected to the Minnesota Legislature, at age 20.

Mississippi

House

District 1: Trent Kelly (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army National Guard, 1990s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Gulf War & Iraq

Chairman of the House Armed Services’ seapower subcommittee.

District 2: Ronald Eller, Republican

Branch: Army, 1970s–1990s

Works in cardiac and thoracic surgery at St. Dominic’s Hospital.

Senate

Ty Pinkins, Democrat

Branch: Army, 1990s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Community organizer who has focused on unfair pay practices.

Missouri

Senate

Lucas Kunce, Democrat

Branch: Marine Corps, 2000s–2020s

Combat Deployments: Iraq & Afghanistan

Led a police training team in the Sunni Triangle while deployed to Iraq.

Montana

House

District 1: Ryan Zinke (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy, 1980s–2000s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Served as Secretary of the Interior under Trump.

District 2: Troy Downing, Republican

Branch: Air National Guard, 2000s

Combat Deployments: Afghanistan

Served in a Combat Search and Rescue squadron.

District 2: John Driscoll, Democrat

Branch: Army National Guard, 1960s–2000s

Has worked as a wildland firefighter, a public utility regulator, and a writer.

Senate

Tim Sheehy, Republican

Branch: Navy, 2000s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq & Afghanistan

Founded an aerospace firm and still works as a firefighting pilot.

Nebraska

House

District 2: Don Bacon (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Air Force, 1980s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Chair of the House Armed Services Committee’s quality of life panel.

Nevada

House

District 2: Mark Amodei (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army, 1980s

Serves on the House Appropriations Committee.

Senate

Sam Brown, Republican

Branch: Army, 2000s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Afghanistan

Severely burned in a roadside bomb attack in Kandahar.

New Jersey

House

District 1: Theodore Liddell, Republican

Branch: Army, 1990s–2000s

Manages his own law practice.

District 9: Billy Prempeh, Republican

Branch: Air Force, 2000s–2010s

Has twice run for the same seat without success.

District 11: Mikie Sherrill (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Navy, 1990s–2000s

Sea King helicopter pilot flew missions throughout the Middle East.

New Mexico

House

District 1: Steve Jones, Republican

Branch: Army, 1970s

Worked as a management consultant and executive in the energy industry.

New York

House

District 1: Nicholas LaLota (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy, 2000s–2010s

Sits on the House Armed Services Committee.

District 6: Thomas Zmich, Republican

Branch: Army Reserve, 1980s–1990s

Worked as a construction manager.

District 12: Mike Zumbluskas, Republican

Branch: Army, 1980s

Has been a member of the Reform and Independence parties in the past.

District 13: Ruben Vargas, Republican

Branch: Air Force, 1970s–1990s

Advocate who has been active with the International Chess Federation.

District 15: Gonzalo Duran, Republican

Branch: Marine Corps, 2000s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

CEO of a firm focused on veterans reintegration into civilian life.

District 18: Pat Ryan (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Army, 2000s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Serves as vice ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee.

District 22: Brandon Williams (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy, 1990s

Served as the strategic missile officer on board the USS Georgia.

District 25: Gregg Sadwick, Republican

Branch: Navy, 1980s–1990s

Owner of a collision shop and countertop company.

North Carolina

House

District 1: Donald Davis (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Air Force, 1990s

Helped coordinate Air Force One operations at Andrews Air Force Base.

District 1: Laurie Buckhout, Republican

Branch: Army, 1980s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Led an 800-person battalion task force as part of the initial attack into Iraq in 2003.

District 2: Alan Swain, Republican

Branch: Army, 1970s–2000s

Combat Deployments: Gulf War

Flew AH-1 Cobras and AH-64 Apache helicopters.

District 4: Eric Blankenburg, Republican

Branch: Air Force, 1970s–1980s

Currently working as a technology consultant.

District 8: Justin Dues, Democrat

Branch: Marine Corps, 2000s–2010s

Founder of a firm specializing in wearable technology.

District 10: Pat Harrigan, Republican

Branch: Army, 2000s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Afghanistan

A Green Beret with multiple combat tours in Afghanistan.

District 10: Ralph Scott Jr., Democrat

Branch: Air Force, 2010s

Sixth great-grandson of James Madison.

District 12: Abdul Ali, Republican

Branch: Army, 1990s–2000s

Past chairman of the Cabarrus County Republican Party.

North Dakota

House

District 1: Trygve Hammer, Democrat

Branch: Marine Corps & MC Reserve, 1990s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Former airline pilot and security consultant.

Ohio

House

District 1: Orlando Sonza, Republican

Branch: Army, 2010s

Currently the executive director of the Hamilton County Veterans Service Commission.

District 3: Michael Young, Republican

Branch: Air Force, 1960s

Worked as a real estate developer and singer-songwriter.

District 6: Michael Kripchak, Democrat

Branch: Air Force, 2000s

Worked in the Air Force’s quantum computing initiatives while in service.

District 7: Max Miller (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Marine Corps Reserve, 2010s–2020s

Former deputy campaign manager for presidential operations under Trump.

District 8: Warren Davidson (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army, 1980s–1990s

Took the seat of former House Speaker John Boehner.

District 12: Jerrad Christian, Democrat

Branch: Navy, 2000s

Works as a software engineer, but has used his Navy meteorology skills as a climate activist.

District 15: Mike Carey (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army National Guard, 1980s–1990s

Was elected to Congress in a 2021 special election.

District 15: Adam Miller, Democrat

Branch: Army Reserve, 1990s–2020s

Combat Deployments: Afghanistan

Serves in the Ohio House of Representatives.

Oregon

House

District 4: Monique DeSpain, Republican

Branch: Air Force & AF Reserve, 1980s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Kosovo

Served as a lawyer with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps for 30 years.

Pennsylvania

House

District 1: Ashley Ehasz, Democrat

Branch: Army, 2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Could become the first female graduate of West Point to serve in Congress.

District 4: David Winkler, Republican

Branch: Army & Marine Corps, 2000s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq & Afghanistan

Former CEO of the veterans charity Wings for Warriors.

District 5: Alfe Goodwin, Republican

Branch: Army & Army National Guard, 2000s–2020s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Philadelphia police officer served alongside her brother in Iraq.

District 6: Chrissy Houlahan (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Air Force, 1980s

Daughter and granddaughter of career naval officers.

District 10: Scott Perry (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army National Guard, 1980s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Serves on the House Transportation and Foriegn Affairs committees.

District 14: Guy Reschenthaler (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy, 2000s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Sits on the House Foreign Affairs committee.

District 14: Chris Dziados, Democrat

Branch: Army, 2000s–2020s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Was involved in the development of Space Force while serving in the Pentagon.

District 17: Chris Deluzio (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Navy, 2000s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

First-term congressman serves on the House Transportation Committee.

District 17: Rob Mercuri, Republican

Branch: Army, 1990s–2000s

Combat Deployments: Gulf War

Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Senate

David McCormick, Republican

Branch: Army, 1990s–2000s

Combat Deployments: Gulf War

Former Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs.

South Carolina

House

District 2: David Robinson II, Democrat

Branch: Army, 2000s

Combat Deployments: Afghanistan

Became an advocate for missing persons after his son’s disappearance in Arizona.

District 3: Sheri Biggs, Republican

Branch: Air National Guard, 2010s–2020s

Combat Deployments: Afghanistan

Commissioned in the Air Force at age 40 after a nursing career.

District 4: William Timmons (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army National Guard, 2010s

Member of the House Republican Steering Committee.

Tennessee

House

7: Mark Green (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army & Army Reserve, 1980s–2000s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Served on the mission where Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was captured.

Texas

House

District 2: Daniel Crenshaw (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy, Active, 2000s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq & Afghanistan

Navy SEAL lost an eye in an IED blast in Afghanistan.

District 3: Keith Seif (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army, 1970s–2000s

Served in Joint Staff assignments in U.S. European Command and NATO.

District 4: Pat Fallon (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Air Force, 1980s–1990s

Was a member of the 1988 Notre Dame football team which won a national championship.

District 6: Jake Ellzey (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy, 1990s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq & Afghanistan

Piloted the H-60 Seahawk helicopter, F-14 Tomcat, F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet.

District 8: Morgan Luttrell (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy, 2000s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq & Afghanistan

Brother of Marcus Luttrell, whose military service inspired the movie “Lone Survivor.”

District 11: August Pfluger (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Air Force, 1990s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Former F-22 pilot who served on President Trump’s national security council staff.

District 13: Ronny Jackson (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy, 1990s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Former White House physician was demoted after retirement for improper conduct while on duty.

District 14: Rhonda Hart, Democrat

Branch: Army, 2000s

Lost her daughter in a 2018 school shooting in Santa Fe.

District 22: Troy Nehls (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army National Guard & Reserve, 1980s–2000s

Combat Deployments: Iraq & Afghanistan

Has faced criticism for improperly wearing a Combat Infantry Badge.

District 23: Tony Gonzales (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy, 1990s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq & Afghanistan

Sits on the House Appropriations and Homeland Security committees.

District 26: Ernest Lineberger III, Democrat

Branch: Navy, Active, 1980s–1990s

20-year career with Texas Instruments as an industrial engineer.

District 28: Jay Furman, Republican

Branch: Navy, 1990s–2010s

Served as a naval aviator.

District 36: Brian Babin (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Air Force & Air National Guard, 1970s

Earned his dental degree while in the service.

District 38: Wesley Hunt (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army, 2000s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Served as an AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter pilot.

Utah

House

District 3: Glenn J. Wright, Democrat

Branch: Air Force, 1960s–1970s

Combat Deployments: Vietnam

Worked as a safety consultant.

Vermont

Senate

Gerald Malloy, Republican,

Branch: Army, 1980s–2000s

Worked as a business executive for a variety of defense-related firms.

Virginia

House

District 2: Jennifer Kiggans (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy, Active, 1990s–2000s

Currently serves on the House Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs Committees.

District 2: Missy Cotter Smasal, Democrat

Branch: Navy, 2000s

Executive Director for Valor Run, a non-profit that hosts running events to honor military women.

District 3: Bobby Scott (Incumbent), Democrat

Branch: Army National Guard & Reserve, 1970s

Dean of Virginia’s congressional delegation.

District 3: John Sitka III, Republican

Branch: Navy, 1970s–1990s

Former merchant mariner has been involved in advocacy for those careers.

District 5: John McGuire, Republican

Branch: Navy, 1980s–1990s

Former Navy SEAL.

District 6: Ken Mitchell, Democrat

Branch: Army, 1970s–1990s

Worked as a White House advisor for both George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

District 7: Derrick Anderson, Republican

Branch: Army, 2000s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq & Afghanistan

Serves as a Green Beret and a member of the “Old Guard” at Arlington National Cemetery.

District 7: Eugene Vindman, Democrat

Branch: Army, 1990s–2020s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Former White House NSC advisor, brother of Trump impeachment witness Alexander Vindman.

District 8: Jerry Torres, Republican

Branch: Army & National Guard, 1970s–2000s

Served in Army Special Forces as a Green Beret.

District 11: Michael Van Meter, Republican

Branch: Navy, 1980s–1990s

Spent 20 years in various roles at the FBI.

Senate

Hung Cao, Republican

Branch: Navy, 1980s–2020s

Combat Deployments: Iraq & Afghanistan

Former special operations explosive ordnance disposal officer.

Washington

House

District 2: Cody Hard, Republican

Branch: Navy, 1990s

Worked as an aircraft mechanic while in the ranks.

District 3: Joe Kent, Republican

Branch: Army, 1990s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Husband of Shannon Kent, a sailor who was killed in fighting in Syria.

District 4: Jerrod Sessler, Republican

Branch: Navy, 1980s–1990s

Former NASCAR driver who competed in Northwest Series events.

District 6: Drew MacEwen, Republican

Branch: Navy, 1990s

After the military, founded a financial services firm.

District 10: Don Hewett, Republican

Branch: Air Force, 1980s

Worked as an engineer for Boeing and Microsoft.

West Virginia

House

District 2: Steven Wendelin, Democrat

Branch: Navy & Navy Reserve, 1980s–2020s

Combat Deployments: Iraq

Former networks manager for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Wisconsin

House

District 3: Derrick Van Ordern (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Navy, 1990s–2010s

Combat Deployments: Iraq & Afghanistan

Authored the book “A Navy SEAL’s Guide to the Lost Art of Manhood.”

District 5: Scott Fitzgerald (Incumbent), Republican

Branch: Army, 1980s–2000s

Serves on the House Financial Services and Judiciary committees.

The White House claimed that “thousands” of veterans could benefit when President Biden announced this summer he was issuing pardons to gay veterans who were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation “and have carried the burden of this great injustice for decades.”

But three months later, only eight veterans have applied for pardons — six from the Air Force, two from the Army, and none from the Coast Guard, Navy, or Marines.

The dismally low numbers are disappointing advocates who say the promise of Biden’s pardons raised hopes that thousands of LGBTQ veterans would not only lose the stigma of courts-martial but also qualify for long-denied veterans benefits.

The War Horse discovered only eight veterans have applied for pardons since Biden’s June 26 announcement after reaching out over the last two weeks to each branch of the military. The White House did not respond to questions about the lack of applicants or whether it was doing anything more to promote the pardons.

Steve Marose, an Air Force veteran who lives in Seattle, is among the eight who’ve applied, and his case is still under review.

Marose said he was shocked by the response and wondered if the pardons’ limitations have discouraged other veterans. Only those convicted in a military court of consensual sodomy qualify, but experts say many LGBTQ veterans were forced from the military for decades simply under the threat of a court-martial.

“It sounds like it’s very broad, that thousands of people will be positively impacted,” Marose says. “When you look under the hood,” he said, it seems doubtful that such a large number of veterans will benefit.

Marose was convicted in 1990 of two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer in addition to three counts of consensual sodomy, so he is worried he may not receive a full pardon but decided to submit an application anyway.

His case is not unique. As The War Horse has reported, gay service members who wound up in a military court often faced other charges, including misconduct or conduct unbecoming, putting their eligibility for the pardon in question.

Michael Wishnie, a professor at Yale Law School and veteran law expert, was also surprised to learn that so few have jumped at the opportunity to apply for a pardon.

“It’s early, but these numbers are disappointing,” he told The War Horse.

Biden’s pardons still fall short for many LGBTQ veterans

Neither the Biden administration nor the Department of Defense could tell The War Horse how they came up with the claim that “thousands” of veterans would be eligible.

In July, The War Horse submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for Defense Department memos or reports that informed the White House that thousands of veterans would benefit from Biden’s act of clemency. However, the agency denied the request, saying the documents were part of the decision-making process, and therefore protected.

This week, The War Horse is filing a lawsuit to compel each branch of the military to turn over court-martial records that will help determine how many service members were convicted for consensual sex or other charges that criminalized their sexual orientation.

“Hopefully this lawsuit will make it easier for thousands of service members to receive some measure of recognition for how they were unfairly treated … and also allow the public to fully appreciate the scale of this injustice,” said attorney Joel Richert, an associate with Davis Wright Tremaine, a law firm that represents The War Horse.

The Department of Defense had no comment about the lawsuit.

Wishnie and other attorneys familiar with the military justice system believe that some veterans have likely found the pardon process too cumbersome. Veterans must gather documents related to their conviction, and submit a personal statement of why a pardon is being sought. If a pardon is granted, there’s also an entirely separate process for upgrading dishonorable discharges and earning VA eligibility for benefits including health care.

The pardon Biden issued this past summer is known as a “mass” pardon, meaning individuals aren’t named. That places the onus on veterans to work out whether they’re eligible and then commit to the application process.

Wishnie and other advocates say the Defense Department should take the lead in identifying veterans who were harmed and automatically upgrade their discharges. Until then, he said, little progress will be made in the effort to rectify the harms of past anti-LGBTQ policies.

“Rather than do the work itself to correct the Pentagon’s wrongdoing, the administration put the burden on veterans to prepare lengthy applications,” Wishnie said. “These low figures are the natural and foreseeable result of that choice.”

A Defense Department official told The War Horse that it isn’t practical to notify every person who is eligible for a pardon. Because the pardon period spans 60 years — from the end of World War II up until the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in 2011 — a majority of the court-martial records are not digital, meaning thousands of cases would have to be reviewed one by one. Instead, the same official said, veterans who think they may be eligible are encouraged to apply.

In 2013, a House bill to upgrade discharge records for LGBTQ troops indicated that between the end of World War II and the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” about 114,000 service members were involuntarily separated based on sexual orientation.

Army vet still paying the price for bad paper discharge for being gay

A class action lawsuit filed last year in the Northern District of California found more than 29,000 service members were booted between 1980 and 2011 without receiving an honorable discharge due to real or perceived homosexuality or sexual perversion. That case seeks automatic discharge upgrades for gay veterans forced to leave the military.

Many of those like Army veteran Mona McGuire won’t qualify for the pardons. Earlier this year, The War Horse told the story of McGuire, a military police officer who in 1988, at the age of 20, was outed by a fellow soldier, taken into custody and told she either had to accept an other than honorable discharge or face a court-martial and possibly prison. She chose the less than honorable discharge in lieu of court-martial and gave up VA benefits and her dream of a career in the Army.

Without an actual court-martial, she doesn’t qualify for Biden’s pardons.

There is still hope for some veterans who are not eligible.

Last September, the Defense Department announced it would proactively review about 2,000 military records of service members who served during the “don’t ask, don’t tell” era and whose sexual orientation resulted in a separation. An update to this effort is expected sometime this fall. But it appears that too won’t help McGuire or Marose, who were discharged before “don’t ask, don’t tell,” a 1993 policy that forced gay service members to stay quiet about their sexual orientation or face punishment.

In 1990, Marose, a former Air Force second lieutenant, was sent to federal prison at Fort Leavenworth for 18 months following his convictions for consensual same-sex relationships and sharing an apartment with a fellow airman.

Marose is pursuing every possible path to clear his record and access VA benefits. Along with his pardon application, he’s appealed his case directly to an Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records, which can’t forgive his convictions but can upgrade his dishonorable discharge. He’s also made his case directly to the VA, which has become increasingly accepting of veterans who did not separate from the military with spotless records.

More than 30 years after Marose was kicked out of the military for his sexual orientation, he understands why some LGBTQ veterans are not up for the lengthy process that may only lead to frustration or disappointment. And there is also the added question about who will be in the White House in the fall and how that could impact the pardon process.

“I have a lot of balls in the air, and I was hoping something would land,” Marose says, “but instead I feel like I’m constantly having to argue and defend and hope and pray.”

This War Horse investigation was reported by Anne Marshall-Chalmers, edited by Mike Frankel, fact-checked by Jess Rohan, and copy-edited by Mitchell Hansen-Dewar. Abbie Bennett wrote the headlines.

The system is not designed to replace 911 calls or emergency room visits for veterans who are seeking immediate, life saving help, department leaders said. But the tele-emergency options can provide answers for medical questions from veterans who are worried they may be heading towards an emergency situation and are unsure of what to do next.

“Every veteran can feel like they have a doctor in the family now,” said Dr. Neil Patel, acting director of the VA National Emergency Medicine Office, during a rollout of the new program.

“Veterans can simply pick up the phone to call VA, and we can give them advice on what to do and where to go for care,” Patel added. “It’s bringing emergency care and advice into a veteran’s home, rather than asking veterans to always go to an ER.”

VA delays rule change on how it pays veterans’ air ambulance services

The tele-emergency care program was launched earlier this year with pilot programs in separate sections of the country. Medical providers working the calls can access veterans’ medical records and other relevant biographical information if callers are already in the VA health care system.

Of the more than 61,000 callers so far this year, about 59% had their medical questions resolved without the patient having to travel to an urgent care clinic or hospital, officials said.

Patel said in one case, a veteran called complaining of dizziness and lightheadedness. He had considered traveling to a hospital to be evaluated, but the nearest one was an hour away.

“So, by talking to him and reviewing his charts, we were able to figure out that his prostate medication was increased about a week earlier,” he said. “This is a pretty common side effect … so we provided him with an education about when to take this medication and how to best avoid the side effects.

“When we checked up on him a couple days later, he was doing great, and so, so thankful that he didn’t need to figure out how to get to an ER and spend hours waiting there.”

Patel said officials can connect veterans with local emergency services if they determine a patient’s condition is too serious to be dealt with through a phone call or video chat.

He acknowledged that the idea of emergency care may feel uncomfortable to some veterans, but said the effort is designed to give patients more options for their care, and not to replace needed emergency visits.

“It’s really just as simple as giving us a call, so we can get veterans the right care,” he said.

Unlike 911, the specific call in numbers for the VA tele-emergency care vary from state to state. A full list of contacts is available on the department’s website.

Senate lawmakers approved the move on a voice vote without any objections one week after House members similarly advanced the measure without opposition. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation into law in the next few days.

About 5 million veterans and 2 million military retirees receive benefits checks each month through the Department of Veterans Affairs. The COLA increase legislation would apply to payouts for disability compensation, clothing allowance, dependency and indemnity benefits, as well as some other VA assistance programs.

Vets may see only a small cost-of-living boost in benefits next year

Although a non-controversial proposal, the legislation linking veterans benefits to Social Security increases is an annual responsibility of Congress. Without it, beneficiaries would see their payouts remain flat, even as other federal support programs were granted increases.

In a statement after the House passage, bill sponsor Rep. Morgan Lutrell, R-Texas, called the measure a critical step to ensuring disabled veterans remain financially healthy.

“Our veterans gave everything to defend our freedoms, and it is our duty to ensure they receive the care and compensation they deserve,” he said.

The Social Security increase last year was 3.2%, down from 8.7% in 2023 — the highest such raise in 40 years. Federal officials will announce the 2025 rate on Oct. 10.

Officials from the Senior Citizens League in August estimated that the figure is likely to be around 2.4%, based on analysis of economic conditions. If correct, that would be the lowest cost-of-living boost since 2020, when the rate was 1.3%.

If a link is established, the move would mark the first time the department provided fast-track benefits for any condition related to PFAS exposure.

The chemicals — used in a host of products like water-repellent clothing and firefighting foams — have been used widely on military bases for the last 50 years and are suspected to be the cause of a host of medical complications, including testicular cancer and thyroid disease.

‘It’s scary as hell’ — PFAS exposure a ‘widespread’ problem for troops, families nationwide

In a statement released Wednesday, department officials said the move is part of a broader review of suspected military toxic exposure injuries which started with the passage of the PACT Act in August 2022.

“We want to understand the health conditions that veterans are living with so we can provide them with all of the benefits they deserve, and that’s what this review process is all about,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said.

“As a result of this scientific review, we may be able to make kidney cancer a presumptive condition for Veterans exposed to PFAS, thus lowering the burden of proof on these veterans.”

Presumptive status allows veterans applying for benefits to skip paperwork establishing their condition as a result of military service. That can cut months or years of wait times off the benefits process.

Department officials have already established presumptive benefit status for kidney cancer in cases where veterans served around burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, or if they were stationed at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune between the 1950s and 1980s.

But no such connection has been formally recognized with PFAS chemical exposure in the military. Individual veterans can petition VA adjudicators to consider their illnesses and their personal exposure to the toxins, but blanket coverage for all veterans is not yet in place.

Department officials did not say how long the review will take. VA staff will host a public listening session on the issue on Nov. 19, and will solicit veterans’ comments on the issue through the Federal Register.

McDonough in his statement said veterans “should not wait for the outcome of this review to apply for the benefits and care they deserve,” and urged individuals to reach out with disability claims as soon as possible.

More information on applying for disability benefits is available through the VA website here.

Woodson, who died in 2005, received the second-highest honor that can be bestowed on a member of the Army in June, just days before the 80th anniversary of Allied troops' landing in Normandy, France.

His widow, Joann, his son Steve and other family were presented with the medal Tuesday during a ceremony in Washington hosted by Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen.

Black D-Day combat medic’s long-denied medal laid on Omaha Beach

The award marked an important milestone in a yearslong campaign by his widow, Van Hollen and Woodson's supporters in the military who have pushed for greater recognition of his efforts that day. Ultimately, they would like to see him honored with the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration that can be awarded by the U.S. government and one long denied to Black troops who served in World War II.

If Woodson is awarded the Medal of Honor, it would be the “final step in the decades-long pursuit of justice and the recognition befitting of Woodson’s valor,” Van Hollen said in a statement.

Troops from Woodson’s former unit, First Army, took the Distinguished Service Cross — which is awarded for extraordinary heroism — to France and in an intimate ceremony laid the medal in the sands of Omaha Beach, where a 21-year-old Woodson came ashore decades earlier.

At a time when the U.S. military was still segregated by race, about 2,000 African American troops are believed to have taken part in the invasion that proved to be a turning point in pushing back the Nazis and eventually ending World War II.

On June 6, 1944, Woodson’s unit, the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, was responsible for setting up balloons to deter enemy planes. Two shells hit his landing craft, and he was wounded before even getting to the beach.

After the vessel lost power, it was pushed toward the shore by the tide, and Woodson likely had to wade ashore under intense enemy fire.

He spoke to the AP in 1994 about that day.

“The tide brought us in, and that’s when the 88s hit us,” he said of the German 88mm guns. “They were murder. Of our 26 Navy personnel, there was only one left. They raked the whole top of the ship and killed all the crew. Then they started with the mortar shells.”

For the next 30 hours, Woodson treated 200 wounded men — all while small arms and artillery fire pummeled the beach. Eventually, he collapsed from his injuries and blood loss, according to accounts of his service. At the time, he was awarded the Bronze Star.

In an era of intense racial discrimination, not a single one of the 1.2 million Black Americans who served in the military during World War II was awarded the Medal of Honor. It wasn't until the early 1990s that the Army commissioned a study to analyze whether Black troops had been unjustly overlooked.

Ultimately, seven Black World War II troops were awarded the Medal of Honor in 1997.

At the time, Woodson was considered for the award and he was interviewed. But, officials wrote, his decoration case file couldn’t be found, and his personnel records were destroyed in a 1973 fire at a military records facility.

Woodson’s supporters believe not just that he is worthy of the Medal of Honor but that there was a recommendation at the time to award it to him that has been lost.

Researchers from the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute also found that nearly one in 10 adults in America provided some level of caregiver services to a veteran or wounded military member in the last two years, a much higher figure than seen in past surveys.

About 14.3 million individuals — 5.5% of the U.S. adult population — are currently serving as military and veteran caregivers, according to the institute’s estimates. Report authors said the value of the services they provide ranges from $199 billion to $485 billion, when taking into account the range of support and medical services they provide.

“Few are compensated in any way for this care,” they wrote. “In fact, caregivers are monetarily penalized: Over a quarter of military and veteran caregivers reported that, because of caregiving, they had cut back the hours they work, switched jobs, quit working or left school early, or felt that they were discriminated against at work.”

White House pledges caregiver support, but VA program’s future unclear

Fewer than half of individuals surveyed reported getting accommodations at work to account for their extra role as a veteran or military caregiver. More than a quarter though they were discriminated against at work because of the extra demands of their home life.

The report — produced in cooperation with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation — represents the most comprehensive review of the caregiver community in years and advocates for more financial aid, mental health care and community support for those caregivers.

“According to the survey estimates, military and veteran caregivers who cut back on their work or schooling because of caregiving lose approximately $10,000 in household income in a given year,” the authors wrote.

“And caregivers are struggling: Between 50 and 70 percent of military and veteran caregivers have difficulty paying bills, and 22 to 40 percent are food insecure.”

Caregivers of younger veterans are also at higher risk of depression and less likely to seek care than non-caregivers. Researchers found that 43 percent of military and veteran caregivers to injured individuals aged 60 or younger met the criteria for depression, almost four times the rate of the general population.

The advocates said federal and community resources need to better tailor their support services to individual groups’ needs.

For example, caregivers of veterans under 60 were more interested in finding joint activities to conduct with their injured loved ones. Caregivers of veterans over 60 were more focused on “programs that help keep the recipient safe and help with filling out forms.”

The report’s release comes just a few weeks after 11 veterans groups petitioned the White House to speed up decisions on the future of VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, the rules of which have been under review for more than two years.

More than 30,000 families are enrolled in that program, which provides stipends and assistance services to caregivers of seriously injured veterans. But thousands of those were threatened with removal from the program when eligibility criteria was updated two years ago.

VA leaders paused those expulsions until another review could be finished, but that has still not yet been finished. The groups warned that “further delay, layered with a change in presidential administration, would only serve to prolong the strain that so many veterans and caregivers have felt while PCAFC continues to fall short of its intent and potential.”

Report authors said they hope the latest research will serve as an additional incentive to move along those reforms, as well as bring other government resources into the conversation about how best to help caregivers.

The full report is available on the Rand website.

On Tuesday, officials from the non-partisan group With Honor and lawmakers from the For Country Caucus gathered near the Washington Monument to plant flags along the National Mall as a reminder of the estimated 325,000 military families currently struggling with hunger and financial hardship.

According to a 2023 study by Rand researchers, nearly 26% of active-duty service members are considered food insecure, and about 15% rely on food stamps or food banks to help support their families.

More troops would be eligible for new allowance under DOD proposal

“There are a lot of contributing factors for the military recruiting crisis, but one of them is we’re not paying junior enlisted well enough so that they can live without food stamps,” said Rye Barcott, co-founder and CEO of With Honor. “To have a strong military, we need to treat our people the right way.”

Tuesday’s event comes as lawmakers are considering a host of provisions in the annual defense authorization bill that could help with those financial issues.

House lawmakers have proposed pay raises of up to 19.5% for troops ranked E-4 and below next year, bringing nearly all service members’ base salary above $30,000 a year. Senate lawmakers have proposed a 4.5% pay raise for all troops and an additional 1% boost for troops ranked E-3 and below.

Advocates at Tuesday’s event said either move would help, but pushed for a larger pay raise for young military families given the known pressures they face.

The measure also includes boosts in other stipends, as well as changing the formula for food stamp eligibility to allow more military families to receive that assistance.

Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif. and sponsor of the food stamp eligibility provision, said at the flags event that he’s working to build awareness of the problem with his colleagues and is hopeful Congress will act on the issues later this year.

“It’s embarrassing that there are military men and women and their families who are on food stamps, but it’s our job to make sure that they at least have access to them when they need them,” he said.

He took time to plant several flags with Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., who expressed similar optimism on the annual defense authorization bill.

“We ask our service members to do a lot, to sacrifice a lot, and ask their families to sacrifice a lot,” he said. “We should provide them at least with the bare minimum, with respect to things like food.”

Lawmakers are expected to break later this week for a month ahead of the November congressional elections. But House and Senate leaders have said they hope to pass a final compromise authorization bill sometime in November or December.

Turning those perceptions around — toward a more positive view of the military experience — could be key in addressing issues of military spouse unemployment and veteran unemployment, as well as larger issues around recruiting and retention, according to Kevin Schmiegel, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who is chief executive officer of ZeroMils, a social impact consulting firm.

“To us, painting a picture that veterans and spouses and our families are broken, are challenged, isn’t right,” Schmiegel said earlier this month at the Defense News Conference.

He and another Marine founded the consulting firm several years ago “in response to growing trends that we saw in the public, private and nonprofit sectors that painted a picture about veterans, military spouses and our families that we didn’t like,” Schmiegel said.

Changing that narrative will help move the needle on spouse and veteran unemployment, he said.

“It’s on us to change the narrative, veterans and military spouses, one at a time,” Schmiegel added

ZeroMils was founded “on the premise that we could work with multiple corporations, multiple nonprofits to change the narrative about how our community is seen and heard in the workplace and society.”

There are other big issues at stake, he said: military recruiting and retention. “The fact is, young people think veterans, military spouses and our families are challenged and broken,” Schmiegel said.

He cited a Defense Department statistic that 62% of young people think all veterans have a psychological disorder.

“That’s largely driven by a narrative from a host of nonprofits that paint a picture that we are broken, we are victims,” he said. If that narrative can change, Schmiegel thinks the numbers of young people with the propensity to join the military will increase.

Currently just about 9% of young people between the ages of 16 and 21 have the propensity to serve in the military, according to a 2022 survey by the National Military Family Association.

Too often, veterans and military spouses have the wrong approach in talking about their service, Schmiegel said. When it comes to hiring military spouses, sometimes employers think it’s a challenge.

“But the landscape has changed. Ten and a half million unfilled jobs in America is a lot of unfilled jobs. As a talent pool, as a resource, there is no better talent pool than veterans and military spouses. We have to start talking to employers that way. When we go into an interview and we’re looking for meaningful employment, I think we need to take the narrative back and talk about our service in a different way,” he said.

For companies and other organizations to say they are “military-friendly and military-ready” isn’t good enough, Schmiegel said.

“What does that mean? You’re doing us a favor by giving us a job? You’re being friendly to us? What are you doing to help us grow and thrive? Culturally, companies have to consider that this is not just about putting butts in seats,” he said. “If you have a skills gap of hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands, you have to build a culture that gives veterans and military spouses more than just a job…. What else are you doing to help them find purpose through continued service?”

Some employers might provide employee resource groups to help veterans and spouses connect with each other, share experiences, and focus on helping them take care of their physical and mental health. Employers need to create a culture for veterans and spouses that improves job satisfaction, performance and retention.

Veterans jobless rate drops to lowest average in more than 20 years

Inroads have been made in tackling the problems of veteran unemployment, thanks to efforts of government, companies and private organizations like Hiring Our Heroes. The unemployment rate for all veterans has dropped from 8.3% in 2011 to 3.4% in August, according to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But spouse unemployment has remained persistently above 21%, according to various surveys, although the Department of Labor doesn’t track spouse unemployment as it does veteran unemployment. A key difference between the two populations is that active duty spouses are likely to move every several years when their service member is transferred, which makes it difficult to find and maintain employment.

Lawmakers want Veterans Affairs leaders to better secure the department’s suicide prevention hotline amid a spate of short-term outages in the emergency lifeline, even though officials have insisted those challenges have not resulted in widespread problems for operations.

On Monday, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., released a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough asking for “a more comprehensive review of the system’s reliability and resilience, backup and redundancy procedures, and related areas to ensure (the crisis line) is available every second of every day.”

“While it appears that in each recent incident the department … acted quickly to resolve the technology issues, rerouted calls, attempted to re-engage all dropped calls or chats, the volume of problems is concerning,” he wrote.

Most VA police have not finished veteran suicide prevention training

The letter’s release comes during National Suicide Prevention Month and just a few days after a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing into the hotline’s operations.

Dr. Matthew Miller, executive director of VA’s Office of Suicide Prevention, testified Sept. 18 that the Veterans Crisis Line has suffered 12 “noteable outages” in the last 12 months, down from the fiscal 2023 total. Most of those were the result of technology issues outside of VA’s operations.

About 700 callers were affected by those outages, and roughly 500 were reconnected with specialists after a short delay, according to VA officials. Others called back on their own, but staffers acknowledged that not every caller was brought back into the system.

The missed calls represented less than 0.1% of the total call volume to the crisis line last year. Since a national 988 number was established in July 2022 for suicide intervention, Veterans Crisis Line operators have seen a nearly 23% increase in calls and nearly 77% increase in texts from individuals seeking emergency mental health aid.

“We know that we’re saving veterans’ lives,” Miller told lawmakers. “Two published studies recently have found veteran callers were over five times more likely to have less distress and less suicide ideation at the end of the call compared to the beginning, were 11 times more likely to have reduced suicidal urgency at the end of the call than the beginning.”

But he acknowledged the need to improve the system even more.

“These outages (in the last year) varied in scope and impact,” he said. “However, none of them incapacitated Veterans Crisis Line services. Our commitment to modernization and improvement is critical to ensuring it can promptly respond when interruptions do arise.”

Lawmakers on the House panel echoed that sentiment while also encouraging veterans to reach out for help if needed, despite the system’s rare lapses. Tester asked for officials to share specific steps they plan on implementing to analyze past outages and coordinate with other federal agencies to prevent future ones.

About 17 veterans a day die as a result of suicide, according to the latest statistics from VA researchers.

On Sunday, congressional leaders announced plans for a short-term budget extension to fund federal operations through Dec. 20. The money would allow for minimal disruption in federal programs and services through the fall elections and provide a chance for the newly elected White House administration to weigh in on the full federal budget later this year.

House leaders had hoped for a longer budget extension and extra provisions on voting security in their initial budget bill drafts, but those plans failed to gain enough support to move ahead.

If lawmakers don’t approve the compromise plan by Oct. 1, it could trigger a partial government shutdown, delaying paychecks for military members and shuttering some nonessential Defense Department and Veterans Affairs services.

In a letter to House colleagues on Sunday, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said “shutting the government down less than 40 days from a fateful election would be an act of political malpractice” and urged chamber members to back the budget plan.

Here’s what else is happening on Capitol Hill this week:

Tuesday, Sept. 24

Wednesday, Sept. 25

Thursday, Sept. 26

Signers of the document include a mix of Republicans and Democrats, including four former defense secretaries — William Cohen, Chuck Hagel, Leon Panetta, and William Perry — and seven Senate-confirmed military service secretaries.

“This election is a choice between serious leadership and vengeful impulsiveness,” the letter states. “It is a choice between democracy and authoritarianism. Vice President Harris defends America’s democratic ideals, while former President Donald Trump endangers them.”

The public message comes just a few days after Harris’ campaign released a similar public message from about 100 former Republican officials calling Trump “unfit to serve” and two weeks after a group of retired generals wrote a public statement defending Harris from Trump’s attacks regarding her involvement in the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Both campaigns have traded letters with military and national security themes throughout the summer.

GOP vets in Congress attack VP nominee Walz over his military record

Earlier this month, several families of servicemembers killed in Afghanistan offered their support for Trump. In August, a group of 50 veterans serving in Congress released a statement criticizing Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz for mischaracterizing his military service.

The latest letter also includes signatures from three former acting service secretaries, former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

The group criticized Trump’s incitement of supporters ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and his past praise of foreign dictators as reasons to oppose his return to the White House. They also praised Harris’ work as vice president and her commitment to work with foreign allies to strengthen U.S. military capabilities.

“That is how we know Vice President Harris would make an excellent Commander In-Chief, while Mr. Trump has proven he is not up to the job,” the group wrote.

“As leaders, we know effective leadership requires in-depth knowledge, careful deliberation, understanding of your adversaries, and empathy for those you lead. It requires listening to those with expertise and not firing them when they disagree with you.”

The presidential election will be held on Nov. 5, but early voting has already opened in several states.

The move came just two days after House lawmakers advanced the same appropriations measure, which also mandates a report from department officials on the reasons behind the department’s budget shortfall within a month. The legislation is expected to be signed into law by President Joe Biden before the end of Friday.

Sept. 20 was the deadline given by VA leaders earlier this month for when they needed money approved by Congress to avoid benefits delays starting in October. On Wednesday, Under Secretary for Benefits Joshua Jacobs told members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee that education support and monthly disability payouts could be delayed days or weeks without the emergency funds.

“The majority of the funds that we provide are delivered through direct deposit … and we’re working closely with the Treasury to find ways to compress that timeline,” he said.

Congress moves to fix VA budget gap, but time is running out

“The biggest risk is the 2% of veterans and survivors without that, 140,000 of the most vulnerable of our customers, many living in rural areas with more health conditions, who would have a delay of up to two weeks [for paper checks].”

Jacobs and other VA leaders said the budget shortfall came as a result of record-high benefits approvals and medical services usage by veterans in the last fiscal year, much of it due to the PACT Act. That legislation, passed in August 2022, dramatically expanded eligibility for those services to veterans who suffered toxic exposure injuries while in the service.

Under that legislation, administration officials had up to 10 years to implement all of the new benefits and support. But the White House opted to accelerate that timeline earlier this year, which officials said led to the higher, unexpected budget pressures.

Through the first 10 months of fiscal 2024, VA staff granted disability compensation benefits to more than 1.1 million veterans and survivors, a new record. Nearly 413,000 veterans newly enrolled in VA health care services over the previous 12 months, up 27% from the same time frame a year earlier.

Despite approving the $3 billion lifeline, numerous Republican lawmakers criticized the department for not recognizing the budget issues sooner, leading to a near emergency situation.

House lawmakers included the oversight report language to “hold the administration accountable for its budgeting errors,” according to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Bill sponsor Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., said the measure “demands accountability with real oversight to make sure every dollar is spent right.”

Ahead of Thursday’s Senate vote, lawmakers blocked proposals from Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, to withhold bonuses for senior VA executives in cases of budgeting issues and from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to rescind $2.9 billion from the Department of Energy to pay for the VA funding patch.

But Democrats in the House and Senate have downplayed the budgeting problem, saying that while the specifics were not known until recently, the extra expense from increased participation of veterans in department services was not a surprise.

“This is not the time for partisan politics,” Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., said during Wednesday’s hearing. “It is time to act to ensure that 7 million veterans and their families who are wondering whether they’ll receive their benefit checks in the next 13 days get them.”

VA officials have also asked for an additional $15 billion in the fiscal 2025 budget to cover increased benefits and medical care costs. Lawmakers are expected to debate that request after the November elections.

Officials from Disabled American Veterans and the Military Officers Association of America called the current toxic exposure system “flawed” and said their findings point to a critical need to overhaul how federal agencies identify, research and respond to the hazardous conditions faced by troops, for both vets already separated and those currently serving.

“Scientific, policy, political and fiscal challenges have too often delayed the establishment of [disability] presumptives, effectively denying justice for some veterans, their families and survivors,” report authors wrote.

“While there have been some significant leaps forward, such as the enactment of the Agent Orange Act of 1991 and the PACT Act of 2022, significant obstacles have left — and will continue to leave — too many toxic-exposed veterans waiting for the health care and benefits they have earned.”

VA eyes more medical care for vets with toxic exposure issues

The study lists 16 military toxic exposure events eventually recognized with presumptive benefits status for veterans. That status is key, because it recognizes all veterans who served in a certain area or certain time frame to skip complicated documentation of their illnesses, and instead concedes that their medical issues were likely caused by military service.

The list includes problems like exposure to the chemical defoliant Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, toxic burn pit smoke during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, poisoned water at Camp Lejeune in from the 1950s to 1980s, and radioactive materials at various sites throughout the Cold War.

In some cases, the link between the toxins and veterans health problems was known within a few years, researchers found. But getting benefits fully sorted out took much longer.

“A veteran who served in Vietnam in 1962 and later developed hypertension had to wait 60 years from first exposure for the government to concede presumptive service connection,” the report stated. “Toxic-exposed veterans are waiting too long for the establishment of presumptives to ease their path to the benefits and health care they have earned.”

The groups are advocating for a clearer process of identifying military toxins, researching their effects and implementing care and benefits for veterans exposed to the chemicals.

“We’re already getting more accurate information about service members and their specific exposures,” said Cory Titus, MOAA’s director of government relations for veteran benefits. “Codifying some of those best practices that we are seeing will help ensure that we have a true system to take care of veterans into the future.”

Advocates briefed VA leaders and members of Congress on their findings ahead of Wednesday’s report release. Peter Dickinson, senior executive advisor for DAV, said advocates hope to turn the report into legislation early next year.

“[The current White House] has run very hard and fast on part of this issue under their control,” he said. “But there is a historical waxing and waning of attention focused on veterans. We need to set up a system where … we acknowledge problems early on, rather than saying we’re not going to acknowledge it until we’re ready to pay the bill.”

The proposed reforms include a clear framework with specific timelines for when VA officials must publicly acknowledge environmental hazard incidents, inform veterans about possible health impacts and begin the process of establishing presumptive rules surrounding those conditions.

Report authors also noted that “expanding scientific understanding of toxic exposures and environmental hazards is essential to support the VA’s efforts to provide timely, comprehensive benefits and health care to exposed veterans.”

The full report is available on the DAV and MOAA websites.

That decision came after advocates raised concerns about the financial impact of those past bills for veterans, some of which could reach over $1,000.

The affected veterans all receive care at sites that are using the department’s new electronic health record. Those include the Washington-based White City VA Medical Center, Roseburg VA Medical Center, Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center, and Jonathan M. Wainwright VA Medical Center. The Chalmers P. Wylie Veterans Ambulatory Care Center in Columbus, Ohio, is also impacted.

More pharmacy problems endanger future of VA’s health records system

Co-payments for outpatient pharmacy services have been paused there for several years as officials have worked through complications with the new medical records system and the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

VA leaders this week sent out notifications to veterans using the services to warn them of the upcoming change.

“The letter will provide Veterans with advance notice that we will begin collecting copays on Oct. 1, 2024 and that they will see those charges on their November statement,” VA press secretary Terrence Hayes said in a statement.

“From then on, pharmacy copayment charges will be seen on the next month’s statement – just as would happen for veterans receiving care and pharmacy benefits from any other VA medical center.”

Hayes said a final decision has not been made on when or whether to collect the paused co-pays retroactively, but that officials are working with “Congress and veterans service organization partners on potential relief for veterans.”

VA caps yearly co-pay totals for veterans at $700. The department offers a variety of financial aid assistance programs, and has shared contact information on those services with the affected veterans.

Additional information is available at the VA website.

https://www.va.gov/manage-va-debt/

This will be challenging for many reasons, including the need for Congress to identify offsetting “pay-fors.” But without a solution, we are in danger of being unable to deliver on our commitment to our nation’s military heroes.

There are a number of reasons for the VA’s deficit. There is $3 billion tied to benefit expansion, but that leaves $12 billion for an increase in medical care. In a health system with a budget of more than $369 billion a year, there are certainly opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce waste, but a significant part of the deficit can be traced to the growth in veteran enrollment. Due to the eligibility changes enacted as part of the PACT Act, the VA has enrolled more than 740,000 veterans in the VA health administration in the past 24 months, a 33% increase from the previous two-year period.

Taking care of more veterans is a good thing, but the VA budget cannot expect unlimited growth without corresponding reductions in other parts of the broader health system. After all, when veterans receive their care from the VA, they are receiving less care from other government-sponsored programs and private health insurance companies. Those savings should be used to make up the VA’s operating losses, at least in large part.

The way to fix this problem is called “insurance subvention.” Subvention would allow for a structural change in reimbursement that aligns funding with the channels through which the care is delivered. The largest of these programs are Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare and Medicaid subvention would allow the VA to receive reimbursement from those programs when they care for a veteran who is also enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid.

Subvention does more than just align financial resources to the way care is delivered. Receiving payment for caring for patients with Medicare and Medicaid coverage will also orient VA leaders to improving access that invites further growth and to increasing performance and the quality of care to be competitive with other options for health care that veterans may have.

Medicare subvention is not a new idea. Decades ago, the Department of Defense completed a demonstration project with military retirees. At the VA, Medicare subvention was proposed in 1999, back when the VA’s budget was only $43 billion, but there was no political will to take this shift on.

As secretary of Veterans Affairs more recently, I sought to implement Medicare subvention to correct the misaligned resource allocation in the system, only to be blocked by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The financial actuaries at OMB worried that the program might reduce the Medicare trust fund’s financial sustainability, a politically sensitive topic.

Yet unless the structural issues of financing are fixed, the system continues to grow increasingly inefficient for taxpayers and leaves the VA without adequate funds to care for new veterans entering the system.

The VA already bills private insurers, as secondary payers, for veterans who seek care in the VA. However, the VA should consider switching from being the primary payer to becoming a secondary payer for veterans with private health insurance options. The key here is to ensure veterans are not penalized and do not incur any greater financial obligations than in the current system.

Insurance subvention is complicated and takes some political will. But not addressing this now, and pasting over the problem with another $15 billion taxpayer funded authorization, is simply kicking the can down the road and ultimately doing our veterans a disservice.

David Shulkin served as the ninth secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in the Trump administration and as the VA’s undersecretary of health in the Obama administration.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this op-ed misstated that Shulkin serves as executive vice president at Sanford Health; he does not. The op-ed was updated Sept. 18 to reflect this correction.

VA leaders have said because of increased benefits payouts and medical care enrollments this year, their accounts are about $2.9 billion short of what’s needed to keep normal operations continuing. If money is not provided by Sept. 20, they warned, some benefits checks due next month may be delayed by days or weeks.

House members are expected to vote on legislation providing the money — and calling for a closer look at the reasons behind the funding issue — early this week. Senate leaders have said they will move on the measure as soon as possible afterwards.

But individual senators could disrupt that timeline with objections to the bill, possibly pushing final passage of the stopgap funds to the weekend or next week. VA officials have said they will work closely with lawmakers to see how they can prevent any potential benefits disruptions.

Here’s what else is happening on Capitol Hill this week:

Monday, Sept. 16

Tuesday, Sept. 17

Wednesday, Sept. 18

Thursday, Sept. 19

Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance in an interview Wednesday said he would “consider” plans to privatize parts of the Department of Veterans Affairs and push for more private-health care options for patients in the system if elected this fall.

In an appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show podcast released Wednesday, the Ohio senator (who is former President Donald Trump’s running mate) also said he would fire or cut thousands of federal civilian jobs, including many within VA.

“Probably 90% to 95% of the people at the VA are fantastic human beings, but then you’ve got a small slice of the VA [who are] bad apples that makes it really hard for everybody else to do their job,” he said.

“This is why veterans spend three hours on the phone trying to get an appointment. This is why you have people commit suicide, because they’re waiting 28 days to get an appointment with the doctor. It’s a small sliver of the VA, but you can fire those people, right? Give the people who are doing their job a raise. Fire the people who aren’t doing their jobs.”

What does privatization of VA really mean?

Both Ryan and Vance are veterans. Vance said he has used VA hospitals for his own health care in the past, but understands frustration with the system and would listen to proposals for privatizing parts of the department.

When Ryan asked “would you ever consider privatized health care for veterans?” Vance responded by saying “I think I’d consider it” before shifting to thoughts on Trump’s past veterans policies.

“I think that there are areas where the VA actually works very well,” he said. “So I would not say, ‘get rid of the whole thing.’ But I would say, ‘give people more choice.’ I think you’ll save money in the process.”

A spokesman for Vance on Thursday afternoon denied that the nominee supports defunding parts of the VA and blasted the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris for creating a controversy where one did not exist.

“In the full exchange, Senator Vance clearly says he would not privatize the Department of Veterans Affairs,” William Martin said in a statement. “The Kamala campaign is once again twisting his words and lying about his position because they have nothing but a record of abject failure to run on. They should be ashamed for intentionally lying about a veteran when it comes to providing quality care and coverage for our veterans.”

The issue of cutting back VA services and shifting those funds to private-sector doctors and businesses has been a point of contention in the veterans community in recent years, especially since then-President Donald Trump signed legislation designed to make it easier for veterans to have medical appointments outside of VA paid for with taxpayer dollars.

Democratic critics — and some veterans advocates — have charged that continuing to expand such policies would lead to dismantling VA funding and programming in favor of private-sector profits, a charge that Republican lawmakers have angrily refuted.

“I love being lectured and gaslit by Democratic members on this panel … about how we’re trying to privatize the VA,” Rep. Ei Crane, R-Ariz., said during a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing on the VA budget on Tuesday. “That is absolutely not what we are trying to do.”

The VA budget has grown significantly in recent years. In fiscal 2001, the entire VA budget amounted to $48 billion in spending. Ten years ago, that total was $153.9 billion. The request for fiscal 2025 from the department is nearly $330 billion.

VA officials said roughly 40% of all veterans health care appointments in fiscal 2023 were handled by doctors outside the department’s health care system, and that the number of veterans using Community Care options has risen by 45% since fiscal 2019.

But Vance said during the podcast that too many veterans are still forced to drive hours to receive VA health care instead of being given private-sector options.

“Why force a veteran to drive two and a half hours to a VA facility when he can get cheaper care right in his backyard?” he said. “So I do think that we ought to open up choice and optionality for veterans.”

Trump has not spoken specifically on VA privatization in recent campaign appearances, but has spoken about expanding veterans access to care options.

Democratic opponents in recent weeks have attacked plans in the conservative Project 2025 blueprint calling for “cost savings” in VA disability payments, to include “revising disability rating awards for future claimants.” Trump has denied any authorship or connection to the project.

In a statement, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a veteran and a Harris-Walz campaign co-chair, blasted Vance’s comments.

“When JD Vance floats the Trump-Vance Project 2025 agenda to privatize the VA, we should take him seriously,” she said. “Veterans deserve better than candidates who will turn their health care into a business opportunity the minute they get the chance. The VA isn’t just another government agency – it’s a lifeline for veterans, families, and caregivers who’ve sacrificed for our freedoms.”