House Introduces Bipartisan Take Care of America’s Veterans Act on June 10

The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act was introduced in the House on June 10 by Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost alongside lawmakers from both parties. The legislation bundles more than 60 bipartisan bills into one package. Key provisions include the Major Richard Star Act, which would allow certain combat-injured veterans to receive both military retirement pay and VA disability compensation without the current dollar-for-dollar offset.

The measure affects tens of thousands of medically retired veterans with fewer than 20 years of service. Another section, the Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act, would increase compensation for veterans with severe service-connected disabilities and provide additional support for surviving spouses.

The Love Lives On Act within the package would eliminate the remarriage penalty for surviving spouses of fallen service members.

The bill also extends benefits for families of veterans who die of service-connected illnesses such as ALS and expands mental health and suicide prevention programs. In 2023, 6,398 veterans died by suicide, averaging roughly 17.5 deaths per day, with more than 60 percent of those individuals not engaged in VA care.

Additional measures address substance use disorders, which affect roughly 1 in 10 veterans overall and 12–13 percent of post-9/11 veterans.

The bill creates a pilot program for grants to nonprofits supplying service animals to veterans at no charge and establishes a TBI Innovation Grant Program for traumatic brain injury treatment. It proposes faster disability claims processing through efficiency standards, expanded automation, and annual reporting requirements.