Overview
- The House postponed a final vote on the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act after a 210–211 motion to send the bill back to committee failed on Thursday, July 16, 2026, and Speaker Mike Johnson said the measure likely will not return for weeks.
- The bill bundles more than 60 measures, including the Major Richard Star Act, and would use rating changes for sleep apnea and tinnitus as offsets to pay for expanded benefits.
- The proposal would replace the standalone 30% sleep apnea rating with a 0–100% scale and treat tinnitus as a symptom rather than a standalone 10% rating, changes the VA estimates could cut compensation by about $57 billion over 10 years.
- VA officials told reporters they plan to move forward with the audiology portion of the 2022 proposed rule on tinnitus, which means the agency could implement those rating changes administratively and return any savings to the Treasury rather than have Congress redirect them to veterans programs.
- The stalled vote deepens a split among veterans service organizations and lawmakers, with some backing the bill as a practical way to pass long-sought reforms and others warning the rating changes would reduce earned benefits for current and future veterans.