What is the latest news about the VA Benefits bill in the Senate? Every update about it – MARCA

What is the latest news about the VA Benefits bill in the Senate? Every update about it  MARCA

The Senate's latest attempt to move major veterans legislation forward has ended in another stalemate, leaving millions of veterans waiting to see whether Congress can reach an agreement on a package that includes changes to disability compensation, health care and other benefits. The central legislation is the Take Care of America's Veterans Act, or TCAVA, which is designated as S. 4744 in the Senate and H.R. 9237 in the House. The sweeping package combines more than 60 individual veterans measures, including proposals involving disability compensation, caregivers, survivors and health care. The Senate's most significant confrontation occurred July 29, when Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and ranking Democrat Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., attempted to advance competing versions of the legislation.

Neither effort succeeded. Moran sought unanimous consent to advance the Republican-backed version of TCAVA, but Blumenthal objected. Blumenthal then attempted to move an amended version that would use unobligated Department of Defense money to pay for the legislation, but Moran objected to that proposal. Under Senate rules, a single objection is enough to prevent a unanimous-consent request from moving forward. The disagreement centers largely on how Congress should pay for the new benefits. Republican supporters have backed using projected savings from VA changes affecting future disability ratings for conditions including tinnitus and sleep apnea. Critics argue that relying on those