MOAA and dozens of other veteran advocacy groups never expected to be seven months into the second session of the 118th Congress with little significant legislation signed into law to demonstrate support for the veteran community.

And legislators’ recent decision to leave for summer recess without acting on a MOAA-supported package designed to help veterans, their families, and caregivers signals a narrow chance of meaningful legislation passing before the November election.

At issue: MOAA and fellow advocacy organizations have aggressively pressed lawmakers to pass the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act for more than a year. The Dole Act contains a long list of MOAA-supported priorities covering benefits reform, expanded long-term care services, caregiver support, resources for homeless veterans, assistance for surviving spouses, and improved claims processing, among other improvements.  

[TAKE ACTION: Support This Wide-Ranging Plan to Improve Veterans’ Care]

The window of opportunity to pass the Dole Act is rapidly closing on the congressional calendar. Congress will have a full plate of must-pass legislation and competing priorities when it returns after the August recess, to include crafting a stopgap funding bill to prevent a government shutdown.

Fully aware of this time crunch, more than two dozen groups (including MOAA) sent a letter in May to House and Senate leaders and the respective leaders of the Veterans’ Affairs Committees, urging them to “put aside politics, work together in good faith to find a path forward through the House and the Senate, and enact this critical legislation before the Fourth of July.”

[READ THE LETTER]

The groups followed up in June with a press event designed to energize lawmakers to honor their request. Yet political divisiveness and a growing backlog of bills has stymied their ability to move forward on any essential legislation.

While there is broad bipartisan support for the Dole Act, the longer the package languishes in Congress, the more difficult it will be for both chambers to pass the legislation, especially if it’s delayed until the post-election “lame-duck” session.

This package represents in the broadest way possible the interests of the entire veteran community. Inaction by lawmakers as the session nears its conclusion is unacceptable to veterans and groups like MOAA who advocate on their behalf.  

Do not let Congress end this year without passing this important legislation to ensure our nation remains committed to those who selflessly served and sacrificed. Click here to contact your legislators and ask them to pass the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare Improvement Act. Tell them they cannot let another month pass without enacting this life-giving and lifesaving legislation.