With a few scant weeks left in their session, members of the 118th Congress must act immediately or risk leaving generations of veterans, and their caregivers, with inadequate resources, life-altering stress, and more questions than answers about their long-term health.

The bipartisan Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act (H.R. 8371) addresses these issues and others, improving service-earned benefits and offering even wider upgrades to survivor programs, homeless veteran outreach, and many other facets of VA-provided support. Yet despite backing from key committee leaders and dozens of veterans groups (including MOAA), the bill has not cleared the House nor been introduced in the Senate.

[TAKE ACTION: Ask Your Lawmakers to Back the Dole Act]

Thousands of visitors to MOAA’s Legislative Action Center already have reached out to their legislators in support of the bill, but as other post-election priorities stack up, it’s critical to make your voice heard today.

Failure to pass this bipartisan bill would push planned improvements back years – improvements needed as the VA faces its own budget crisis and prepares for a challenging demographic landscape:

• The VA will see a 31% increase in veterans 85 and older from 2021 to 2041.
• Over that same period, the number of women veterans over 65 will spike by 237%.
• There are already 14.3 million military and veteran caregivers, mostly family members. According to a new RAND study, 42% of caregivers to veterans age 60 and under met the criteria for depression, and 1 in 5 have contemplated suicide.

Improving available benefits for this cohort can be a life-altering, if not life-saving, step toward a better future for millions of veterans and caregivers.

What the Dole Act Would Do

The omnibus legislation spans more than 300 pages, including provisions from many other MOAA-backed bills. Some of the key improvements:

• Home-Based Care: As part of a continuing shift from facility-based care to home-based care – preferred by most veterans, and often a lower-cost option for the VA – the legislation would improve home-based options, target regions in need of more home health care workers, and improve coordination with the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.
  
  
• Caregiver Help: The bill allows the VA to provide grants for mental health support for caregivers, requires a secretary-level review of respite care services and effectiveness, and requires caregivers who were deemed ineligible for the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) be made eligible for other lines of support.
  
  
• Better Access to Care: Veterans with mobility issues or other chronic ailments would be able to find care from local providers, cutting down on travel demands.
  
  
• Even More Progress: The bill calls for greater oversight of the department’s new electronic records system, increases funding and improves flexibility for programs supporting homeless veterans, and strengthens veteran education benefits, ranging from expanded access to benefits for surviving spouses to the relaunch of the VET-TEC high technology program.
  
  

Help MOAA Make a Difference

Passing this sweeping legislation will not only provide for millions of veterans today, it will ensure these services are available in the future for an aging veteran population. Without this framework of support, the VA may not be able to provide the lifetime of quality care veterans have earned, nor will it provide the care options to veterans and their families they deserve as they make their long-term plans.

Reach out to your lawmakers before they return from recess. Let them know that caring for those who served remains a priority for their constituents, and the Dole Act must not be cast aside in a rush to finish other pressing business in the lame-duck session. Passage of the bill around Veterans Day would signal how much our nation values military service.

Learn more about the bill at this link, and keep up with the latest on the Dole Act and other MOAA priorities at MOAA’s Advocacy News page.