Nearly 40 years ago, President Ronald Reagan signed the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) into law. The ACAA prohibits disability-based discrimination in air travel. The major problem with commercial air travel continues to be that airplanes have very few accessibility...

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) to qualified survivors of service members and veterans. Eligible surviving spouses can also receive an additional $331.84 per month in DIC when a veteran who, at the time of death,...

The Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Home and Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) grants help veterans and service members make medically necessary improvements and structural alterations to their primary residence. This includes improving the entrance or...

Veterans with significant disabilities, like spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D), require specialized and long-term services and supports throughout their lives. Most SCI/D veterans would prefer to receive non-institutional care or home and community based-services...

The Social Security Caregiver Credit Act would provide much-needed retirement protection in the form of a credit under Social Security for individuals who leave the workforce to care for a loved one. The bill would allow caregivers who engage in at least 80 hours...

The Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Support Act of 2023 aims to expand the evidentiary standard for survivors applying for disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure military sexual trauma (MST) survivors are provided equal access...

The majority of service members who are medically retired from military service due to combat-related injuries are not allowed to collect their full military retirement pay and VA disability compensation. Currently, only veterans who have served 20 or more years and have VA...

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) to qualified survivors of service members and veterans. The DIC rate paid to survivors has been minimally adjusted since it was first established in 1993. H.R. 1083/S. 414, the...

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is currently restricted from paying room and board fees at assisted living facilities—a policy that precludes veterans from utilizing this long-term care option. The Expanding Veterans’ Options for Long Term Care Act (H.R. 1815/S...

More than nine million veterans and their families receive retirement, disability, or survivor benefits from Social Security, and together, they comprise approximately 35 percent of the Social Security beneficiary population. Social Security trust funds will face a modest...

Caring for veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D) requires sharp assessment, time- and labor-intensive physical skills, and genuine empathy. Despite aggressive hiring practices during the pandemic and recent congressional approval to raise pay caps...

Individuals whose eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) has already been approved, often after a lengthy process, remain barred from any compensation for five months after that approval. In addition to this five-month waiting period for SSDI...

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) lacks sufficient facilities to provide acute and long-term care for veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D).The Build, Utilize, Invest, Learn, and Deliver (BUILD) for Veterans Act of 2023 would streamline the...

Thousands of service members have suffered a genitourinary injury, resulting in the loss of, or compromised ability, to have a child. Among those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, genital injuries, most of which were a result of ground-based explosive mechanisms, were...