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The Department of Veterans Affairs just opened a formal public comment period and announced its annual PACT Act listening session under 38 U.S.C. § 1172. This is the regulatory machinery that decides whether future veterans get presumptive service connection—or spend the rest of their lives fighting denials.

Effective reform requires institutions that are accountable for delivery, not theory alone. It requires feedback from organizations responsible for outcomes and present in veterans’ daily lives. Advocacy without implementation does not close gaps. Implementation without policy reform cannot scale.

The U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs GI Bill Comparison Tool is scheduled to receive a significant upgrade following enactment of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act in early 2025 (Public Law 118-210).

It is a hard truth that veterans of the Global War on Terror, those who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and related operations, experience a shortened lifespan compared with the general U.S. population and with less severely affected veteran cohorts. War takes its obvious toll downrange, but the deeper toll often shows up years later, through the slow math of stress physiology, chronic injury, isolation, and preventable deaths that never make the evening news.

As a woman veteran, I know what it feels like to serve in a world where our contributions are often minimized or overlooked. But this isn’t my story alone, it’s the story of hundreds of women whose combat experiences were never fully acknowledged by the Departments of Defense (War) and Veterans Affairs. A quiet injustice echoes throughout our veteran community, one that too many carried during training, overseas, and even after deployment—in silence: some women served side-by

Combat Veterans of America Welcomes New Board Member & Legislative Director: Marianeth Crockett

U.S. Department of Education Names Matthew Feehan, J.D., Primary Negotiator for Student Veterans and Service Members

A 0% rating means the VA agrees that your injury or illness was caused or aggravated by your service, even if it does not yet meet the threshold for monthly compensation (VA.gov). It is not symbolic. It is legal recognition, and it forms the foundation for nearly every veteran benefit system in existence.

Happening Now: Despite Shutdown, Education Department Staff Press Forward with Negotiated Rulemaking. Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee. The RISE Committee represents a broad coalition of perspectives across the higher-education and lending landscape. Its membership includes representatives of student loan borrowers—including those in repayment, deferment, or default—alongside veterans and military-service organizations, such as Student Veterans of

Dr. Daniel M. Gade calls upon the U.S. Senate to reduce VA disability compensation.

Combat Veterans of America Response to Washington Post’s Skewed Portrayal of Veterans

Ask ten agencies to define a “combat veteran,” and you’ll get twelve answers. Ask ten combat veterans, and you’ll get one feeling: that nobody ever asked them to define it themselves. For all the medals, speeches, and programs built around military service, the phrase “combat veteran” remains legally undefined. It appears on license plates, nonprofit banners, and campaign ads, but not in any section of Title 38 of the U.S. Code.

When policymakers say benefits “keep up with inflation,” they mean inflation as measured by a population that does not represent veterans. That gap compounds each year, producing an illusion of fairness while purchasing power quietly deteriorates.

Veterans’ Disability Appeals Survive Government Shutdown after Appeals Court Denies VA Motion

dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORA) for treatment of insomnia in veterans population

Despite decades of effort, billions of dollars spent, and national attention, the suicide risk among post-9/11 veterans remains alarmingly elevated. Research shows that veterans who served in the Global War on Terror (GWOT) and subsequent campaigns face higher rates of suicidal behavior than many previous generations. One compelling answer lies at the intersection of moral injury, neuropsychiatric harm (linked to deployment logistics such as mandatory prophylactic drugs), a

After years of gridlock, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) —the independent federal agency that hears appeals from civil servants who believe they were unfairly disciplined, fired, denied reasonable accommodations, or retaliated against for whistleblowing—finally has a quorum again. For close to a decade, thousands of federal employee appeals have sat idle and have been teased by politicking because the Board lacked the three members to issue final decisions. But foll

On September 29, 2025, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a Proposed Rule (RIN 2900-AS37) in the Federal Register titled...

For much of the 1990s and early 2000s, the U.S. military issued mefloquine (Lariam) as a standard prophylactic against malaria for deployed service members. It was cheap, required only weekly dosing, and seemed convenient for large-scale use. But the true cost became clear later. Instead of simply preventing disease, mefloquine left thousands of veterans with lasting psychiatric and neurological injuries.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) just published its Final Rule amending 38 C.F.R. § 17.417 that will allow VA clinicians...