Veteran policy moves through Washington in the form of bill numbers, committee hearings, floor votes, and budget fights. For the veteran community, those details matter. They can determine how disability compensation is adjusted, how VA healthcare expands, how education benefits are used, and whether families receive the support they earned through service.
This Dispatch field list breaks the current legislative picture into two sections: recently passed or advanced legislation, and proposed legislation still moving through Congress. Each entry includes the bill title, bill number, sponsor information, a brief description, and status when the bill is still proposed.
Recently Passed or Advanced Legislation
Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2026
This bipartisan legislation would increase VA disability compensation and survivor benefits in line with the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment. The adjustment would apply to disability compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, and clothing allowances.
For veterans and survivors living on fixed incomes, COLA legislation is one of the most direct ways Congress helps benefits keep pace with rising costs for food, housing, utilities, and healthcare.
Veteran Education and Workforce Expansion Legislation
This House-passed package is aimed at expanding education and workforce pathways for veterans, including technical training, apprenticeships, skilled trades, healthcare certifications, and other non-traditional career programs.
The measure reflects a growing push to make veteran education benefits more flexible, especially for those who want direct-entry career training instead of a traditional four-year college track.
Marriage and Family Therapist Qualification Act
This bill establishes clearer qualification standards for marriage and family therapists serving within the Veterans Health Administration. The goal is to strengthen the VA mental health workforce and improve access to counseling for veterans and military families.
Expanded access to qualified mental health providers matters because many veterans face long wait times, limited local provider availability, or difficulty finding clinicians who understand military and family transition issues.
Educational Counseling Improvement Act
This legislation would improve educational and vocational counseling services available through the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill is aimed at helping veterans better navigate schools, career paths, training programs, and benefit decisions.
Better counseling can make a major difference during transition, especially for veterans trying to translate military experience into civilian credentials, degrees, or career plans.
Currently Proposed Legislation
Major Richard Star Act
The Major Richard Star Act would allow medically retired combat-injured veterans with fewer than 20 years of service to receive both full military retirement pay and VA disability compensation. Under current rules, many veterans see one benefit reduced because they receive the other.
Guard Equal Benefits for Federal Missions Act
This bill would expand benefit eligibility for National Guard members activated for federally directed missions. It is designed to make sure Guard members receive appropriate VA benefits, retirement credit, healthcare eligibility, and education benefits when they are called to serve.
Office of Novel Therapeutics Act
This proposal would create an Office of Novel Therapeutics within the Veterans Health Administration to help oversee emerging treatment options and new care models for veterans.
The bill reflects growing interest in new approaches to PTSD, traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, and mental health treatment, including alternative and emerging therapies.
Veterans Outdoor Wellness Grant Program
This bill would create a grant program supporting structured outdoor recreation programs for veterans. These programs could include hiking, hunting, fishing, camping, conservation work, peer support, and other outdoor wellness efforts.
Infertility and Toxic Exposure Presumption Act
This bill would treat infertility as a condition potentially connected to military toxic exposure, allowing affected veterans to pursue presumptive disability claims related to toxic exposure.
The measure fits into a larger post-PACT Act conversation about burn pits, PFAS contamination, endocrine disruption, reproductive health, and long-term exposure-related illnesses.
Post-9/11 GI Bill Transfer Expansion Bills
These bills would increase flexibility for transferring unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to spouses and dependents. Current transfer rules can be restrictive and are often tied to additional service obligations.
National Veterans Strategy Act
This legislation would require the federal government to define veteran success and create a coordinated national strategy covering healthcare, employment, transition support, education, housing, and long-term wellbeing.
Supporters argue veteran policy is often fragmented and reactive. This bill would push the government toward a more unified, long-range plan for helping veterans succeed after service.
Taken together, these bills show where veteran policy is heading: cost-of-living protection, expanded healthcare capacity, stronger transition support, more flexible education pathways, toxic exposure recognition, and a renewed focus on what comes after service.
For veterans, staying informed is not just political awareness. It is part of protecting the benefits earned through service and making sure the next generation of veterans has a stronger system waiting for them when the uniform comes off.