House Votes to Ease VA Benefits Increase... Rep. Frank Guinta Supports VA Secretary COLA Discretion

Press Release

Each year, Congress must approve a cost-of-living increase for U.S. military veterans receiving federal benefits, a process that may delay payments. Congressman Frank Guinta voted yesterday for the Veterans Compensation COLA Act of 2016 to allow the Secretary of Veterans Affairs more discretion to make a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to benefits.

New Hampshire has a larger proportion of veterans than most states. "They shouldn't have to wait for Congress to pass a cost-of-living adjustment that could make the difference between three square meals and going hungry," said Rep. Guinta (NH-01), who introduced similar legislation last year.

His bipartisan SENIORS Act, which the Congressman introduced with Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09), would eliminate billions of dollars of federal waste to guarantee Social Security and veterans beneficiaries a cost-of-living increase. Yesterday's bill from Rep. Ralph Abraham (LA-05) passed on a voice vote in the House, signifying widespread bipartisan agreement.

"The VA must reform in a number of areas to improve veterans' healthcare," said Rep. Guinta. "The Veterans Compensation COLA Act would also remove annual benefit increases from the slow process of legislation to speed delivery to vets in need of assistance."

Rep. Guinta previously introduced legislation to remove time and distance restrictions from the Veterans Choice Card program, as well as to prevent the President from defunding it. Congress expanded veterans' choice of healthcare to include private providers, after whistleblowers exposed secret patient waiting lists at VA hospitals, which employees used to obscure missed deadlines and collect performance bonuses.

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