Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal has responded to the Trump Administration’s decision to pause a new interim final rule at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that would have changed how disability ratings for veterans are evaluated. The proposed rule would have lowered disability ratings and compensation awards by not considering veterans' baseline conditions.
Blumenthal stated, “While I’m encouraged the Secretary has temporarily walked away from his short-sighted policy to slash disability benefits for thousands of veterans, this rule must be permanently rescinded. This proposed policy would do nothing but reduce the compensation veterans are due, and scare them into avoiding the life-improving medication they need – harming their physical and mental health. I will be introducing legislation to align VA policy with the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims’ ruling that a veteran’s disability rating must be strictly based on that veteran’s underlying condition.”
He joined organizations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Disabled American Veterans (DAV) in expressing concerns about the rule.
Earlier in the week, VA published an interim final rule changing how veteran disability ratings are evaluated without a public comment period. The new rule reversed standards set by Ingram v. Collins in 2025, which required VA to discount medication effects when assessing claims severity if medications were not mentioned in rating criteria. Under the paused rule, examiners would rate disabilities as presented without considering medication impact, potentially leading to lower ratings even when evidence supported higher ones.
The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee oversees benefits and health care programs for veterans across the United States and works with entities like the Department of Veterans Affairs (official website). The committee also contributes to improving access to VA health care and supports veterans transitioning to civilian life (official website). Offices for this committee are located within the U.S. Capitol complex (official website). Jerry Moran serves as chairman while Richard Blumenthal is ranking member (official website).
The Ingram v. Collins decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims requires VA to disregard improvements due to medications unless specifically addressed in rating schedules, affecting those who take maintenance medications.
