1. United States
2. Letter

I am writing as a Gulf War-era Navy veteran to urge you to oppose Section 108 of H.R. 9237, the Take Care of America's Veterans Act. I cannot support funding this package by cutting future disability compensation for tinnitus and sleep apnea. These are not marginal conditions tinnitus is the most commonly service connected disability in the VA system, and sleep apnea affects hundreds of thousands of veterans whose conditions are a direct result of their service. Eliminating the standalone tinnitus rating and gutting the automatic 50% sleep apnea rating for CPAP users does not reflect improved medical outcomes; it is a budget offset balanced on the backs of future veterans. I am especially concerned about precedent. If Congress accepts that earned disability compensation can be reduced whenever it needs an offset, no rating is safe not toxic exposure conditions, not PTSD, not migraines. Veterans should not be pitted against each other to fund other legislative priorities. Please reject Section 108 and find an offset that does not come from veterans' earned compensation.