1. United States
2. Fla.
3. Letter

I am writing as your constituent in Tallahassee to urge you to oppose the proposed VASRD rating changes that would eliminate the standalone disability rating for tinnitus (Diagnostic Code 6260) and end the automatic 50% rating for sleep apnea requiring CPAP use (Diagnostic Code 6847). If implemented, these changes would strip earned compensation from over a million disabled veterans and represent a budget-driven cut dressed up as a "modernization" of the rating schedule. Tinnitus is not a minor or exaggerated claim it is the predictable result of how the military operates. Tinnitus has long been the single most commonly claimed VA disability, and for good reason: military service routinely exposes troops to dangerously loud environments flight decks, artillery batteries, small arms ranges, engine rooms, and heavy machinery often for years at a time. This is not an incidental risk; it is baked into the nature of the job. That risk was made dramatically worse by 3M's Combat Arms Earplugs, Version 2, which were issued to millions of service members as standard hearing protection. 3M knew the earplugs had a design defect that prevented a secure seal and concealed this from the military, yet continued supplying them for years. The result was the largest product liability settlement in U.S. history, with 3M paying roughly $6 billion to resolve claims from veterans who suffered hearing loss and tinnitus because equipment they were issued and trusted did not work as represented. Many of the veterans now filing or holding tinnitus ratings are living with the consequences of a documented corporate failure, not a frivolous claim. Eliminating the standalone tinnitus rating effectively asks these veterans to absorb a cost that 3M itself was found liable for. Sleep apnea and CPAP dependence are often a direct legacy of burn pit exposure. Many veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan returned with chronic respiratory and sleep-related breathing problems traced directly to exposure to open-air burn pits, where waste — including plastics, medical waste, batteries, and fuel — was incinerated for years near where troops lived and worked. Congress itself recognized this connection when it passed the PACT Act, establishing presumptive service connection for numerous burn pit-related conditions. A veteran who requires a CPAP machine every night for the rest of their life has a permanent, lifelong medical condition. The fact that the device manages the symptoms does not mean the underlying disability has disappeared it means the veteran is successfully complying with treatment. Removing the 50% rating in these cases punishes veterans for managing a service connected condition responsibly, and creates a perverse incentive to forgo treatment in order to preserve a rating. What I am asking you to do I respectfully ask that you: Publicly oppose the proposed VASRD changes to Diagnostic Codes 6260 (tinnitus) and 6847 (sleep apnea), as currently drafted. Communicate directly with VA leadership about the harm these changes would cause to veterans in our district and across the country. Support any legislation or oversight action that would block implementation of these rating changes, or that would require the VA to demonstrate that any rating schedule revisions improve, rather than reduce, outcomes for disabled veterans. Veterans accepted the conditions of military service including the noise, the burn pits, and the equipment they were issued based on a promise that the country would stand behind them if that service caused lasting harm. Walking that promise back now, for budgetary reasons, is a betrayal of that commitment. Thank you for your time and consideration. I would appreciate a response outlining your position on this issue.