Tag Archives: Bilirakis

$2.44 Billion Reclaimed: Inside the VA Recoupment Fight

Two women exchange cash and a check at an office desk

Under a law dating to the 1940s, veterans who received separation pay, compensation for time served, had to repay it if they later qualified for VA disability benefits. (Federal rules barred receiving both.) The VA would withhold disability checks until the debt was cleared. From 2013 to 2023, this debt recoupment structure equaled $2.44 billion in separation pay and bonuses from 112,834 veterans.

To many, this payment structure may seem like punishment to the disabled veteran. In 2023, Senator Ruben Gallego’s (AZ) Restore Veterans’ Compensation Act of 2023 which would have barred this practice, arguing the two payments serve different purposes. Since that time, the bill has been reintroduced many times. Most recently, Representative Bilirakis (FL) brought the Restore Veterans’ Compensation Act of 2026 to Congress on January 13, 2026. (HR7027 was referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs on May 7, 2026.)

“It is ridiculous to claw back money from a veteran who has put life and limb on the line, just because later in life they qualify for disability benefits,” stated Gallego, acknowledging the fact that traumatic brain injury symptoms often surface or worsen years after service.

*The bill’s chief criticism is fiscal: ending recoupment means the government forfeits future collections.

The Biggest Veterans Bill in Years Buries a Tinnitus Trap

U.S. flag waving with Capitol building and two military personnel silhouette, text about Veterans Act 2026

House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (IL) and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jerry Moran (KS) introduced the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (H.R. 9237/S. 4744) on June 10, 2026. This new 554-page, 62-page bill includes many sections that affect the brain injured from multiple angles:

Led by Rep. Jack Bergman (MI), a retired Marine general, and Rep. Sarah Elfreth (MD), the BEACON Act provision authorizes roughly $60 million for VA grants targeting non-pharmacological treatments for mild-to-moderate TBI. The Precision Brain Health Research Act, championed by Sen. Jerry Moran and Sen. Angus King (ME), directs a 10-year VA research plan on repetitive low-level blast injuries. The bill’s TBI provision includes A Blast Overpressure Task Force and HBOT reporting requirement, from Rep. Gregory Murphy (NC). A catastrophic-disability supplement of $833/month would benefit many severe TBI cases.

Furthermore, the package includes the Major Richard Star Act, the Love Lives On Act, and the Veterans’ ACCESS Act, among others. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (FL), a Congressional Brain Injury Task Force member, is among 20 House cosponsors; Senate cosponsors are John Boozman (AR) and Kevin Cramer (ND).

While the bill may appear wholly beneficial, it’s controversial because it offsets costs by reclassifying tinnitus – often a TBI symptom – as a derivative condition. (A derivative condition refers to a medical, legal, or mathematical situation that results directly from a pre-existing or primary cause.) This new classification would eliminate its standalone VA rating and data shows that it could potentially cut $57 billion in benefits for 1.5 million veterans.