LEGISLATIVE RESOURCES
Here are some hyperlinks to useful resources to contact your elected officials.
MOAA’s Top 5 Priorities for 2026
1. Shutdown Fairness Act (S. 3168)
What it does: Allows the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security to continue paying servicemembers during any future funding lapse
Who it supports: Currently serving, including National Guard and Reserve members.
MOAA’s take: The best solution remains a timely appropriations process. The bills does NOT include members of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps or the NOAA Commissioned Corps; MOAA continues to advocate for their inclusion.
How you can help: Click here and send a letter to your lawmakers now.
2. Improve and Enhance the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Act (H.R. 6231 | S. 3265)
What it does: Modernizes the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), a nonrefundable tax credit employers can take for hiring target group members during the employee’s first year on the job, by increasing the amount of the credit and adding military spouses as a target group The program is intended to reduce the unemployment rate of “job seekers who have consistently faced barriers to employment” by incentivizing employers with a tax credit, according to the Labor Department.
Who it supports: Unemployed veterans and military spouses.
MOAA’s take: MOAA has long championed this program, and the addition of military spouses. Continuing to offer this tax credit to employers while enhancing the program will ensure the veteran unemployment rate remains low. Expanding this benefit to military spouses improves financial stability for the currently serving military family, increasing military readiness and retention rates.
How you can help: Click here and send a letter to your lawmakers now.
3. Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding (GUARD) VA Benefits Act (H.R. 1732)
What it does: Reinstates criminal penalties for unaccredited claim representatives who charge unauthorized fees while assisting veterans with filing a claim for VA disability compensation benefits.
Who it supports: Veterans and retirees.
MOAA’s take: Veterans deserve trusted, ethical, and accountable support when filing disability claims – support that protects their privacy, respects their service, and preserves their earned compensation. The goal is not to limit veterans’ ability to seek help, but to guarantee that when they do, the assistance comes from accredited professionals bound by high ethical and professional standards … and that our veterans will not be forced to surrender a portion of the benefits they earned in service to the nation.
How you can help: Keep following MOAA advocacy news. A call to action is coming soon.
4. Military CARE Act (H.R. 6796)
What it does: Requires the Pentagon to establish a digital system designed to improve access to care at military treatment facilities (MTFs) by providing beneficiaries with a standardized platform to report barriers to MTF care and creating a data record that does not exist today to give Defense Health Agency leadership and Congress the insights needed to address systemic access challenges.
Who it supports: All TRICARE beneficiaries, but especially military families.
MOAA’s take: We advocated aggressively for this priority in 2025 as part of our spring Advocacy in Action campaign. Military families must have a more effective option for reporting access problems — an option that also increases transparency to beneficiary challenges and leads to greater accountability and oversight of the MHS.
How you can help: Click here and send a letter to your lawmakers now.
5. Veteran Caregiver Reeducation, Reemployment, and Retirement Act (H.R. 2148 | S. 879)
What it does: Expands health care coverage and career transition support for caregivers, and would require a study designed to provide caregivers with a path toward financial security in retirement.
Who it supports: Millions of caregivers.
MOAA’s take: “Just as our veterans answered the call to serve our nation, their caregivers also answered the call to step up and serve them,” said Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, USAF (Ret), MOAA’s president and CEO. “These dedicated individuals put their own futures on hold — sacrificing financial security, career advancement, and personal well-being — to fulfill the nation's promise to take care of our veterans and provide the care veterans deserve.
How you can help: Click here and send a letter to your lawmakers now.
Legislative Update October 2026
Washington
House: The House is out of session and will return November 9.
Senate: The Senate is out of session until Nov. 9.
Take Care of Veterans Act (TCAVA): On July 16, the House rejected the motion to recommit the Take Care of Veterans Act (TCAVA) on the floor by a vote of 210-211. Rep. Spartz (IN) changed her vote, and House leadership removed TCAVA from further consideration. Many meetings with the Majority and Minority staff are underway to determine a path forward when the House returns from recess on November 9. The debate centers on identifying alternatives to fund TCAVA beyond the Section 108 provisions (tinnitus and sleep apnea).
On September 1, Rep. Derek Van Orden (WI), the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee Chair for Economic Opportunity, hosted more than 12 Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs), including those supporting the Act (The American Legion, Elizabeth Dole Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, Military Officers of America Association, and Vietnam Veterans of America) and those opposing it (Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Jewish War Veterans, and Reserve Organization of America). Subcommittee Chair for Disability/Memorial Affairs Morgan Luttrell (TX); Rep. Jack Bergman (MI), a retired general; and Rep. Ronny Jackson (TX), a House Armed Services Committee member, also participated. The meeting lasted 2.5 hours.
The discussion was direct and, at times, tense. The Members asked why the VSO community was split, as it is normally aligned. Van Orden and Lutrell made it clear they had tried to find other ways to fund the bill, but all avenues were blocked. Opponents of TCAVA were adamant that Congress should never codify disability ratings in law, calling it precedent-setting and off-limits. The opposition made it clear that Section 108, the pay-for, must be removed. Supporters emphasized that VA would enact the sleep apnea and tinnitus rule by April 2027 and that the offset funds would be lost if that happened. This point was hotly debated, and no one agreed on what would happen. While all agreed to keep looking for a compromise on funding, no workable solution emerged.
Major Richard Star Act: A House discharge petition secured the 218 signatures required to force consideration of the Major Richard Star Act, though the next procedural steps and a floor vote will not occur until the House returns on November 9. The mandatory seven legislative-day waiting period will begin on that date, after which a signer may bring the Act to the floor for a direct vote. The bill would end the dollar-for-dollar reduction in military retirement pay imposed on combat-injured Veterans with fewer than 20 years of service who receive VA disability compensation. Supporters say the legislation would affect approximately 59,000 Veterans. Although the bill has 340 House co-sponsors, it has stalled over its cost which the Congressional Budget Office projects will exceed $78 billion from 2026 through 2036. Passage by the House via the Discharge Petition process does not include a pay-for, and the pay-for will likely be an issue for the Senate to act on.
Husted bill goes to president: Husted’s bill to train Labor Department employees to identify human trafficking passed the Senate unanimously Sept. 30 and now goes to President Donald Trump. The bipartisan Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act directs the department to refer suspected cases to law enforcement. If signed, it will be the fourth Husted bill to become law.
Columbus
Please see the latest edition of the Ohio Legislative Report, available at https://www.loraincountyveterans.com/olreport/.
You can help today by:
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Signing up for MOAA’s Legislative Action Center at https://moaa.quorum.us/ to send prepared messages to your elected officials and receive priority alerts when it is time to act.
Calling your lawmakers directly via MOAA’s Capitol Hotline at (866) 272-MOAA (6622) to express your support for MOAA’s legislative priorities.