On November 9, Volunteers of Legal Service submitted a public comment to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to address proposed regulations that govern the department’s definition of “aggravation,” under 38 C.F.R. Part 3, with regards to service-connected disabilities experienced by veterans.
The VA is seeking to make it harder for veterans with pre-service conditions, which were aggravated in service, to obtain service-connected disability benefits by changing the definition and scope of what constitutes an “aggravation” of a pre-existing condition.
“To care for him who shall have borne the battle”
Veterans who have sacrificed their time, energy, physical and mental health in service to our nation deserve to be treated with dignity, care and respect.
The VA’s motto, taken directly from President Abraham Lincoln’s second Inaugural Address, has been a foundational cornerstone and a guiding ethos for the VA since these words were enshrined on the entrance to the headquarters of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington D.C. The motto has come to mean that every service member, regardless of branch or job should be treated with the utmost care.
This proposed amendment stands in deep contrast to this motto by restricting those servicemembers who should be eligible for VA care and benefits. If the VA truly believes in President Lincoln’s words and their guiding principles, and are truly looking to care for all those injured in battle, they must withdraw these proposed regulations.
Although the proposed changes are meant to clarify possible incongruence in the interpretations of the applicable statutes, the proposed changes, if they are adopted, will undoubtedly limit the number of eligible veterans who rely on this specific interpretation of the applicable regulations to get the benefits to which they should be entitled.
For our full comment, please download our submission to the VA (PDF) or review it below.