Tom Barrett

A new bill that would improve benefits for some veterans was voted against by several Democrats on Thursday.

The Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act was introduced by Representative Tom Barrett in November, but Republicans and Democrats disagree on how exactly it could benefit or hurt veterans in the long run.

Why It Matters

The bill would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the amounts payable for certain disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation under the laws administered by the secretary.

That could impact veterans across the country, but Democrats say it would raise VA home loan fees for other veterans seeking to refinance to a lower interest rate.

What To Know

The Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act would increase the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) monthly compensation benefit for service-connected, catastrophically disabled veterans and the surviving families of 100 percent disabled or deceased service members who were killed in action.

Specifically, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation payments would rise by an additional 1 percent above the usual cost-of-living adjustment each year, and the special monthly compensation for veterans with catastrophic, service-connected disabilities would collectively earn an additional $10,000 per year for roughly 7,000 of the most severely disabled veterans.

The law was named after Sharri Briley, the surviving spouse of Donovan Lee "Bull" Briley, an Army Special Operations Blackhawk helicopter pilot who died in Mogadishu, Somalia, during Operation Gothic Serpent in 1993, as well as Army veteran Sergeant Eric Edmundson. Edmundson experienced an anoxic brain injury that took away his ability to speak or walk.

However, criticism over how the bill would affect veterans seeking to refinance their homes led all but one of the 11 Democrats on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs to vote against the proposal.

“It is a stark stain on the good work done by this Committee, and to me as a veteran, that Ranking Member Takano and a majority of the Democrat members of the VA Committee voted against reporting out Rep. Barrett’s bill today,” Chairman Mike Bost, an Illinois Republican, said in a statement.

“This bill seeks to do one thing – good – for the men and women who have served this great country and live with lifechanging injuries as a result of their service, as well as the American families who were left behind by those who gave their lives in defense of freedom."

Ultimately, the bill passed 15-10 in the House VA Committee, but Democrats raised concerns about the law’s implications for other veterans.

“@HouseDemocrats support increasing veterans’ benefits. Full stop,” the X account for House Veterans Affairs Democrats, wrote on the platform. “We don't support funding them by raising VA home loan fees on other veterans seeking to refinance their homes to a lower interest rate. House Republicans can’t deny their bill raises costs for veterans.”

To fund the bill’s benefit increases, there would be higher charges on veterans’ new home loan fees, which could make homeownership less affordable for many.

What People Are Saying

Representative Tom Barrett said in a statement: “Increasing benefits for our disabled veterans and Gold Star families is long overdue. This bill is a major step towards making good on our commitment to the veterans who sacrificed so much defending our nation. I’m proud of our committee coming together to pass this legislation to increase critical financial support for catastrophically injured veterans like Sgt. Eric Edmundson and survivors like Sharri Briley. Now it’s time to get this across the finish line and signed into law for our nation’s heroes.”

Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek: "This is politics: benefits on one side, offsets on the other. The bill raises supplemental income for veterans with higher disability ratings, but it looks to fund part of that increase by charging higher fees on subsequent VA home loans for veterans rated 70 percent disabled or less.”

What Happens Next

Thompson said once the funding issues with the bill are resolved, it could gain bipartisan support and eventual passage.

“I expect the bill to pass once these sticking points are addressed, as it is a clear positive for severely disabled veterans,” Thompson said. “Linking the benefit to Social Security COLA plus an additional 1 percent could provide meaningful support as inflation continues to strain fixed incomes. But as with most government spending, the cost doesn’t disappear, it gets shifted elsewhere.”

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