03.11.26 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
released
the
following
statement
following
VA's announcement
that
it
signed
a
memorandum
of
understanding
with
the
Department
of
Justice.
This
memorandum
gives
VA
attorneys
the
authority
to
initiate
and
participate
in
state
court
guardianship
or
conservatorship
proceedings.
“Secretary
Collins
and
Attorney
General
Bondi
are
sidestepping
the
law
to
strip
veterans
of
their
voices,
freedom,
and
independence,
and
… Read More
03.04.26 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—
Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
(CA-D)
was
joined
by
House
and
Senate
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Members
in
welcoming
veterans
to
Capitol
Hill
for
the
third
and
final
annual,
bicameral,
bipartisan
Veterans
Service
Organization
(VSO)
hearing
of
2026.
Ranking
Member
Takano
opened
the
hearing
by
highlighting
the
impacts
of
this
Administration’s
efforts
to
do
more
with
less.
“The
data
suggests
VA
is
already
struggling
with
less.
The
New
York
… Read More
03.03.26 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
(CA-D)
was
joined
by
House
and
Senate
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Members
in
welcoming
veterans
to
Capitol
Hill
for
the
second
of
2026’s
annual,
bicameral,
bipartisan
Veterans
Service
Organization
(VSO)
hearings.
The
first
panel
of
the
day
featured
witnesses
from
Veterans
of
Foreign
Wars
(VFW),
including
VFW
Commander-in-Chief
Carol
Whitmore.
Ranking
Member
Takano
began
by
thanking
the
VSOs
in
attendance,
… Read More
02.28.26 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—Today,
House
Veterans'
Affairs
Committee
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
issued
the
following
statement
in
response
to
military
action
against
Iran:
“Less
than
two
weeks
ago,
this
administration
attempted
a
$23
billion
rollback
of
veterans’
benefits
through
its
Interim
Final
Rule
while
advancing
a
VHA
reorganization
that
would
shrink
staff
and
healthcare
capacity.
Now
it
has
committed
the
United
States
to
a
new
war
with
Iran.
President
Trump
ran
on
ending
wars.
Instead,
from
… Read More
02.26.26 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
released
the
following
statement
regarding
VA’s
planned
rescission
of
its
recently
published
Interim
Final
Rule
(IFR),
which
changed
how
veteran
disability
ratings
would
be
evaluated,
following
widespread
pushback
from
veterans,
Veterans
Service
Organizations
(VSOs),
and
Members
of
Congress.
“VA’s
attempt
to
rewrite
how
disability
ratings
are
determined
was
an
egregious
and
unacceptable
mistake.
Veterans
fought
… Read More
02.26.26 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
led
a
comment
letter,
signed
by
over
60
Members
of
Congress,
to
the
Federal
Register
demanding
Secretary
Collins
fully
rescind
VA’s
recently
published
Interim
Final
Rule
(IFR)
that
changed
how
veteran
disability
ratings
would
be
evaluated.
This
letter
follows
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs’
(VA)
interim
final
rule,
issued
without
advance
notice
or
meaningful
consultation
with
Veterans
Service
Organizations
… Read More
02.24.26 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
(CA-D)
was
joined
by
House
and
Senate
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Members
in
welcoming
veterans
to
Capitol
Hill
for
the
annual,
bicameral,
bipartisan
Veterans
Service
Organization
(VSO)
hearings.
The
first
panel
featured
witnesses
from
Disabled
American
Veterans
(DAV),
including
DAV
National
Commander
Coleman
Nee.
Ranking
Member
Takano
highlighted
VA's
planned
reorganization
of
the
Veterans’
Health
… Read More
02.18.26 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
released
the
following
statement
expressing
his
concerns
with
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs’
(VA)
interim
final
rule,
which
immediately
changes
how
veteran
disability
ratings
are
evaluated.
Before
this
change,
VA
could
not
reduce
ratings
based
on
the
effects
of
medication
when
evaluating
a
service-connected
disability,
requiring
evaluation
of
a
veteran’s
true
functional
impairment.
This
new
VA
rule
changes
… Read More
02.12.26 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
(D-CA)
released
the
following
statement
after
today’s
full
committee
markup.
“Several
bills
moved
forward
at
today’s
markup
with
bipartisan
support.
Committee
Democrats
supported
four
of
the
five
bills
considered,
including
legislation
to
strengthen
veteran
caregiver
experiences,
Fisher
House
access,
improve
VA
patient
scheduling
experiences,
and
the
quality
of
VA’s
advisory
committees,”
said
Ranking
Member
… Read More
02.11.26 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—
Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
(CA-39)
released
the
following
statement
applauding
Senator
Bob
Archuleta
(D-Pico
Rivera),
Senator
Sabrina
Cervantes
(D-Riverside),
and
Assemblywoman
Pilar
Schiavo’s
(D-Santa
Clarita)
leadership
and
California
Attorney
General
Rob
Bonta’s
stewardship
as
Senate
Bill
694
(SB
694)
was
signed
into
law
by
Governor
Gavin
Newsom.
“Veterans
were
willing
to
give
everything
in
service
to
our
country.
For
that
service,
we
… Read More
02.11.26 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
delivered
the
following
opening
remarks,
as
prepared,
at
today’s
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Full
Committee
hearing
on
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs’
plan
to
reorganize
the
Veterans
Health
Administration
(VHA).
“Thank
you,
Chairman
Bost.
Yesterday,
I
had
the
opportunity
to
speak
at
the
A-F-G-E
legislative
conference.
I
met
with
colleagues
of
Alex
Pretti
who
shared
stories
about
his
service
to
… Read More
02.09.26 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON,
DC
—
Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
released
the
following
statement
after
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
released
the
2025
National
Veteran
Suicide
Prevention
Annual
Report.
“After
months
of
delay,
VA
has
finally
released
its
overdue
suicide
prevention
report.
While
the
overall
numbers
have
gone
down
ever
so
slightly,
more
clearly
remains
to
be
done.
One
life
is
too
many.
Losing
more
than
17
veterans
every
single
day
to
suicide
is
… Read More
01.27.26 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—
Today,
Congresswoman
Julia
Brownley
(CA-26),
Ranking
Member
of
the
House
Veterans’
Affairs
Subcommittee
on
Health,
introduced
a
joint
resolution
of
disapproval
under
the
Congressional
Review
Act
(CRA),
to
formally
overturn
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs’
(VA)
recently
finalized
abortion
rule.
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
(CA-39)
co-led
the
resolution.
All
Democratic
membersserving
on
the
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs,
including
Rep.
… Read More
01.25.26 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—
Yesterday,
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
released
the
following
statement
condemning
the
murder
of
VA
ICU
nurse
Alex
Jeffrey
Pretti.
“Today
we
mourn
the
tragic
death
of
yet
another
American
standing
against
the
violence
we
have
all
witnessed
throughout
our
communities.
Alex
Jeffrey
Pretti
was
gunned
down
in
broad
daylight
in
Minnesota
by
ICE
agents
using
unjustified
lethal
force.
Before
his
life
was
taken
from
him,
Alex
spent
his
days
caring
for
… Read More
12.30.25 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—This
year, Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
and
Committee
Democrats
confronted
a
pattern
of
actions
by
the
Trump
administration
that
weakened
and
undermine
the
health
and
economic
security
of
veterans
and
their
families.
These
actions
did
not
always
appear
as
direct
cuts,
but
were
implemented
through
internal
policy
revisions,
staffing
decisions,
and
administrative
delays
that
reduced
VA’s
capacity
to
deliver
timely
care
and
benefits.
Committee
Democrats
focused
on
exposing
these
actions,
… Read More
12.23.25 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—
Yesterday,
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
used
the
cover
of
the
holiday
season
to
issue
an
internal
memorandum
reinstating
a
near-total
ban
on
abortions
and
abortion
counseling,
ripping
away
access
to
healthcare
from
thousands
of
veterans.
This
cruel
and
dangerous
move
will
harm
veterans
and
damages
trust
in
the
very
system
that
is
supposed
to
protect
them
and
serve
their
healthcare
needs.
Rather
than
waiting
to
finalize
a
proposed
regulation
on
abortion
care,
VA
took
this
… Read More
12.15.25 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans’
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
released
the
following
statement
denouncing
the
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs’
(VA)
decision
to
cut
tens
of
thousands
of
unfilled
healthcare
positions.
This
cut
is
just
one
component
of
a
massive
reorganization
planned
for
the
Veterans
Health
Administration
(VHA).
“Today,
in
a
briefing
for
bipartisan
Committee
staff,
officials
from
VA
were
provided
the
opportunity
to
explain
the
Washington
Post’s
reporting,
… Read More
12.15.25 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON-
Last
week,
House
Veterans’
Affairs
Committee
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
(D-CA),
Senate
Veteran’s
Affairs
Committee
Ranking
Member
Richard
Blumenthal
(D-CT),
Congressman
Chris
Pappas
(D-NH),
and
Congresswoman
Nikki
Budzinski
(D-IL)
sent
a
third
letter
to
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
(VA)
Secretary
Doug
Collins
urging
him
to
address
VA’s
failure
to
pay
required
education
benefits
on
time
to
over
75,000
veterans
and
their
families
and
survivors.
"These
payment
failures
are
not
… Read More
12.12.25 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—Today,
House
Committee
on
Veterans'
Affairs
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano
issued
the
following
statement
regarding
the
passage
of
H.R.
2550
-
the
Protect
America’s
Workforce
Act,
as
led
by
Congressman
Jared
Golden
(ME-02)
and
cosponsored
by
the
Ranking
Member.
“The
people’s
House
has
spoken.
Americans
support
unions,
as
does
the
House.
As
a
former
union
member,
I
can
tell
you
firsthand:
unions
are
necessary
and
benefit
not
only
their
membership,
but
all
Americans,”
said
Ranking
Member
… Read More
12.09.25 •
Press Release
WASHINGTON—
Today,
The
Washington
Post
published
a
letter
to
the
editor
co-authored
by
House
Veterans’
Affairs
Committee
Ranking
Member
Mark
Takano’s
(D-CA),
Senate
Veterans’
Affairs
Committee
Ranking
Member
Richard
Blumenthal
(D-CT),
and
House
Veterans’
Affairs
Committee
Member
Congresswoman
Nikki
Budzinski
(D-IL),
in
response
to
The
Post’s
December
1st
Editorial
Board
piece
titled,
“America’s
veterans
deserve
better
care
than
government
unions
provide”.
“I
am
incredibly
disheartened
to
see
… Read More
