Ranking Member Takano's Opening Statement at Hearing on Support for Caregivers

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (CA-39) delivered the following opening remarks, as prepared, at the beginning of the Committee’s oversight hearing entitled, “Everyday Heroes: Supporting the Veteran Caregiver Community:”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Caregivers are an indispensable component of the complex network of healthcare delivery for our most vulnerable veterans. As we can all see from RAND’s new report, caregivers are not only partners, children, friends, neighbors, and loved ones, but also a critical lifeline for those who are living with the visible and invisible wounds of war.  

They take time out of their own lives and make sacrifices every day to ensure that the veterans in their lives have the best possible healthcare and highest-possible quality of life.  

They wear many hats. They are advocates for veterans’ healthcare needs, carers who help veterans with daily tasks, and often the most trusted members of their veterans’ support systems. Together with their veterans, they often must navigate a complex system of services and supports, overcoming hurdle after bureaucratic hurdle, often at the expense of their own mental health and financial well-being.  

I’m glad that we can gather here today to acknowledge the tireless work and priceless sacrifices made by veteran caregivers, and to ensure that we are doing all we can to provide them with the support and resources they deserve.  

I look forward to hearing from RAND and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation about their new report. I am interested in hearing more about what they found about the military and veteran caregiving population and how its needs have changed over the past 10 years.  

I am also glad that we will have the opportunity to hear first-hand from Ms. Vanessa Chism, who has been a full-time caregiver for her Army veteran husband, Cody, for the last 15 years. The perseverance and resilience she—along with their three children—have shown in caring for Cody are nothing short of remarkable.     

I look forward to hearing from other witnesses on Panel 2 about how they are working to support caregivers and their recommendations to continue to support this vital population. Much progress has been made, but there is so much more that must be done.  

Finally, I also look forward to hearing more from VA about how it plans to strengthen and expand services and supports for caregivers. I hope we will hear more today about when VA finally plans to issue its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Caregiver Support Program.  

Legacy participants of the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers have been waiting in limbo for years to find out whether they will be able to stay in the program and continue receiving the stipends and services they rely on.  

Before I close, I want to acknowledge the advocacy of several witnesses on our second panel for H.R. 542, the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act, which was authored by my colleague, Representative Julia Brownley.  

This legislation would be transformative for elderly and disabled veterans and their caregivers. It would enable veterans to remain at home, safely age in place, and avoid or delay admission to nursing homes and other costly institutional settings of care. It will also help better connect veterans’ caregivers to respite care and other supportive services that help them care for veterans at home.  

In addition, this legislation will improve VA’s coordination with other federal long-term care programs that promote aging at home.  

For many veterans service organizations, the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act has been a top legislative priority since its original introduction in 2022. I, too, want to see this legislation enacted as soon as possible. 

Ensuring that VA can serve all veterans and caregivers of every generation is critical. VA must have the resources it needs to continue to build capacity and modernize infrastructure so that we can have the very best services for those who have earned them.  

This means doing the hard work of putting VA on the right track with regard to the balance of healthcare dollars in both direct VA care and community care.  

This has become even more important with thousands of veterans coming into VA for the first time with the successful implementation of the PACT Act. That means that every piece of legislation we move forward must recognize and support the need for that balance.  

H.R. 8371, the package that many of you have advocated for does not yet do that. It is 90 percent of the way there, but the remaining parts need to be reconsidered and amended. I appreciate your advocacy, but I have been clear about what changes I think are absolutely necessary to ensure the solvency of VA. Without those changes I simply cannot support it at this time. However, as I have said repeatedly, I stand ready to work together on an outcome that meets our goal of serving veterans and those that care for them. If everyone is willing to work in a bipartisan way, as has been the practice on this Committee, then I think we can get things accomplished.  

Thank you. I yield back.”

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