Ranking Member Takano’s Statement on VA’s Rescission

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 back, Congress demanded a reversal, and now Secretary Collins backed down because he knows the rule should never have been issued in the first place. He knew this rule was wrong and VA should stop blaming veterans for ‘misunderstanding’,” said Ranking Member Takano of the IFR rescission. “This was not a ‘misunderstanding.’ It was a harmful policy choice. His rescission of the rule marks a victory, but we can’t become complacent. Veterans’ earned benefits are not a testing ground for ideological experiments. When Secretary Collins and the Trump administration attempt to weaken benefits again, as the plans laid out in Project 2025 and their actions so far make clear they will, we will act forcefully. We are ready to hold them accountable.”

Background: Earlier this month, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) secretly developed an interim final rule that changed veteran disability ratings evaluation, essentially directing examiners to reduce disability compensation ratings for veterans who take medications to control their conditions or reduce their symptoms. VA failed to include the veterans’ community in its decision-making process and ignored judicial precedent. The rescission of this rule follows public pressure from veterans, and Veterans Service Organizations, including Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and Members of Congress.

VA’s initial official inaction led the Ranking Members of the House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs to send a joint letter, with 19 Democratic cosigners, to Secretary Collins earlier this week, urging him to complete and permanently rescind the rule. Ranking Member Takano also led a comment letter, signed by over 60 Members of Congress, to the Federal Register demanding the Secretary of Veterans Affairs fully rescind the rule.

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