For years, veterans in Texas and across the nation have advocated for a change in how retirement pay and disability compensation are distributed to combat-injured, medically retired veterans with fewer than 20 years of service.
Their goal is for veterans who were forced to medically retire early due to combat-related injuries to receive both their disability compensation and full retirement pay concurrently.
As things stand, these veterans’ Defense Department retirement pay is decreased by the amount of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation they receive.
A new mega-bill in Congress combining 62 pieces of veteran-aiding legislation would finally deliver that long-wanted change, but it comes at a steep price: Adjustments to the disability ratings for sleep apnea and tinnitus.
Tinnitus, or persistent ear ringing, is by far the most commonly filed VA disability, impacting over 3 million veterans, and more than 700,000 veterans had sleep apnea claims in 2025.
Veterans who currently receive compensation for tinnitus and sleep apnea would not be affected, the rating changes would only apply to new claims moving forward.
San Antonio U.S. Army veteran Pete Bernal, who was forced to medically retire at 15 years of service, said while the bill package would benefit him personally, he cannot support it if it harms other veterans.
“I don’t think it’s right that we should be taking away from future veterans’ disability,” he said.
Bernal has both tinnitus and sleep apnea, so while his own diagnoses would remain covered, he understands firsthand the impacts that these conditions will have on future veterans’ lives.
“Right now, it’s [half] of my disability, but it creates all of these other disabilities,” he said. “It creates high blood pressure. It creates [high] blood sugar. It creates [high] cortisol. It creates all this stuff.”
U.S. veterans receive tax-free monthly payments based on their disability ratings from a scale of zero to 100%. A veteran with no dependents and a full disability rating of 100% would receive almost $4,000 per month.
Currently, veterans with sleep apnea who require a CPAP machine receive a 50% rating. Under the proposed Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, this automatic rating would go away, and disability percentage would be assessed based on severity of the condition.
The bill also takes away the existing 10% rating for tinnitus in most cases.
Dividing the community
The issue is dividing veterans who would otherwise agree, creating a rift between the two largest veteran service organizations in the state: the VFW and the American Legion.
The American Legion Department of Texas supports it, arguing that the 554-page bill covering everything from support for caregivers to surviving spouse benefits has a lot of positives, which outweigh its negatives. The VFW Department of Texas opposes the bill if it contains the tinnitus and sleep apnea rating changes.
The San Antonio districts of both groups are the largest in Texas, and thousands of local members will be affected by either outcome.
Danny Muth, commander of Texas’ American Legion, said that many provisions in the bill, especially the Major Richard Star Act, the one that allows both disability and retirement payments, have been the organization’s top priorities for years.
This may be the only chance to get them passed, he added — and the Legion still hopes the tinnitus and sleep apnea rating changes will be removed from the bill before finalization.
“We want to reaffirm that the American Legion is not for giving benefits to one veteran over the expense of another,” explained Muth, who previously served as commander of the San Antonio American Legion district. “… We need to fight for the bill, but fight against the rule.”
Mitch Fuller, national and state legislative chairman for Texas’ VFW, said the organization can’t support the bill until the rule with the rating change is removed.
“VFW is adamant. We take care of all veterans; past, present and future,” he said.
Fuller said that for some disabled veterans, these monthly payments provide a lifeline and are critical for quality of life.
“Financial insecurity, that’s a factor in veteran suicide, so this is about our physical and mental health,” Fuller said.
Finding the money
Despite broad congressional and veteran support, many parts of the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act being considered by the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives have struggled to pass for years due to cost.
The Major Richard Star Act is the headline provision of the bill package, and has bipartisan support from the Texas delegation, including San Antonio area co-sponsors U.S. Rep. Greg Casar (D-Austin) and former U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-San Antonio).
Casar says he “shares the concerns of veterans groups about the future cuts” in the bill because of how it makes tradeoffs between disability ratings to fund other provisions.
It was scheduled for a vote in mid-July, but was ultimately pulled at the last minute after protest from veteran groups. It will likely be considered again in September.
The VA disability compensation system has rarely seen changes since WWII, despite the evolution of medical treatment options. But the VA has sought to cut back on spending for years by changing the ratings for sleep apnea and tinnitus specifically, because they are such common claims.
A 2022 proposal to reduce those two ratings was also stalled after pushback from veterans.
There is concern that regardless of the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, the VA will move forward with changing the tinnitus and sleep apnea ratings, said Muth. He said he would rather know that the money saved from these changes is going directly toward funding veterans benefits, as opposed returning to the U.S. Treasury.
“Somewhere between $19 and $58 billion does not go to veterans now,” Muth said. “Now it goes back into the general fund.”
The VA did not respond to the San Antonio Report’s request for comment on the proposed changes.
Wide-reaching impact
Some veterans worry about the precedent this adjustment to ratings would set.
“That’s the whole Pandora’s box argument, is TBI on the table?” Fuller said.
The worry is that allowing Congress to change these two ratings could lead to future rating changes for PTSD or TBIs, two other common service-related injuries, so that funding could be redirected.
“That opens the door to continually dip into that to offset the spending costs elsewhere,” said Garrett Stacey, a San Antonio U.S. Army veteran.
They would prefer the responsibility remain with the VA, which has an established process that includes time for public comment when changing ratings.
While the rule as it stands would only apply to claims going forward, this could impact those who currently suffer from tinnitus or sleep apnea, but have put off receiving care through the VA.
“Veterans are very proud, very resilient. You kind of kick them through the door of the VA a lot of times to get them to even say there’s an issue,” Stacey said.
Stacey said he put off getting his VA rating for years, before he ultimately got both a sleep apnea and tinnitus rating. He said he does not support passing the bill and he’s worried about where things will stand when his wife, who is currently in active-duty, gets out.
The idea behind paying combat-injured, medically-retired veterans their full retirement pay is that without a career-ending injury, they would have completed their 20 years of service.
But there’s another group of veterans that often intended to do 20 years, but in many cases were forced out: Veterans who experienced Military Sexual Trauma.
In 2012, San Antonio U.S. Army veteran Amber Davila was sexually assaulted by a member of her own unit. After leaving the military she was diagnosed with PTSD due to the sexual trauma.
“My goal was to serve long-term and to do my 20 years,” Davila said. “That shifted and changed after my assault.”
She said that passing this bill to fully compensate medically-retired veterans with combat-injuries would open the conversation to compensating veterans, oftentimes women, who were forced to retire early.
“A lot of women I served with would have done 20 years, and whether it’s a combat injury, a training injury, or Military Sexual Trauma, that service being cut short, we have to shift. We have to make new plans. We have to figure out what comes next,” she said.
“And so, in a space where they’re fighting to get us those benefits that we’ve worked for and we’ve earned, that’s always a positive thing.”
She said she supports passing the package because of many of the benefits that come with it. Her husband, who is also a San Antonio veteran, was forced to medically retire after he developed cancer during his service.
Moving forward
For some advocates, it feels important now more than ever to protect veterans benefits.
“Our leadership is creating a new class of combat veterans as we speak,” Fuller said.
He said that in light of the death of Texas 19-year-old U.S. Army Pvt. Isabella Gonzales in the ongoing conflict with Iran, it is especially crucial to advocate on behalf of active-duty members currently serving abroad.
“The previous generation was advocating for me when I was out,” Fuller said. “This is about paying it forward.”
San Antonio, known as Military City USA, is home to one of the highest concentrations of active-duty service members and veterans of any city in the country.
Should the bill pass, eligible veterans will be entitled more compensation, and active-duty service members will face a new rating system upon their exit.
The Warrior Allegiance, a San Antonio veterans disability organization, found that tinnitus was the most commonly filed VA disability among veterans in the city.
For Bernal, his tinnitus causes headaches, migraines and dizzy spells, and he has felt his heart worsen from sleeping with a CPAP machine every night, which he says he hates using.
He said he would receive approximately $1,000 more per month under the proposed changes, but to him it’s not worth it. He said veterans are making a sacrifice to give their time to the military, and the disabilities they amass during service often take years off their life.
“I’d rather have my time back,” he said. “I mean I would love to spend more time with my kids…I would love to stay a little bit longer.”
The San Antonio Report’s military and veterans coverage is supported by Report for America.
