I am deeply disheartened by recent actions taken by the Department of Veterans Affairs at the national level that directly affect millions of Veterans.
On February 11, VA Secretary Douglas Collins signed a rule that took effect just six days later, on February 17, fundamentally changing how the VA evaluates disability ratings. The rule was enacted under emergency authority, bypassing the standard 60-day Congressional review period and eliminating the usual advance public comment process. The VA justified this decision by claiming that delay would cause “significant disruption” to benefits delivery.
On February 19, enforcement of the rule RIN 2900-AS49 was paused. That pause is welcome, but the damage is already done. Below, I explain why this rule is so troubling and what it means in concrete terms for Veterans nationwide.
The Foundation: Public Blindness to Military Service
Before addressing the policy itself, it is important to acknowledge a deeper problem: the lack of public understanding about military service and its long-term consequences.
Within my own family, I have heard PTSD dismissed as nonsense. I have heard federal employees labeled lazy and people living on benefits described as freeloaders. If these views exist among people who watched me grow up, serve honorably, and return changed, what must the broader public believe?
That disconnect matters. It creates political space for policies that quietly shift costs onto Veterans under the guise of efficiency.
What Creates Veterans: Blood and Treasure
At the geopolitical level, every decision to go to war rests on two costs: blood and treasure.
Blood is the human cost. Treasure is the financial one. As Abraham Lincoln described it, war is governed by “awful arithmetic.” Victory and defeat are measured in lives altered or lost and resources consumed.
The Department of War bears these costs first. The Department of Veterans Affairs bears them afterward.
The VA exists to provide lifelong care and support to those who paid that price. Its responsibilities include health care, disability compensation, education assistance, home loans, and burial services. Among these, disability compensation is central, and it is where this rule does the most harm.
Disability Compensation and What Is Changing
According to the VA, disability compensation provides tax-free monthly benefits to Veterans for disabilities caused or aggravated by military service. Ratings range from 0% to 100% in 10% increments, and disabilities are combined using a specialized formula rather than simple addition.
The VA’s 2024 Annual Benefits Report shows:
- 5,992,967 Veterans receiving compensation
- 41,665,572 service-connected disabilities
- An average of 6.95 disabilities per Veteran
This is not a marginal population. This is the core of the Veteran community.
What RIN 2900-AS49 Does
Under the proposed rule, the VA would evaluate disabilities based on how a Veteran functions while medicated, rather than the severity of the underlying condition without treatment. In plain terms, if medication reduces symptoms, the disability rating can be reduced accordingly.
This applies to:
- All Veterans
- All disability ratings
- Including Permanent and Total (P&T)
Most Veterans undergo Routine Future Examinations every 18 to 30 months. During these reexaminations, ratings can be reduced. A reduction does not just mean less monthly compensation. It can trigger cascading losses of federal, state, and local benefits.
Even Veterans rated Permanent and Total are not fully insulated. If a P&T Veteran files a new claim, the VA may reopen the entire file, subjecting previously protected ratings to the new evaluation standard.
How Many Veterans Are at Risk
Using 2024 data and counting only Veterans rated between 0% and 90%, there are 4,445,125 Veterans whose benefits are subject to routine review. Because there is no reliable public metric distinguishing P&T Veterans within the 100% category, I have deliberately excluded them from this calculation.
That means more than four million Veterans live with persistent uncertainty about their financial and medical future.
Ask yourself: how would you feel if, after honoring a contract of service to your country, your livelihood depended on a periodic reassessment that could quietly move the goalposts?
Why This Is Happening
The answer is simple: money.
According to the VA’s own Regulatory Impact Analysis for RIN 2900-AS49, the rule is expected to generate:
- $1.9 billion in savings in 2026
- $12.1 billion over five years
- $23.2 billion over ten years
Most of those savings come from reduced compensation payments, not administrative efficiency.
This is cost-cutting achieved by shifting the financial burden onto disabled Veterans.
Why This Matters
The overwhelming majority of service members are enlisted, and the overwhelming majority of Veterans are former enlisted personnel. These are not abstract numbers. This is the backbone of the military.
I am apolitical. My disappointment is not aimed at one party or administration. It is aimed at a system that allows those who bore the cost of war to quietly shoulder even more of it in peacetime.
What You Can Do
Public comments are now open.
I urge every Veteran, family member, and concerned citizen to:
- Contact your Congressional delegation
- Submit public comments demanding that the VA abolish or fundamentally revise this rule
Comments must be submitted by April 20, 2026, via regulations.gov under RIN 2900-AS49.
You can submit comments directly through the Federal Register by selecting “Submit a Comment” at the official rule page. (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/02/17/2026-03068/evaluative-rating-impact-of-medication#)
Veterans paid in blood and sacrifice. They should not be asked to pay again through bureaucratic arithmetic.
Colonel (Retired) Joel T. Gilbert
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