Veterans powered Republican wins in 2024, and the future of their turnout hinges on how Congress fixes the Department of Veterans Affairs. This piece lays out the failures veterans still face, the two pragmatic bills on the table, why the left pushes a VA-first model for the whole country, and the political stakes for Republicans heading into 2026.
Veterans deserve a VA that works, not one that pushes people to the edge. After years of scandal and neglect, lawmakers are finally debating real fixes that guarantee care and transparency. If leaders act, they can restore trust and keep veterans engaged with the party that fought for them.
Two clear bills are on the table to address the crisis: the Veterans’ ACCESS Act and the Veterans’ Bill of Rights Act. The ACCESS bill promises timely VA care or immediate access to community care at no extra cost when the VA cannot deliver. The Bill of Rights would require plain, understandable disclosure of veterans’ rights to care, benefits, and alternative options outside the VA.
The Washington left wants to protect and expand the VA model for everyone, and they have said so openly. Influencers and policy wonks have pointed to Best Care Anywhere: Why VA Health Care Would Work Better For Everyone as a blueprint for nationalized health care. That idea should alarm anyone who values choice, accountability, and outcomes for veterans who served this country.
The VA has a bloody track record that demands urgent reform. In 2014, the Phoenix VA Health Care System ran hidden waiting lists to mask the real delays in care, keeping as many as 1,700 veterans off the official records to protect bonuses. Some veterans waited months, in extreme cases 115 days or longer, for basic primary care, and at least 40 veterans died after being kept off those lists.
The deadly failures did not stop there. In 2025, two veterans died by suicide while trying to get mental health care at the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in San Antonio. One of them, Navy veteran Mark Miller, battled depression and anxiety since leaving the service and even co-authored a book with his father called Suicide Stalks the Sniper. During his final visit he told his father the staff were “just like robots handing out pills, poisoning our people.” His father, Dr. Larry Miller, blamed the VA directly: “I lay the blame on the VA system and the psychiatrist who drugged him instead of helping him.”
Not long after, Marine Corps veteran Enrique Ramos Jr. called 911 from a parking lot, gave his location and intent, and then took his life. Both men died at the doorstep of the facility that was supposed to care for them. These are modern failures of a system that should be preventing these tragedies, not producing them.
There is strong, bipartisan appetite for basic reforms. A new poll of veterans shows overwhelming support for both bills: 94 percent back the Veterans’ Bill of Rights Act, and 75 percent say they would be more likely to support a candidate who backs the Veterans’ ACCESS Act, H.R. 740. That measure guarantees timely VA care or the immediate right to seek outside care at no extra cost when the VA falls short, and those numbers cut across party lines among those who know the VA best.
The political arithmetic is stark. Military voters supported President Trump by 60 percent, while the Republican generic congressional ballot sits at 57 percent overall, a narrow margin that could tip control of the House in key districts. Republicans cannot assume automatic loyalty from veterans; candidates who lead on these reforms will win that support, and those who ignore the issue risk losing not just votes but seats.
Congress has practical, achievable options ready now that preserve the VA while forcing accountability and access. The solution is not to tear the department down but to make sure it serves veterans effectively and transparently. Republican leaders who prioritize these bills can both save lives and solidify a critical voting bloc before the 2026 midterms.
