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Military caregivers are America’s next great bipartisan win

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by Bob McDonald and Steve Schwab, opinion contributors - 05/18/26 10:00 AM ET

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by Bob McDonald and Steve Schwab, opinion contributors - 05/18/26 10:00 AM ET

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Committee Chairman Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., left, and ranking member Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., center, greet Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins during a Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs hearing to examine veterans at the forefront, focusing on the future at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Every day, 14.3 million Americans are providing care to a wounded, ill, or injured service member or veteran. They manage medications, navigate broken bureaucracies, absorb the invisible wounds of war, and quietly sacrifice their own careers, health, and futures — not for a paycheck, but out of love.

They are military and veteran family caregivers — 5.5 percent of all U.S. adults. And as Elizabeth Dole Foundation Caregiver Fellows from across America walk the halls of Congress this week, they carry one message: Like their loved ones, they have answered every call.

Now it is Washington’s turn. Supporting them is not a political calculation but a necessity. Few issues before Congress today offer a more natural bipartisan win for lawmakers on both sides, and for the families who have earned it.

The 2024 RAND study is unambiguous. These caregivers provide a minimum of $119 billion in unpaid care annually, care that would likely otherwise be borne by the federal government. In spite of their service, 35 percent of their households live below the federal poverty line. Among those caring for veterans under 60, 43 percent meet the criteria for depression, and 70 percent report difficulty paying their bills. They lose more than $13,000 each year due to out-of-pocket expenses because of their caregiving responsibilities and forgone income. This is a national failure.

When you strengthen the caregiver, you strengthen the veteran. And when that happens, you strengthen the entire community. Washington has said as much before — such as with the passage of the Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act in January 2025, proof that this community can inspire Congress to rise above the noise. But the work is not finished. There are three additional pieces of legislation that offer Congress the same chance to lead.

Consider first the bipartisan Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act. Sharri Briley has lived for 32 years as the surviving spouse of a Special Operations pilot killed in the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia. Army veteran Eric Edmundson’s family has provided round-the-clock care since a roadside bomb in Iraq left him nonverbal and wheelchair-bound in 2005.

This bill would deliver a down payment on desperately needed increases to the Dependency and Indemnity Compensation program for survivors, and provide a long overdue increase in Special Monthly Compensation for the most catastrophically injured veterans. More than 520,000 families would benefit. The case for passing it is ironclad. What remains is the will on both sides of the aisle to find a path forward together.

The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs offers an equally clear case for action. Right now, the eligible children of permanently disabled veterans lose health coverage at age 23 while civilians can stay on a parent’s plan until 26 under the Affordable Care Act.

This gap is not a policy nuance. It is an inequity written into law — one that has persisted despite broad agreement that it is wrong. The proposed CHAMPVA Children’s Care Protection Act would close this disparity and finally align veteran family coverage with the civilian sector. The only thing standing between these families and a fix is the decision to make one.

Also, the bipartisan Veteran Caregiver Re-education, Re-employment, and Retirement Act, championed in the Senate by Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and in the House by Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) speaks directly to what caregiving costs a family beyond the immediate crisis. Caregivers enrolled in VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family

Caregivers often set aside traditional employment — losing professional certifications, retirement contributions, and years of earning potential — because keeping their veteran alive and cared for is itself a full-time calling. When their veteran passes or transitions out of the program, they deserve more than a fiscal cliff’s edge. The Moran-Morelle proposal requires VA to provide employment transition assistance, reimbu