Discussion · House of Representatives
Mike Bost Republican
“Congress did not come up with the plan to change disability ratings for sleep apnea and tinnitus. Doctors and scientists at the Department of Veterans Affairs did. The VA is going to make these changes anyway. This bill takes the money saved from those changes and spends it on veterans and their families.”
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the ranking member knows VA has an obligation to update disability conditions based on the latest science and medicine. In his opening, he said that I am not a doctor. He is right. I am a marine. I am a truck driver, and somehow I have been blessed to serve our veterans as the chairman of the committee. He is not a doctor either. Likewise, he has been blessed by his community to be here, but what I do want to say is, for the record, the proposed changes for sleep apnea and tinnitus aren’t developed by Congress. They were developed by VA physicians. They are doctors--medical experts, doctors--and researchers under the Biden administration as part of the ongoing disability rating modernization efforts. In testimony before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee in January 2026, VA officials stated that the Department intended to continue moving forward with respiratory ear-body system, rulemaking, and anticipated completing those efforts by the end of year 2026. That testimony was not given by career staff acting alone. In fact, just this morning, VA officials confirmed that they are planning to move forward with the proposed rule on sleep apnea and tinnitus. The testimony represents the official position of the Department at the time it was delivered to Congress. The question before us is not whether Congress created these proposed changes. We did not. VA’s announcement makes their intention clear. This is moving forward regardless, but Ranking Member Takano would rather play politics. The question is whether the savings associated with the proposed deployment and changes by the VA should remain in their control and the bureaucrats’ control, or do we make it through our Article I power to reinvest into our veterans and their families. H.R. 9237 chooses veterans. Mr. Speaker, I ask you to look at the testimony of Josh Jacobs, Biden Under Secretary for Benefits, and Nina Tann, President Trump’s Executive Director of the Compensation Service at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Taylor), a good friend.”
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the ranking member knows VA has an obligation to update disability conditions based on the latest science and medicine. In his opening, he said that I am not a doctor. He is right. I am a marine. I am a truck driver, and somehow I have been blessed to serve our veterans as the chairman of the committee. He is not a doctor either. Likewise, he has been blessed by his community to be here, but what I do want to say is, for the record, the proposed changes for sleep apnea and tinnitus aren’t developed by Congress. They were developed by VA physicians. They are doctors--medical experts, doctors--and researchers under the Biden administration as part of the ongoing disability rating modernization efforts. In testimony before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee in January 2026, VA officials stated that the Department intended to continue moving forward with respiratory ear-body system, rulemaking, and anticipated completing those efforts by the end of year 2026. That testimony was not given by career staff acting alone. In fact, just this morning, VA officials confirmed that they are planning to move forward with the proposed rule on sleep apnea and tinnitus. The testimony represents the official position of the Department at the time it was delivered to Congress. The question before us is not whether Congress created these proposed changes. We did not. VA’s announcement makes their intention clear. This is moving forward regardless, but Ranking Member Takano would rather play politics. The question is whether the savings associated with the proposed deployment and changes by the VA should remain in their control and the bureaucrats’ control, or do we make it through our Article I power to reinvest into our veterans and their families. H.R. 9237 chooses veterans. Mr. Speaker, I ask you to look at the testimony of Josh Jacobs, Biden Under Secretary for Benefits, and Nina Tann, President Trump’s Executive Director of the Compensation Service at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Taylor), a good friend.