The VA reform bills could determine whether Republicans hold the House in 2026

Veterans helped deliver a Republican victory in 2024. In 2026, VA reforms may determine that they will appear again. Two bills before Congress would fix the failed program: the Veterans Access Act and the Veterans Bill of Rights Act. But Democrats in Washington have a different priority: using the VA as a blueprint for national health care.

They don’t hide it. Progressive activist Ezra Klein called Phillip Longman’s Best Care Anywhere: Why VA Health care It Will Work Better For Everyone one of the most important social policy books of the last decade. Read that text again. The left doesn’t just defend the VA – it wants to impose that model on all Americans.

In 2014, a major scandal rocked the Phoenix VA Health Care System. Officials there deliberately ran a criminal program, creating a secret, illegal waiting list to hide how badly the program was failing. About 1,700 veterans are kept on official waiting lists to increase reported wait times and secure bonuses. Veterans are forced to wait months — in some cases up to 115 days or more — to receive basic care. At least 40 veterans have died while waiting on this hidden list.

Fatal failure continues. Only in 2025, two veterans killed themselves at the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in San Antonio while struggling to get mental health care. In April, Navy veteran Mark Miller took his own life there. He has struggled with depression and anxiety since leaving the service in 2007, and wrote a book with his father about the battle: Suicide Squad Searches for Shooter. During his last visit, he told his father that the workers are “like robots giving pills, poisoning our people.” His father, Dr. Larry Miller, blamed the VA directly: “I blame the VA system and the psychiatrist who drugged him instead of helping him.”

HIDDEN CAUSE OF VETERANS’ STRUGGLES DRIVING RENEWED URGENT IN VA MESSAGE

In December, Marine Corps veteran Enrique Ramos Jr. he called 911 in the same parking lot, stated his location and intent, and then killed himself. Both of these men died at the entrance of the center that was supposed to take care of them.

This is a program that the rest want to expand across the country. A new poll from Veteran Action and Rasmussen Reports shows that supporting veterans’ health care isn’t just good policy — it’s good politics heading into the 2026 midterms. Ninety-four percent back the Veterans’ Rights Act, which requires the VA to clearly inform veterans of their existing health care rights, benefits, and social care options. Seventy-five percent said they would support a congressional candidate who supports the Veterans Access Act (HR 740) – a bill that guarantees timely VA care or the immediate right to seek outside care at no additional cost when the VA cannot provide care. These numbers cut across party lines — among voters who know the VA best.

A metal plaque on the front of the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington, DC (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

The political numbers are clear: Polls show that military voters have given President Trump 60 percent support — but the average vote for Congress remains at just 57 percent. That gap could decide control of the House in key districts. Republicans cannot take their loyalty for granted. Candidates on these issues will get support from veterans. Those who don’t risk losing it – and with it, their seats.

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Congress has two viable solutions ready to pass. The Veterans’ ACCESS Act ensures timely care — or faster community care when the VA falls short. The Veterans’ Rights Act requires the VA to tell veterans, clearly, what rights they already have. These bills do not eliminate the VA. They forced it to do its job.

The case is straightforward. These changes are popular with veterans. They will save lives. They can help Republicans hold the House. Republican leadership just needs to prioritize these bills.