󾓦Veterans

Key Points
Details
Guarantee Veterans Benefits and Services They Were Promised
Health Care
Disability Benefits
Caring for Veteran Families
Guarantee Justice for Veterans
Expand Opportunities for Veterans

Key Points
Eliminate the VA benefits backlog, fully fund and resource the VA, and reverse
the disastrous privatization of services for veterans.
Fill the nearly 50,000 vacancies at the VA in Bernie’s first year.
Provide at least $62 billion in new funding to repair, modernize and rebuild VA
infrastructure.
Expand the VA’s Caregivers Program as well as mental health services for
veterans.
Reform harmful VA regulations that restrict access to care and benefits based
on character of discharge.

Details
Guarantee Veterans Benefits and Services They Were Promised
Whether they were drafted three-quarters of a century ago, commissioned or
enlisted within the last few years, no one with prior military service should have
to spend months, years or even decades fighting through red tape and

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 government bureaucracy to prove they’re entitled to the benefits they were
promised. As president, Bernie will finally guarantee veterans the benefits and
services they were promised.
This is not a new issue for Bernie. He has spent his entire career fighting for
veterans.
As the former Chair and longtime member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Committee, one of Bernie’s highest priorities in Congress has been ensuring
veterans and their families receive the care and benefits they have earned.
Amid reports of unacceptable wait times at VA medical facilities during his
time as Chairman, Bernie spearheaded the bipartisan effort to strengthen the
VA health care system long into the future.
His legislation, authored with the late-Senator John McCain, authorized
27 new medical facilities and provided $5 billion to hire more doctors and
nurses to care for the surging number of veterans returning from the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan and those veterans from earlier eras in need of
more complex care. This historic legislation also provided strong
incentives to attract talented medical professionals to the VA.
It also expanded VA educational benefits and improved care for survivors
of military sexual trauma.
It is absolutely unacceptable that the misguided priorities in Washington mean
that the promises we make to our veterans are being broken by Members of
Congress and the President each and every day. We have a political process that
rewards large defense contractors with wealthy CEOs and high-paid lobbyists,
leaving hard working, patriotic veterans and servicemembers to fight for their
benefits long after they finished fighting for our country. The broken budget
process in Washington provides a fraction of the funding actually needed to
provide the services and benefits our nation’s veterans earned and deserve. As
President, Bernie will fight for our nation’s veterans to get them the funding,
services, and benefits they are owed and deserve.
Health Care
Bernie will fully fund the VA with the staff and infrastructure needed to ensure our
country keeps its promise to our veterans. The overwhelming majority of veterans

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 are happy with the care they receive from the VA and it’s our job to make it easier
- not harder - for them to get that high-quality care. As a longtime member and
former Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Bernie has heard from
veterans in every corner of this country, from our most urban centers to our most
rural communities, about the care they receive at the VA. Time and again, those
veterans want more care through the VA, not less. They know they can get high-
quality care at the VA from dedicated providers who understand and care about
the unique needs and experiences of our veterans.
Bernie also understands there will be times when it makes sense for veterans to
utilize care in the community. Bernie knows that community care access should
not - and cannot - come at the expense of VA care. Not only has VA care been
found to be as good or better than private sector care at equal or lower cost, but
private sector providers are unprepared and often uninterested in caring for the
unique needs of veterans. For these reasons, coupled with robust quality
standards and safeguards, we must make sure that VA care is available to
veterans wherever and whenever possible.
Throughout his career, including during his time as Chairman of the Senate
Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Bernie has opposed efforts to privatize the VA. As
Senator, Bernie voted against the VA MISSION Act because he knew it was taking
the VA in the wrong direction and putting veterans at risk. By sending more and
more care into the private sector, veterans’ preferences to keep the VA strong
would be ignored in favor of the preferences of wealthy donors like the Mar-a-
lago Trio and massive corporations. The privatization occurring under the
MISSION Act is leading to a massive budget shortfall in every region of the
country. Instead of coming to Congress to request the funding needed to meet
our obligation to provide care to veterans, the Trump administration is simply
telling hospitals and medical professionals to do more with less, which will
inevitably lead to worse care and more private sector care.
As President, Bernie will:
Work to fill the nearly 50,000 vacancies at the VA during his first year in
office. The VA must hire the doctors, nurses and medical professionals
necessary to provide the care that veterans need when they need it.
Ensure that all those with prior military service in every state and territory
have access to the full complement of health care services they need to stay
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 healthy and well.
Coupled with Medicare for All, veterans will be able to rely on a health
care system that is working for them, not against them; a system focused
on a person’s health, not their ability to pay.
Finally guarantee comprehensive dental care as a health care benefit to all
former servicemembers.
Under Bernie’s plan, every veteran who is eligible for health care through
the VA will be eligible for comprehensive dental care. Not only will this
make veterans healthier, it can build self-esteem, help them in their
employment, and lower overall health care costs since good oral health
care is shown to reduce the risk of costly - even deadly - infections, like
endocarditis.
Greatly expand access to VA mental health and suicide prevention services.
We must end the stigma associated with mental health in this country
once-and-for-all.
Expand these critical services to members of the National Guard and
Reserve, regardless of whether they ever served overseas or in combat.
Research continues to show that one of the populations most at risk
of suicide are those members of the National Guard who have not
deployed in support of a federal mission. But, under current law, these
guard members aren’t allowed to use the excellent, specialized mental
health and suicide prevention resources available through the VA.
Expand successful Beyond the Yellow Ribbon programs, like the Vermont
Veterans Outreach Program, so National Guard members and their families
can benefit from helpful support services like mental health, financial and
marriage counseling before, during and after deployments.
Guarantee our veterans the long-term care services they need.
Expand the Veteran Directed Care Program to ensure that all veterans can
choose who provides them with support.
Long-term care services provided at VA Community Living Centers and
State Veterans Homes offer veterans high-quality care and dignity during

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 the final stages of life. Unfortunately, strict eligibility standards for these
services mean only a small fraction of veterans qualify. We will simplify
eligibility criteria so critically-important long-term care services can be
used by all veterans who use the VA, so they can continue to benefit from
high-quality care even when they are no longer able to live at home.
Improve and expand the VA’s comprehensive caregiver program.
When we provide robust funding for the comprehensive caregiver
program we will actually save money in the long run by spending less
on more expensive, less compassionate institutional care.
Expand eligibility for the VA’s Caregiver Program to include not only
those veterans with injuries connected to their military services but
also illnesses, like cancer, blindness and dementia. These veterans
deserve the right to be able to stay in their homes, cared for by those
who love them.
Their families also deserve to be compensated for the care they
already provide; they deserve education on how to best care for their
loved one, transportation to and from medical appointments, and
respite care that allows them the time needed to care for themselves.
Guarantee home and community based long-term care services.
Under Medicare for All, if veterans want to remain at home and
receive the supports and services to do so, they will have that choice.
These services will be available when people need them, without
waitlists, asset and income restrictions, and other barriers.
Ensure that all veterans are treated with dignity and respect.
All veterans, regardless of their gender, race, sexual orientation or gender
identity must have equal access to health care services - especially when
it comes to treating injuries and illnesses connected to their military
service. For too long, too many veterans have had to fight for the medical
care to treat their service-connected needs
End the VA’s blanket exclusion on medically necessary gender-affirmation
surgeries.

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 Ensure that women veterans will no longer be forced outside the VA
system for basic women’s health services, including fertility treatment,
abortion care, or specialized cancer treatment and prevention services.
Provide over $62 billion in new funding for VA infrastructure.
Today, due to serious underfunding, the VA’s infrastructure is crumbling
and in vital need of repair. VA hospitals have gone without needed
updates and maintenance, and outpatient clinics and Vet Centers have
gone unopened. As President, Bernie will invest at least $62 billion in the
infrastructure needed to provide the cutting-edge health care services our
veterans have earned and deserve.
Support VA employees.
One of the best ways to guarantee veterans get good care at the VA is to
ensure the VA can attract the best and brightest staff. Republican efforts
to undermine the VA always include attacks on the good people who go
to work every day to serve our veterans. That is unacceptable and will not
be tolerated in a Bernie Sanders Administration.
Support VA personnel and attract new staff by providing, strong
whistleblower protections, ending anti-union attacks and offering other
incentives that reward high-quality work like reasonable staffing ratios
and compensation that is competitive with the private sector.
Ensure VA providers have the option of appropriately prescribing medical
marijuana to their patients.
End the privatization, corruption and corporate greed of the VA by undoing
the damage done by corrupt billionaires profiteering off veterans and
taxpayers.
Stop the irresponsible, immoral outsourcing of our nation’s responsibility
that is lining the pockets of millionaire CEOs and investors, recentering VA
care on veterans.
Disability Benefits
No one who was injured through their military service should be denied benefits
because of complicated bureaucracy, period. We have seen too many veterans

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 struggle to get the benefits to which they are rightly entitled. Worse still, veterans
who have fought for and won these benefits have them taken away when their
health improves. Bernie believes that veterans must be compensated for the
disabilities connected to their service without being penalized for working hard to
make improvements in their health.
Bernie believes that we must listen to the medical experts when it comes to
compensating veterans for injuries and illnesses connected to their military
service.
As President, Bernie will:
Improve and simplify the claims process so veterans receive the
compensation they have earned quickly, accurately, and without bureaucratic
red tape.
Eliminate the VA benefits backlog. A Bernie Sanders Administration will no
longer tolerate over 70,000 veterans having to wait over 125 days for a
determination on their benefits and up to 7 years to wait for a decision by a
Veterans Law Judge.
End the disgraceful practice of President Trump and VA Secretary Wilkie, who
have willfully chosen to ignore the medical community.
On his first day in office, Bernie will validate the findings of the Institute of
Medicine (now known as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering
and Medicine) to make sure veterans exposed to Agent Orange are
compensated for bladder cancer and other illnesses. It is absolutely
unacceptable that our current President is actively working against our ill
and injured veterans, not for them.
Ensure no future president can do what Trump has done, by changing the
law to make the recommendations of medical experts automatic, not
reliant on presidential action.
Expand the list of injuries and illnesses presumed to be connected with
military service.
Include the most commonly associated illnesses and injuries found in
veterans from each era, including hearing loss and musculoskeletal
injuries, like back and knee injuries.

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 Finally include those veterans whose locations and occupations during
their service in the military was Classified, righting the wrong that far too
many of these veterans have gone without the care they’ve been entitled
to simply because the Department of Defense is unwilling to tell the
Department of Veterans Affairs needed information.
Fight for servicemembers exposed to toxic substances.
Ensure that veterans exposed to toxic substances from asbestos and
ionized radiation in World War II to Agent Orange in Vietnam to burn pits
in Iraq and Afghanistan are compensated for the myriad of diseases
associated with these dangerous chemicals. It is absolutely unacceptable
that we have exposed our brave military members to these dangerous
chemicals and even worse that we then fail to compensate and care for
the illnesses they cause.
Caring for Veteran Families
Bernie understands that if we are truly committed to our servicemembers and
veterans, we must also commit ourselves to their families, who play a critical -
but often ignored - role. Bernie will make it easier for family members to access
the benefits to which they are entitled. This is especially true for Gold Star
Families, Widows and Widowers.
Today, only a small number of veterans have been able to participate in VA’s
Program of Comprehensive Support for Family Caregivers, which helps family
members access the full complement of resources they need to care for veterans
with service-connected injuries in their home.
But it’s completely unacceptable that Donald Trump and Republicans in
Washington have failed to provide the funding needed to actually enroll these
qualified veterans in the program. Today, too many veteran families are forced to
make the terrible choice between sending their loved one to a nursing home or
caring for them in their home at their own expense. Bernie will invest in our
military families because he knows that it is not only the morally right thing to do
but that such investment also makes our nation stronger.
As President, Bernie will:

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 Fairly compensate military survivors by finally ending the unfair practice that
prevents military widows and widowers for receiving their Dependency and
Indemnity Compensation and the Survivor Benefit Plan - even though they are
entitled to both.
Improve and expand VA’s comprehensive caregiver program.
Providing robust funding for the comprehensive caregiver program will
actually save money in the long run by spending less on more expensive,
less compassionate institutional care.
Expand eligibility for the VA’s Caregiver Program to include not only those
veterans with injuries connected to their military services but also
illnesses, like cancer, blindness and dementia. These veterans deserve the
right to be able to stay in their homes, cared for by those who love them.
Their families also deserve to be compensated for the care they
already provide; they deserve education on how to best care for their
loved one, transportation to and from medical appointments, and
respite care that allows them the time needed to care for themselves.
Guarantee Justice for Veterans
Bernie understands that today, many of those who served our country in uniform
are prohibited from accessing critical services because of the terms of their
discharge from the military. Too often, these servicemembers made relatively
small infractions that have stripped them of the very benefits they need most.
Bernie will change VA regulations so they match Congressional intent, meaning
that the only veterans barred from accessing VA care and benefits are those with
dishonorable discharges.
Bernie will also make the process for a change in the character of discharge more
fair across branches of the military. Bernie believes that all those with prior
military service should be guaranteed the same fair process for petitioning to
change the character of their discharge determination. We must not allow
branches of the military to use “bad paper” discharges as a way to shrink their
force. Bernie will stand with the Vietnam Veterans of America and the Campaign
for a Presidential Pardon to get justice for thousands of veterans.

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 Bernie will also end the outrageous and inhumane practice of deporting
undocumented veterans and their family members. Bernie will go further,
returning deported veterans to the United States and reuniting families who have
been unjustly separated. He will use executive authority to allow the families of
veterans and servicemembers to reside in the United States without fear of
deportation. This includes swiftly reuniting some families of veterans who have
been waiting years or even decades for their visas to be processed.
As President, Bernie will:
Change harmful VA regulations that restrict access to care and benefits based
on character of discharge.
Ensure any servicemember discharged from the military for marijuana use or
possession can apply for a discharge upgrade, so they can become eligible
for the full complement of services and benefits provided by the VA.
Immediately terminate deportations of non-citizen members of our armed
forces, veterans and their families.
Return deported servicemembers and veterans to the United States.
Restore the use of parole in place for undocumented family members of
servicemembers and veterans to allow them to stay in the United States
free from fear of deporation, access work opportunities, and remove
barriers to adjustment of status.
Use advance parole to ensure family members of Filipino World War II
veterans can reunite with their families in the United States while their
visas are pending, and work with Congress to ensure these visas are
expedited and exempt from per-country caps.
Expand Opportunities for Veterans
Bernie will ensure all veterans can pursue higher education if they choose without
taking out crippling student debt or being preyed on by exploitative for-profit
colleges. From commercial truck drivers to various health care fields, there is no
reason not to allow our servicemembers to transfer their much-needed skills into
the private sector without hassle and red tape.

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 Bernie also believes that affordable housing is a human right, not a luxury
reserved for the wealthy. In America today, more than 18 million families are
paying more than 50 percent of their income on housing and the most recent
data show that there are over 40,000 homeless veterans. Bernie will support
critical housing programs through the VA focused on ending veterans
homelessness, while also making it easier for veterans to stay in their homes so
they never become homeless in the first place.
As Senator from Vermont, Bernie saw first-hand the impact of difficult overseas
deployments of members of our National Guard. He saw that these brave
individuals often struggled to access the services they needed when returning
home. He understood this needed to change and secured funding for the creation
of the Vermont Veterans Outreach Program. Bernie will expand on this effort to all
those who served in uniform and provide the full complement of resources
needed to successfully transition from the military into civilian life.
As President, Bernie will:
Improve and simplify education benefits.
Pass College for All to make public colleges and universities tuition free
and debt free.
Ensure veterans can use the full complement of benefits through the G.I.
Bill without hassle or red tape.
Lift the expiration dates on benefits under the Montgomery and Post-9/11
G.I. Bill to match the benefits under the Forever G.I. Bill.
Ensure that all veterans, regardless of where they live, are guaranteed in-
state tuition at public colleges and universities.
Hold for-profit colleges who try to take advantage of our veterans
accountable.
End the anti-veteran practices of the Trump administration that are
making it harder for veterans and servicemembers to transfer their
education benefit and guarantee veterans’ rights to transfer their G.I.
benefit to a child or spouse.
Ensure access to better jobs and job training.

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 Make it easier to transfer the skills servicemembers learned during their
military service into the civilian workforce.
Expand and improve incentives for companies to hire veterans.
Increase funding for the Office of Veterans Business Development in the
Small Business Administration.
Guarantee housing for veterans.
Guarantee a federal commitment to Housing First, while also respecting
the preferences of certain veterans to live in housing that meets their
unique needs.
Expand the VA Supportive Housing, Grant and Per Diem, and Supportive
Services for Veteran Families to serve more veterans, and improve these
critical programs to ensure that all eligible veterans can benefit from this
critical program, including veterans with young families and unique needs,
like those fleeing intimate partner violence or suffering from MST, PTSD
or substance use disorder.
Make it easier for veterans to use VA-backed home loans and will make
sure these loans don’t wind up in the hands of unscrupulous mortgage
servicers.
Stop the criminalization of homelessness and spend nearly $32 billion
over five years to end homelessness.
This includes doubling McKinney-Vento homelessness assistance
grants to build permanent supportive housing, and $500 million to
provide outreach to homeless people to help connect them to
available services. In the first year of this plan, 25,000 Housing Trust
Fund units will be prioritized for housing the homeless.
Expand the Veterans Outreach Program.
This innovative program, started in Vermont through legislation initiated
by Senator Sanders, hired veterans to provide support to servicemembers
and their families before, during and following deployment on everything
from health care and benefits to marriage and financial counseling. This
effort has been hugely successful in ensuring that veterans,

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 servicemembers and their families can access the resources they have
earned to help them live a healthy and productive life.

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