The expansion is the result of a 2024 Supreme Court decision that effectively ended a 36-month cap on education benefits for veterans who had at least two qualifying periods of military service. Veterans are now eligible for a total of 48 months of assistance.

Findings showed nearly 55% of 2,654 veterans whose records were studied by the VA and who took their own lives had reported pain problems in the year before they died.

“I see natural burials as another way for veterans like myself to give back to our country and community. Guys I served with did not enlist for the recognition,” says one Marine Corps veteran whose near-death experience caused him to consider his own mortality.

The number of veteran suicides continued to hold steady in 2022 despite an infusion of $13.5 billion in funds for mental health services for former service members, according to newly released findings from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The iconic horse-drawn processions that have defined military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery for decades are on course to return after an 18-month suspension, under legislation included in the National Defense Authorization Act.

Five of the 10 bills introduced Tuesday offered plans for expanding coverage for veterans seeking private-sector care. Some of the proposals would waive requirements for veterans to qualify for non-VA care and others offered alternatives for covering veterans care in the private sector.

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman, said a six-month investigation has confirmed at least two managers leveraged sexual favors from subordinates at the VA Mountain Home health care facility in exchange for job promotions.

While the electronic health records system and several other major projects sound good in theory, they have been over budget by billions of dollars and fail to function properly, Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., said during a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee subpanel hearing.

More than 192,000 disabled veterans applied to the Veterans Readiness and Employment Program in 2024, up from 131,000 in 2023. In 2025, officials project another 15% increase in applicants.

Several veterans organizations are lining up to support the Complete the Mission Act, which directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to disclose expected wait times for appointments, reasons for cancellations and options to reschedule at a VA facility or with a private, non-VA clinician.