VSO Letter to the President Requesting the Publication of the Proposed Caregiver Support Program Regulations

September 4, 2024

The President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of the diverse military and veteran communities we serve, we write to express our sincerest appreciation to you and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden for your unyielding support of our nation’s hidden heroes – the caregivers who care for wounded, ill, or injured veterans and Service members. Your combined effort to elevate our country’s commitment to military caregivers has created an exceptional model for others to follow. Today, we write to respectfully ask that you take further action in support of caregivers; specifically, those caring for veterans with the most complex needs.

Your administration inherited the imposing task of expanding the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) to serve caregivers of all generations. Under your leadership, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) took proactive steps to address challenges rooted in eligibility criteria set by previous administrations that proved to exclude thousands of well-deserving caregivers from the program. Since 2022, VA has consistently engaged with our organizations to identify solutions that will help ensure the PCAFC better serves the veterans and caregivers it was intended to assist.

Executive Order 10495 (Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers, April 2023) signaled that a resolution was near. Yet despite subsequent engagement and consideration from VA, the Office of Management and Budget, the Domestic Policy Council and others, tangible progress on reform remains elusive. More importantly, uncertainty over PCAFC’s future continues to have a real and meaningful impact on the well- being, quality of life, and financial security of thousands of current and prospective PCAFC participants.

We believe that the best path forward is for VA to publish the pending PCAFC proposed rule – which has now been under development for nearly two years – as soon as possible. Further delay, layered with a change in presidential administration, would only serve to prolong the strain that so many veterans and caregivers have felt while PCAFC continues to fall short of its intent and potential. Thank you for your consideration of this request and thank you for your continued support for our nation’s hidden heroes.

Respectfully yours,

Cc: The Honorable Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs The House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees

Michael D. Zeiders
President
Quality of Life Foundation

Heather L. Ansley, Esq., MSW
Chief Policy Officer
Paralyzed Veterans of America

Steve Schwab
CEO
Elizabeth Dole Foundation

Paul Wright
Executive Director
National Veterans Legal Services Program

Holly Ferrell
Executive Director
Veteran Warriors

Patrick Murray
Director
VFW National Legislative Service

Brian T. Kelly (BK)
Lieutenant General, U.S. Air Force (Ret)
President and CEO
Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)

Jose Ramos
Vice President Government and Community Relations
Wounded Warrior Project

Donald D. Overton, Jr.
National Executive Director
Blinded Veterans Association

CAPT Jacqueline Rychnovsky, USN (Ret.), PhD, CAE
Executive Director
Commissioned Officers Association of the USPHS PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation

EDWARD R. REESE, JR. Executive Director
Washington Headquarters
DAV (Disabled American Veterans)

Linda Kreter
CEO
WiseHealth, Inc.

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