Veterans who helped secure Republican victories in 2024 now hold the balance of power in the 2026 midterms, with two pending VA reform bills emerging as potential deciding factors in key congressional races. The Veterans' ACCESS Act and the Veterans' Bill of Rights Act represent practical solutions to systemic failures that continue to cost veterans their lives, even as some Democrats in Washington view the troubled VA system as a blueprint for broader nationalized health care.
A Deadly Pattern of Failure
The stakes became tragically clear 12 years ago when the Phoenix VA Health Care System scandal exposed a deliberate criminal scheme. Officials there created secret unofficial waiting lists to hide systemic failures, keeping as many as 1,700 veterans off the official electronic wait list to inflate reported wait times and protect bonuses. Veterans were forced to wait months, in some cases up to 115 days or longer, for basic primary care. At least 40 veterans died while waiting on these hidden lists.
The deadly failures continue. In 2025 alone, two veterans took their own lives at the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in San Antonio while trying to get mental health care. In April 2025, Navy veteran Mark Miller killed himself there. He had battled depression and anxiety since leaving the service 19 years ago and co-authored a book with his father, Suicide Stalks the Sniper, chronicling that fight. During his final visit, he told his father the staff were "just like robots handing out pills, poisoning our people." His father, Dr. Larry Miller, said, "I lay the blame on the VA system and the psychiatrist who drugged him instead of helping him."
Five months ago, Marine Corps veteran Enrique Ramos Jr. called 911 from the same parking lot, stated his location and his intent, and then took his own life. Both men died at the doorstep of the facility that was supposed to care for them.
The Political Arithmetic
A new poll from Veteran Action and Rasmussen Reports shows that supporting veteran health care is not just good policy, but good politics heading into the 2026 midterms. Ninety-four percent back the Veterans' Bill of Rights Act, which requires the VA to plainly inform veterans of their existing rights to health care, benefits, and community care options. Seventy-five percent say they would be more likely to support a congressional candidate who backs the Veterans' ACCESS Act (H.R. 740), the bill that guarantees timely VA care or the immediate right to seek outside care at no extra cost when the VA can't deliver. These numbers cut across party lines among the voters who know the VA best.
The poll shows military voters gave President Trump 60% support, but the Republican generic congressional ballot sits at just 57%. That gap could decide control of the House in key districts. Republicans cannot take their loyalty for granted, and candidates who lead on these issues will earn veteran support while those who do not risk losing it and their seats.
Two Solutions Ready to Pass
Congress has two practical solutions ready to pass: the Veterans' ACCESS Act guarantees timely care or immediate community care when the VA falls short, and the Veterans' Bill of Rights Act requires the VA to tell veterans plainly what rights they already have. These bills do not dismantle the VA; they force it to do its job.
Meanwhile, Democrats in Washington have a different priority: using the VA as a blueprint for nationalized health care. Progressive influencer Ezra Klein called Phillip Longman's Best Care Anywhere: Why VA Health Care Would Work Better For Everyone one of the most important social policy books of the last decade. Mark Lucas is president of Veteran Action, a board member of Article III Project and a U.S. Army veteran of the war in Afghanistan.
Why This Matters:
The contrast could not be starker: Republicans are offering veterans immediate relief through market-based solutions that guarantee access to private care when government facilities fail, while progressives continue promoting the VA's troubled model as a template for expanding government control over health care. With veterans representing a decisive voting bloc in competitive districts, candidates who prioritize accountability and choice over bureaucratic expansion stand to gain critical support. The Phoenix scandal and recent tragedies in San Antonio demonstrate that VA failures are not historical anomalies but ongoing crises that demand structural reform. These two bills represent a test of whether Congress will empower veterans with real options or continue defending a system that has repeatedly failed those who served.