Following Push from Senator Murray, VA Announces Extension of Caregivers Program for Legacy Participants

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Senator Murray: “After pushing non-stop for the VA to fix this problem and do right by our veterans, I’m glad that today the VA has announced steps to protect eligibility to ensure no family loses the VA services and support that they need, and that they have earned.”

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, released the following statement on the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) announcement it will extend eligibility for its Caregivers program for legacy participants through September 2025. Senator Murray has long pushed back against efforts to curtail eligibility of the program, and this announcement comes after she urged VA Secretary Denis McDonough to revise VA’s unnecessarily restrictive criteria for the program to ensure it aligns with Congressional intent so that veterans and their families can access the critical services and care they have earned.

“We owe our veterans and their families more than just a debt of gratitude—we owe them the services and care they have earned to support their mental and physical health,” said Senator Murray. “But I hear all the time from veterans in Washington state about the stress and the frustration they are experiencing, worried that they can’t access the Caregivers program, or that they might lose eligibility for the services they depend on. Not on my watch. After pushing non-stop for the VA to fix this problem and do right by our veterans, I’m glad that today the VA has announced steps to protect eligibility to ensure no family loses the VA services and support that they need, and that they have earned.”

“While this is important, hard-fought progress, I know that our work isn’t over,” Senator Murray continued. “I’ve been pushing for a long time for the VA to align the Caregivers program with Congressional intent, and I’m going to keep doing all I can to cut red tape and ensure that veterans and caregivers can access this critically important program.”

Senator Murray is a longtime champion for strengthening federal investments in caring for veterans, and as former Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Senator Murray oversaw the initial implementation of the Caregiver Support Program in 2011 and since then has worked diligently to expand it and has been following its implementation closely.

• February 2011 – During her time as Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Senator Murray oversaw the initial implementation of the Caregiver Support Program in 2011 and has been following its implementation closely since then.
• April 2014 – March 2017: Given the popularity and success of the program, Senator Murray first introduced the Military and Veteran Caregiver Services Improvement Act in 2014 to expand the program to veterans of all eras, reintroducing in 2015 and 2017.
• June 2018: Senator Murray helped to pass the bipartisan VA MISSION Act of 2018, securing expansion of the Caregivers program to include veterans of all eras.
• August – October 2019: Senator Murray engaged in continued oversight of the VA MISSION Act’s implementation, pressing VA leaders for answers on the Caregivers Program expansion and speaking with veterans in Vancouver, Ellensburg, and King County about their experiences receiving care under the new law.
• May 2020: During VA’s rulemaking process under the Trump Administration, Senators Murray and Tester sent a public comment to VA regarding draft regulations for the expanded Caregivers Support Program, cautioning the Department not to limit eligibility and questioning plans to modify caregivers’ stipends.
• December 2021: At a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing, Senator Murray pushed Secretary McDonough to revise VA’s unnecessarily restrictive criteria for the Caregivers Program to ensure it aligns with Congressional intent.
• February 2022: Senators Murray and Hassan led a bipartisan group of their colleagues in calling for changes to the Caregivers Program after hearing concerns that the VA denied 88 percent of applications to the program between October 2020 and August 2021.
• March 2022: At a Senate hearing, Senator Murray spoke with and heard from advocates who are fighting to improve the Caregivers Program.
• April 2022: Senator Murray held a roundtable with veterans and advocates on the Caregivers program, and discussed her push to ensure the program is meeting the intent of Congress so that veterans and their families can access the critical services and care they have earned.
• May 2022: At a Senate hearing, Senator Murray made clear to Secretary McDonough the importance of VA taking swift and deliberate action to expand eligibility and provide clarity around the VA Caregivers program.

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