U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich
From the Office of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M) cosponsored three bills to improve veterans’ access to their earned Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits, strengthen the VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, and help veterans and servicemembers keep their homes.
“New Mexico’s veterans have heroically served our nation. We owe them more than just our gratitude — we owe them the care and opportunities they earned through their service,” Heinrich said. “I’m proud to cosponsor these bills to make it easier for veterans to access their benefits, improve the support for caregivers who look after these heroes, and help veterans stay in their homes even if money gets tight. I am committed to ensuring our nation keeps its promise to our veterans by providing them the support and care they deserve.”
The Fred Hamilton Veterans’ Lost Records Act ensures veterans whose military records were lost by the U.S. government, through no fault of the veteran, can still receive their earned VA benefits.
The legislation authorizes the VA to grant disability compensation claims using other documentation in place of military treatment records for veterans whose records were lost after being transmitted to the VA by the Department of Defense (DoD).
The text of the Fred Hamilton Veterans’ Lost Records Act is here.
The Veterans Caregiver Application and Appeals Reform (CARE) Act improves the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, also known as the Caregivers Program.
The Caregivers Program provides comprehensive support for caretakers of veterans injured in the line of duty. Veterans and caregivers currently participating in the program have reported frustration with the lack of medical assessment of veterans’ needs as well as improper notices of decisions from the VA that impact care.
Additionally, due to the complicated application and appeals process, many veterans and caregivers need advocates to guide their way through it. The Heinrich-backed CARE Act would require medical specialists to evaluate veterans’ applications, mandate that detailed reasoning be laid out in the event of a denial, and require the VA to deliver an annual report to Congress on the program.
The text of the Veterans Caregiver Application and Appeals Reform Act is here.
The Veterans Housing Stability Act of 2024 helps veterans and active servicemembers with VA home loans get out of forbearance, get mortgage payments back on track, and stay in their homes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, veterans and servicemembers who faced financial strain were able to enter forbearance—or pause mortgage payments—on VA home loans without facing a penalty. However, in May 2023, thousands of veterans and servicemembers in forbearance were abruptly told to pay the paused payment amounts as a lump sum and modify the terms of their home loans, leaving them vulnerable to losing their homes.
The bill grants the VA the authority to impose a moratorium on foreclosure or establish a period of forbearance in light of an urgent need, such as a declared national emergency or disaster.
“My husband and I, both New Mexico natives, were victims of the decision by the VA to stop conditions of the COVID-19 VA forbearance program and were threatened foreclosure of our home if our mortgage payments were not made in full. The VA never gave us a heads up that this was coming our way. This was a frustrating time for us, and we fought diligently with the VA for eight months, without success, until we finally contacted Senator Martin Heinrich’s office. With the strong support of his staff and the due diligence of the Senator, we successfully reached an acceptable resolution. There are many veterans with a similar situation to ours, and this legislation will help ALL of those veterans. We are eternally grateful that Senator Heinrich heard us, and we’re proud he is continuing the fight with this bill,” said New Mexico constituent Linda Sena.
The text of the Veterans Housing Stability Act of 2024 is here.
Additional background on Heinrich’s leadership to support veterans:
Heinrich, a member and former chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, is a leader in supporting our nation’s servicemembers and veterans, successfully advocating for major increases in funding to programs that support veterans in New Mexico and across the country.
Recently, he secured key language in the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill to protect access to health care for veterans in New Mexico and nationwide, including language he authored to prevent the VA from closing Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), and language that improves veteran access to Suicide Prevention Coordinators. For more information on the provisions and funding increases Heinrich secured in the FY24 Appropriations Bill, click here.
Additionally, Heinrich helped secure the passage of the SFC Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, historic legislation that increased health care eligibility for generations of toxic-exposed Veterans, giving them access to the health care they’ve earned and deserve. It was the single largest health care and benefit expansion in VA history.