TDIU Reform Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Representative Self, Keith [R-TX-3]
In Committee
Summary
Codifies VA authority to pay Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU). The bill would set clear eligibility thresholds, explain when related conditions count as one disability, and add age and marginal-employment limits.
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- Veterans with service-connected disabilities: a single disability rated 60% or more would qualify for presumptive IU, and multiple disabilities must reach a combined 70% to meet the threshold. The bill also treats related conditions as a single disability for counting, including limb disabilities, conditions from the same accident, single body system disorders, multiple combat injuries, and disabilities from being a prisoner of war.
- Veterans who miss those rating tests: a rating board must prepare a full statement on service-connected conditions, employment history, education, and other relevant facts. The Director of Compensation Service would review those statements to decide IU eligibility.
- Older veterans and low-wage work: IU compensation could not be first awarded to someone aged 67 or older if the first payment starts on or after December 31, 2026. Marginal employment is excluded using the Census Bureau poverty threshold for one person or by Secretary review for sheltered or family jobs.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
New rules for veteran unemployability benefits
If enacted, the bill would let the Secretary of Veterans Affairs assign a total disability rating when a veteran cannot secure or follow substantially gainful work because of service‑connected conditions. It would set numeric eligibility: one service‑connected disability at 60% or more, or two or more disabilities with one at 40% or more and a combined rating of 70% or more. Certain related disabilities (same limb, same cause, same body system, multiple action injuries, or POW disabilities) would sometimes count as one for that test. The VA would ignore non‑service‑connected disabilities and prior unemployability when applying these rules. Jobs that are "marginal"—earning at or below the one‑person Census poverty line, or jobs the Secretary finds marginal—would not count as substantially gainful. If a veteran cannot work but does not meet the numeric test, a rating board would send a full statement to the Director of Compensation Service, who would decide IU. But the bill would bar IU payments to veterans age 67 or older who first receive IU on or after December 31, 2026.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Self, Keith [R-TX-3]
TX • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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