Veterans
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More on Veterans
WASHINGTON, DC – This week, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that they will relieve veterans of more than $272 million of medical copay debt accrued due to technical errors within the VA’s payment processing system. This policy follows the key provisions of Representative Gray’s STRIVE Act, which passed the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs with unanimous support earlier this year. Upon announcement of the action, Rep. Gray issued the following statement:
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday night to end the longest shutdown in U.S. history. The bill restores federal worker salaries and food aid benefits that had slowed earlier this month. But it doesn’t include healthcare subsidies that Democrats had largely been pushing for. But Merced Democratic Rep. Adam Gray tells KVPR that this doesn’t mean Democrats will stop pushing for those subsidies.
The recent government shutdown made one thing very clear: President Trump and his allies are far too comfortable using vulnerable Americans as political leverage. One of the first things they did during the shutdown was refuse to authorize emergency funds to cover food stamps, delaying Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits nationwide.
WASHINGTON, DC – After his vote to reopen the federal government, Rep. Adam Gray (CA-13) published an opinion editorial in the Turlock Journal. In the op-ed, Rep. Gray writes:
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: HOW IT MAY IMPACT YOU
Funding for the federal government expired on September 30, 2025.
I’ve always been a strong advocate for bipartisanship, and I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to work together to find a commonsense compromise to keep the government open. I am committed to doing everything I can to make that happen.
Seventy-three veterans from California’s Central Valley received a hero’s welcome in the nation’s capital on Sept. 9 as part of the 32nd Central Valley Honor Flight, a three-day journey to honor their military service.
The group, which included veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, began the day with a Capitol Police escort to the U.S. Capitol Building, where they were greeted by several members of Congress, including Rep. Adam Gray (CA-13), Rep. Jim Costa (CA-21), Rep. David Valadao (CA-22), Rep. Tom McClintock (CA-5), and Rep. Vince Fong (CA-20).
WASHINGTON, DC – Representative Adam Gray (CA-13) visited with a group of Central Valley Honor Flight veterans and guardians during their visit to our nation’s capital today. Rep. Gray delivered remarks to the group on the House Floor before they departed for a tour of the Capitol building. Valley Representatives Jim Costa, David Valadao, Tom McClintock and Vince Fong also attended the gathering.
MERCED, CA – Congressman Adam Gray (CA-13) hosted his second Veterans Advisory Committee meeting today at Merced’s American Legion Hall, welcoming veterans and their families along with local advocates and officials.
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Adam Gray’s STRIVE Act to limit copay costs for veterans at VA health clinics passed with unanimous consent out of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs this week. The bill was recommended favorably by a voice vote, with no opposition from any member of the committee. The committee’s vote renders the bill eligible to be brought to the House Floor for a vote.
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Adam Gray (D-Merced) today introduced the Stop Troubling Retroactive Invoices for Veteran Expenses (STRIVE) Act of 2025 to limit copay costs for veterans seeking care at VA facilities. Under current law, veterans must navigate a series of bureaucratic hurdles to obtain waivers for copay debts accrued as a result of errors internal to the VA. The STRIVE Act would allow the VA to grant waivers to large groups of veterans who may be saddled with copay debt through no fault of their own.