Jul 02, 2026
WASHINGTON – The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) today reaffirmed its opposition to Section 108 of the proposed Take Care of America's Veterans Act and defended its longstanding tradition of using political satire to advocate for veterans.
“For more than 125 years, the VFW has been a fearless advocate for veterans, speaking plainly when elected officials propose policies that threaten the benefits generations of service members have earned through sacrifice,” said VFW National Commander Carol Whitmore. “Our opposition to Section 108 reflects that longstanding commitment. Veterans’ benefits are not funding sources or bargaining chips for Congress while they scrounge to score political points.”
While the VFW supports many of the bill's underlying goals, it strongly opposes Section 108 because it would reduce future veterans' disability compensation to pay for other veterans' programs. Disability compensation is not a government spending program to be trimmed when convenient. It is earned compensation for injuries and illnesses incurred through military service. Veterans should never be asked to finance new initiatives with benefits they earned through their sacrifice.
The VFW also opposes using projected reductions in Title 38 disability compensation to finance separate Title 10 military retirement obligations. The organization continues to support passage of a clean and complete Major Richard Star Act, but believes Congress should fulfill that obligation without reducing earned disability benefits for current or future veterans.
Since its introduction in the fall of 2025, the firing squad illustration has become a recognizable symbol of the VFW's ongoing Honor The Contract campaign. It is political satire that depicts bureaucrats and their pundits figuratively taking aim at veterans by proposing cuts to their earned disability benefits in order to save money or fund other initiatives. Despite House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost’s unprecedented and unacceptable accusations in a recent statement, the image is not a depiction of violence. It is a symbolic representation of the consequences veterans face when Congress targets the benefits they earned through their service. It is also protected First Amendment speech. Political cartoons, symbolism, satire and hyperbole have been part of American public discourse since the founding of our Nation. They remain among the most recognized forms of protected political expression because they communicate ideas through symbolism rather than literal depiction. Americans are free to disagree with the VFW's message, but disagreement with protected political expression does not transform satire into violence. Even Chairman Bost at one time agreed with this premise:
“Free speech is foundational to democracy and the American way of life. That’s why servicemembers and veterans have fought and died for it for 245 years,” said Bost on October 13, 2021, during opening remarks of a committee hearing on violent extremism. “Free speech must be protected. I will oppose any effort to restrict it. It is every veteran’s right to have an opinion – even one I find radical.”
The political illustration is also rooted in the VFW's own history. The use of satirical political cartoons was commonplace in early 20th century magazines, and the VFW regularly published works of illustrators' satire to convey the unjust ways America's veterans were being treated by the government. The current artwork is a modern interpretation of illustrations published in the VFW’s Foreign Service magazine in 1933 and again in VFW magazine in 1956. Sadly, what veterans were experiencing decades ago is the same thing occurring today, which is why the illustration in question remains so relevant.
The VFW has consistently used this imagery in official advocacy before Congress and in public communications. The illustration appeared prominently in the organization's October 2025 response to a series of Washington Post articles that characterized veterans' disability benefits as loopholes to exploit. VFW Washington Office Executive Director Ryan Gallucci presented the historic and modern illustrations during his testimony before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs last October. Whitmore, along with VFW members in attendance, wore buttons displaying the illustration during her testimony before a Joint Congressional Veterans' Affairs committee this past March.
"The VFW has never apologized for forcefully defending veterans and we are not about to start now," said Whitmore. "Political cartoons have long been part of American public discourse because they communicate difficult truths in memorable ways. When bureaucrats take aim at veterans' earned disability benefits, we will continue to use every tool available to ensure veterans' voices are heard."
The VFW urges Congress to remove Section 108 from the Take Care of America's Veterans Act, preserve the integrity of the disability rating system and pass veterans' priorities without reducing earned disability compensation. America's obligation to disabled veterans is not negotiable and should never be treated as a source of savings to pay for other legislation.
The VFW remains committed to working with lawmakers who seek to improve care and benefits for veterans. However, the organization will continue to oppose any proposal that weakens the commitments America has made to those who answered the nation's call.