American Legion national commander: Veterans earned their rightful benefits, despite 'outrageous' Washington Post story

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- American Legion National Commander Dan K. Wiley issued the following statement following a story in the Washington Post, entitled "How some veterans exploit $193 billion VA program, due to lax controls," published October 6.

"Millions of men and women have served our nation with pride, honor and sacrifice," Wiley said. "As a nation, we promised to provide for them, care for their injuries and support their families. It's the least we could do for our nation's honorable veterans."

"This outrageous story in The Washington Post fails to accurately portray how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) upholds our nation's promise to veterans. 

"Keep in mind that not all veterans' injuries are as obvious as missing limbs, severe burns or scarred skin, though countless veterans endure those ailments. The highly inflammatory article misconstrues the range of service-connected injuries and illnesses that veterans endure, and that VA provides the much-needed resources to treat. Among them: PTSD and traumatic brain injuries, military sexual trauma, cancers from burn pits and other toxic exposures, moral injuries and more." 

The Post paints a one-sided, unbalanced view of the entire veteran population, based on a few cases of veterans wrongly defrauding VA. Just as it is wrong for veterans to take advantage of the system, it is wrong for The Washington Post to target veterans who have earned their benefits. 

While the Post is manipulating the truth, The American Legion continues to do what it does best: serve our veterans as we have since our World War I heroes came home.

As the nation's largest veterans service organization, we will continue to fight for the benefits our nation's heroes earned when they swore to protect our nation with their lives."

Media contact 
Henry Howard
Deputy Director
Media & Communications
765.491.3545 (cell)
[email protected]

SOURCE The American Legion