A Year-End Promise
: What I’m Fighting For in 2026
The Work Isn’t Finished — And Neither Am I
As the year closes, most people make resolutions: lose weight, drink more water, read more books, stop doom-scrolling congressional hearings at midnight (a noble goal, admittedly).
But for surviving families, caregivers, and the military community, resolutions don’t quite capture the reality of our lives.
We don’t “resolve.”
We promise.
We promise to keep fighting for the people we love.
We promise to keep holding the system accountable.
We promise to make sure the next family carries less weight than we had to.
So as 2025 winds down, I’m not offering resolutions.
I’m offering a year-end promise — to myself, to this community, and to the memory of the people who should still be here.
Here’s what I’m fighting for in 2026.
1. DIC Parity — Because 43% Is Not Honor, It’s Neglect
Surviving spouses currently receive 43 percent of what their veterans would have received at a 100 percent disability rating.
Not even half.
That’s not honoring service.
That’s mathematically formalizing disparity.
The Caring for Survivors Act should not sit on the shelf one more year.
DIC parity is not optional.
It is not negotiable.
It is not a luxury item on a political wish list.
It is earned.
It is owed.
And it is time.
2026 should be the year Congress finally corrects the decades-long underpayment to surviving families.
2. Closing the Gaps That Keep Survivor Families in Limbo
Survivor issues don’t come in single pieces.
They are a web of problems created by outdated laws, bureaucratic inertia, and systems that weren’t designed with grieving families in mind.
Next year, I’m pushing for:
Faster and accurate record corrections
Fewer repetitive documentation demands
Reasonable timelines for processing
Elimination of contradictory guidance
Proactive communication from VA and DW/DoD
Simplified pathways for newly bereaved families
No family should spend months fighting for paperwork when they’re still learning how to breathe again.
Survivor navigation should not feel like another loss layered onto the first one.
3. Supporting the Texas Office of Survivor Services and Advocacy (TX-OSSA)
Texas has more than 1.4 million veterans and tens of thousands of surviving spouses, children, and parents.
And yet — it has no dedicated survivor office.
In 2026, I’m pushing harder than ever to change that.
A state this large and this proud of its military community cannot continue outsourcing survivors’ needs to federal systems that are already strained.
Survivors deserve:
A consistent point of contact
Hands-on navigation
State-level advocacy
Education and outreach
A unified support structure
Building TX-OSSA isn’t just policy — it’s personal.
It’s necessary.
And I am going to keep bringing it to every table until it becomes reality.
4. Real Accountability, Not Just Awareness
Awareness campaigns mean nothing without follow-through.
In 2026, I’m focusing on accountability for:
Military medical failures
Delays that harm families
Toxic exposure cases that still fall through the cracks
Systemic errors that never seem to “really” get fixed
Agencies that apologize but don’t change
Policies that create unintentional hardship
Awareness is decorative.
Accountability is structural.
We need less of the first and much more of the second.
5. Strengthening Survivor Voices — Especially the Ones Too Exhausted to Speak
Some of the most important voices in this fight belong to people who are too overwhelmed, grieving, burned out, or unsupported to advocate for themselves.
So in 2026, I’m committed to:
Creating and sharing simple advocacy tools
Offering scripts, letters, templates, guides
Helping families tell their stories safely and effectively
Amplifying voices that are often ignored
Building networks so no one has to advocate alone
Turning frustration into organized action
Every survivor deserves the right to be heard — even if they’re not ready to speak.
6. Holding Congress to Their Promises (And Their Constituents’ Expectations)
Every session, we hear big words:
“We honor our military families.”
“We are committed to fixing this.”
“We’re working on the issue.”
In 2026, those words need to become votes, signatures, and enacted laws.
The era of polite nods and long-term “consideration” is over.
The issues affecting survivors and caregivers are not new.
They are not mysterious.
They do not require another decade of study.
What they require is political will.
And if Congress doesn’t have enough on its own?
We will supply it — one meeting, one email, one phone call, one hearing at a time.
7. Choosing Hope — Not Because It’s Easy, But Because It’s Necessary
The hardest part of advocacy isn’t policy.
It’s persistence.
It’s choosing, again and again, to believe change is possible even when the system feels immovable.
It’s choosing to show up even when you’re tired.
Choosing to ask again even when you’ve already been ignored.
Choosing to continue the fight because your loved one deserved better and the families walking behind you deserve a fairer path.
In 2026, I’m choosing hope — not the soft, wishful kind, but the forged-in-fire kind that comes from survivors who refuse to disappear.
A Promise for 2026
Next year, I will:
Speak up
Show up
Push hard
Organize smarter
Support survivors
Correct misinformation
Challenge harmful narratives
Hold lawmakers accountable
Advocate with facts, stories, and strategy
And I’ll do it with the same determination that carried me through this year.
Not because it’s easy.
Not because the system makes it simple.
But because the cost of doing nothing is too high — and the people we fight for are worth every ounce of effort.
To Every Survivor, Caregiver, and Military Family: I See You. I’m With You.
We’re Not Done.
You aren’t alone in this work.
You aren’t forgotten.
You aren’t invisible.
Your story matters.
Your pain matters.
Your loved one matters.
And in 2026 —
we fight on.
Together.
