America's Contract with Veterans

Oliver grew up with a deep sense of service and patriotism. His father and both grandfathers served in the U.S. military. His father graduated from college through the Army ROTC program and became a homeowner with a military loan—instilling in Oliver the belief that service to the nation should be met with a pathway to the middle class.

Today, that promise is broken for too many veterans and even active-duty service members. Some who fought for this country have been deported instead of offered a pathway from green card to citizenship. Many active-duty, Reserve, and National Guard members rely on SNAP—or don’t qualify because of inadequate housing allowances.

Some estimates show that up to one-third of active-duty service members experience hunger, with military families facing food insecurity at more than twice the national average. Many bases are located in high-cost or rural areas where access to affordable food and basic services is limited.

Oliver supports raising the military pay scale to ensure service members and their families can live with dignity and stability.

Housing

Oliver will lead efforts in Congress to repeal the failed Military Housing Privatization Initiative. Too many military families live in unsafe housing—infested with mold, pests, and vermin; plagued by structural, electrical, or gas hazards; and under gag orders from private contractors requiring NDAs before repairs are made.

In 2021, one military housing contractor paid $65 million in restitution for defrauding the government—just one of many settlements, whistleblower cases, and federal investigations into widespread neglect and abuse.

Oliver supports building 500,000 to 1 million new affordable housing units to serve the 3 million people who work with or within the U.S. military.

Mental Health and Suicide Prevention

The United States loses approximately 20 veterans a day to suicide. Since 9/11, more U.S. service members have died by suicide than in combat.

Veterans deserve full access to treatment for PTSD, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), chronic pain, disability, and long-term health conditions. Oliver supports reclassifying controlled substances to allow for peer-reviewed research and the safe prescription of treatments—including cannabis and psychedelics—when medically appropriate.

Veterans Affairs

Oliver strongly supports full federal funding for the VA and opposes all efforts to privatize it.

His grandfather, a Korean War veteran, dedicated nearly 2,000 volunteer hours at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center—because he believed in the community and care it provided.

Oliver believes the VA should remain a specialized agency within a broader Medicare for All system—ensuring veterans receive expert, veteran-specific care while still upholding the original mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs: patriotism, not profit.