Newsbytes July 12, 2024
In this issue:
Concurrent Receipt in Senate NDAA
SAC Agrees to Increase Defense Funding
VA Upgrades Claim Status Tool
More than 50,000 Women Veterans enrolled in VA health care
Marine Band Anniversary
Put Concurrent Receipt in Senate NDAA
Please use the FRA Action Center to ask your Senators to support a Senate floor amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that includes the Major Richard Star Act. We need your help now at this critical stage of the NDAA process to end an unjust pay offset, one that costs tens of thousands of injured veterans a dollar of DoD-earned retirement pay for every dollar of VA disability compensation. More than three-quarters of lawmakers have co-sponsored this concurrent receipt bill, but funding concerns and budgetary rules have so far kept it from moving forward as an amendment to the must-pass NDAA. With 74 Senators in support of the Major Richard Star Act, it deserves a vote. Link to FRA Action Center.
SAC Agrees to Increase Defense Spending
Senate Appropriations Committee leaders Patty Murray (Wash.) and Susan Collins (Maine) have reached an agreement to boost emergency spending for both defense and domestic programs for the fiscal year that starts on Oct. 1. The agreement is to increase spending for defense by almost $21 billion and for domestic programs by $13.5 billion. The emergency spending would circumvent the caps set in law as part of last year’s debt-ceiling negotiations and would not trigger automatic cuts for exceeding the limits. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved an NDAA that exceeded spending caps by $25 billion. The House-passed NDAA did not exceed the spending caps.
VA Upgrades Claim Status Tool
The VA has announced enhancements to its online claim status tool. This free service allows veterans to access the status of their VA claim, decision review, or appeal via VA.gov using a variety of login options. The recent upgrades were designed to facilitate more user-friendly ways to quickly view and manage information.
More than 50,000 Women Veterans Enrolled in VA Health Care
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that more than 53,000 women veterans enrolled in VA health care between May 2023 and May 2024, marking a 20% increase over the previous year and the largest enrollment year for women veterans on record. VA is now providing more care and benefits to women veterans than ever before in our nation’s history. Health care enrollment of women veterans increased across all 50 states, with the greatest number of enrollments in Texas (6,507), Florida (4,666), California (4,318), Virginia (3,806), Georgia (2,937), and North Carolina (2,776). Women veterans are currently VA’s fastest-growing patient population. This historic enrollment of women veterans into VA health care and benefits is driven in large part by the PACT Act, enacted in August 2022, empowering VA to deliver record health care and benefits to millions of veterans exposed to toxins while serving in the military.
The VA claims it is also delivering disability compensation benefits to an all-time record number of women veterans, with 717,141 women veterans receiving disability compensation benefits. Over the past five years, an additional 197,667 women veterans have begun receiving benefits, representing a 28% increase. More than 89% of women veterans who have applied have received disability benefits from the VA for at least one condition, on average receiving $27,109 in earned disability compensation benefits per year.
The VA’s dedicated Women Veterans Call Center is here to support women veterans in navigating all the services they may need, including health care and benefits. Call or text 1-855-VA-WOMEN (1-855-829-6636). For more information specifically on how the PACT Act is helping veterans and their survivors and to apply for care or benefits today, visit VA.gov/PACT or call 1-800-MYVA411 (1-800-698-2411).
Marine Corps Band Anniversary
This year marks several significant milestones for “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. July 11 marks the band’s 225th anniversary, and although the organization looks nothing like it did in 1798, its enduring fame and popularity have changed little as the band remains the oldest professional band in the nation.