Newsbytes November 1, 2024

In this issue: 

Allow Retirees to Take Civilian DoD Jobs without Delay 
Bill to Help Veterans Pursue Careers as Truckers Enacted 
VA Expands Gravesite Benefit 

Allow Retirees to Take Civilian DoD Jobs Without Delay
The House-passed version of the FY 2025 Defense Authorization Bill (NDAA-HR 8070) includes a provision to repeal the requirement that retirees from military service wait 180 days before entering Department of Defense (DoD) civil service General Schedule (GS) positions for GS-13 and below. The 180-day waiting period has created a talent management problem for hiring officials, who are struggling with an outdated hiring process that takes too long to bring on a qualified candidate with a current security clearance.

Please use the Action Center to ask your legislators to support this NDAA provision at https://www.votervoice.net/FRA/Campaigns/101086/Respond.

Bill to Help Veterans Pursue Careers as Truckers is Signed into Law
President Joe Biden has signed into law bipartisan legislation, the Veterans Improvement Commercial Driver License Act (S.656 - Public Law 118-95). This legislation will make it easier for veterans to use their earned education benefits to become truck drivers. The bill aims to strengthen the trucking workforce by removing barriers that previously prevented veterans from using their GI Bill benefits to obtain a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) through approved commercial driver education programs. This will increase veterans' access to CDL schools and help them pursue well-paying jobs in the trucking industry. Previously, educational programs offering CDLs could not accept GI Bill benefits for two years after opening, even if they were existing, approved schools opening new locations. Under this new law, branches of already-approved institutions can now accept GI Bill benefits immediately upon opening.

VA Expands Gravesite Benefit
An outer burial receptacle (OBR) is typically placed in a gravesite before a casket is lowered, helping to maintain cemetery grounds by preventing the sinking of headstones and surrounding soil. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) currently provides OBRs for casketed burials in national cemeteries. Beginning on November 9, 2024, the VA will also provide OBRs in VA grant-funded cemeteries. Eligible beneficiaries may apply for financial assistance for OBRs that are privately purchased or provided by a grant-funded cemetery if the OBR is placed at the time of interment. For more information on this benefit expansion, visit:

https://news.va.gov/135598/va-expands-outer-burial-receptacles-benefit/.