Newsbytes November 22, 2024
In this issue:
Support the Major Richard Star Concurrent Receipt Legislation
House Passes Bill for Veterans, Caregivers, and Survivors
Trump Announces His Pick to Run VA
DoD Fails to Complete Annual Audit for the 7th Time
Photos from the 2024 FRA National Convention!
FRA NHQ Holiday Schedule
Support the Major Richard Star Concurrent Receipt Legislation
The Senate is expected to debate and approve the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) during the first week of December. Earlier this year, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved the Senate version of the NDAA and sent the bill to the Senate floor for further consideration and passage. Amendments have been filed to add the “Major Richard Star Act” (concurrent receipt reform) to the Senate NDAA.
The House has already approved its version without considering an FRA-supported concurrent receipt amendment. Once the Senate passes its version of the NDAA, a conference committee will be appointed to resolve the differences between the House and Senate NDAAs and draft a final bill to be voted on by both chambers of Congress. If concurrent receipt is not included in either bill, it cannot be part of the final legislation.
Over two-thirds of the House and Senate are co-sponsoring the “Major Richard Star Act.” Reducing a retiree’s pay because they are disabled is an injustice! Please use the FRA Action Center to ask your legislators to include this legislation in the FY 2025 NDAA!
Click here to take action.
House Passes Bill for Veterans, Caregivers, and Survivors
The House passed (389-9) the “Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act” (H.R. 8371). This legislation, introduced in May in the House, will expand VA-assisted living programs, improve caregiver support, remove unfair penalties for surviving spouses, and address a host of other FRA legislative priorities. The act is the result of months of negotiations and engagement with House and Senate Veterans’ Committee leadership and staff.
Key provisions in this 315-page bill include:
- Allowing the VA to carry out a pilot program to provide assisted living services to eligible veterans (H.R. 1815/S. 495).
- The Elizabeth Dole Home and Community-Based Services for Veterans and Caregivers Act (H.R. 542/S. 141), which would improve VA home- and community-based services for veterans, as well as support family caregivers.
- The Veteran Caregiver Application and Appeals Reform (CARE) Act (H.R. 4518/S. 1792), which would modify the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) to improve transparency and access to services for caregivers of veterans and aid in navigating Veterans Health Administration (VHA) healthcare programs and services.
- The Improving Whole Health for Veterans with Chronic Conditions Act (H.R. 4150/S. 1954), which would improve healthcare services, including dental care, for veterans with heart disease.
- Reversing penalties for surviving military spouses who remarry before age 55.
The measure now moves to the Senate for further consideration. The Senate must pass the bill before the new Congress is sworn in early next year. Please use the FRA Action Center to urge your Senators to support this legislation.
Click here to take action.
Trump Announces His Pick to Run VA
President-elect Donald Trump announced that he will nominate attorney and former U.S. Representative Doug Collins (Ga.) to serve as the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Collins served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021. He is a Baptist minister who has served in the Navy and Air Force Reserve. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2020.
Collins, 58, holds a master’s degree in divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and was a pastor of a church for 11 years. He served as a U.S. Navy chaplain for two years in the late 1980s. After the September 11 attacks, he joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a chaplain. Collins deployed to Balad Air Force Base in Iraq for five months in 2008. He was elected to the Georgia State House in 2007. During his first term in the state legislature, Collins graduated from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School and established his legal practice in Gainesville, GA. Collins served three two-year terms in the State House before running for Congress. He remains a colonel in the Air Force Reserve.
DoD Fails to Complete Annual Audit for the 7th Time
The Department of Defense has once again failed to pass its annual audit, marking the seventh consecutive year of financial opacity. This latest failure has intensified scrutiny over the Pentagon’s ability to manage its massive $824 billion budget effectively. The audit results, which concluded with a “disclaimer of opinion,” indicate that insufficient information was provided for a proper evaluation of the department’s financial statements.
Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller Michael McCord maintains that progress is being made, projecting a clean audit by 2028. However, this timeline has done little to alleviate concerns about the management of taxpayer dollars and the potential implications for national security. The persistent inability to account for such vast sums of money has fueled calls for immediate action and reform within the defense establishment.
Photos from the 2024 FRA National Convention!
The 2024 FRA National Convention was a celebration of leadership, fellowship, and fun, and now you can experience it all over again through our photo gallery! Highlights include impactful business meetings that shaped the future of our organization, inspiring moments with key speakers who brought fresh perspectives and motivation, and the unforgettable Roaring Twenties Welcome Party, where attendees dressed to impress in dazzling vintage attire and danced the night away.
Don’t miss these incredible memories
FRA NHQ Holiday Schedule
There will be no Newsbytes next week due to Congress being in recess for the Thanksgiving holiday week. The next issue of Newsbytes will be sent out on December 6, 2024. The FRA National Headquarters will be closed Thursday and Friday in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.