NewsBytes September 18, 2026

In this issue:
Petition Forces Star Act Vote
Oracle Chiefs Subpoenaed
VA Awards Record Housing Grants
VGLI Premiums Pause Three Months
TSA Opens Military Lanes
Fetro Represents FRA at Pentagon

Petition Forces Star Act Vote
The discharge petition on the Major Richard Star Act reached the 218 signatures required to force House floor consideration on Tuesday, September 16, clearing the procedural obstacle that has blocked FRA's number one legislative priority for five years. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) provided the decisive signature, joining Reps. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and the full House Democratic Caucus. H.R. 2102 now carries 340 cosponsors; the Senate companion, S. 1032, carries 79.

Reaching 218 starts a clock rather than scheduling a vote. Under House rules, the petition must ripen for seven legislative days, after which any signatory may call up the discharge motion, and the House must dispose of that motion within two legislative days. If the motion carries, the House then votes on the rule and on the bill itself. With the chamber out until after the midterm elections, the realistic window for the motion and the underlying vote is November, inside the same lame duck period in which the FY 2027 NDAA, full-year appropriations, and the December 11 funding deadline all compete for floor time.

The bill ends the offset that requires combat-injured Chapter 61 retirees to forfeit retired pay dollar for dollar against VA disability compensation. Roughly 59,000 of these retirees receive Combat-Related Special Compensation, which restores only part of what is withheld. Defense Department data reported by the Congressional Budget Office show an average monthly offset of about $2,300 against an average CRSC payment of about $850, leaving roughly $1,450 a month unrecovered. CBO scores the bill at $78.1 billion in direct spending over 2026 to 2036, and that score, not opposition to the policy itself, is what has driven every proposal to phase the relief in, means test it, or pay for it by adjusting other veterans' disability ratings.

The FRA supports immediate, clean enactment of the Major Richard Star Act and opposes any phase-in, income threshold, rating condition, or offset drawn from other earned veterans' benefits. Combat-wounded retirees are the only category of federal retiree required to surrender retired pay against compensation for injuries sustained in combat. A majority of the House has now signed its name to fixing that. The Association is coordinating with MOAA, VFW, DAV, and coalition partners to ensure the discharge motion is actually called up when the House returns, and to move S. 1032 in the Senate before the 119th Congress adjourns on January 3, 2027.

Oracle Chiefs Subpoenaed
The House Veterans' Affairs Committee served subpoenas late Monday on Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison and Oracle Chief Executive Officer Mike Sicilia, compelling sworn testimony on the Electronic Health Record Modernization program. The subpoenas follow a 19 to 0 committee vote on September 2 after both executives declined to appear at a scheduled hearing. Sicilia is set to testify November 19; Ellison follows December 10.

At issue is a no-bid extension that raised the contract ceiling from $10 billion to more than $27 billion. VA Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence has estimated total lifecycle cost at roughly $48 billion, against a 2022 Institute for Defense Analyses estimate of $49.8 billion cited by the Government Accountability Office, with deployment running to May 2031. Sicilia told the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee in 2022 that Oracle would absorb costs beyond the original ceiling. Ranking Member Mark Takano said the executives "must answer under oath for what veterans will receive in exchange for a contract ceiling tripled behind closed doors." Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-OR), who moved the subpoenas, said a vendor that will not answer questions prevents the committee from doing its oversight duty.

The FRA supports rigorous congressional oversight of VA health IT and opposes any underfunding or delay that degrades clinical care during deployment. EHR modernization is a 2026 FRA Pillar because a single, continuous record is what carries a Sailor, Marine, or Coast Guardsman from a shipboard or cutter medical file into the VA system without a gap. Coast Guard members, whose records cross a departmental boundary the other sea services do not face, have the most to lose from a stalled integration. The Association will monitor both hearings and press the committee to secure enforceable cost and performance commitments rather than another assurance.

VA Awards Record Housing Grants
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced September 14 a record $1.17 billion in competitive grants to 680 organizations for fiscal year 2027 to prevent and end veteran homelessness. The award allocates $855 million in one-year Supportive Services for Veteran Families grants for case management, rental assistance, and rapid re-housing, and $318 million in three-year Grant and Per Diem awards for transitional housing, including beds configured for women veterans, aging veterans, and those needing intensive medical or mental health support. All awards begin October 1, 2026.

The funding follows a fiscal year 2025 in which VA and its partners permanently housed 51,936 homeless veterans, the department's highest total in seven years. VA Secretary Doug Collins said the department is "making historic progress getting our most vulnerable Veterans off the streets and back on the path to self-sufficiency." VA paired the announcement with a broader set of administrative claims covering the period since January 2025, including more than 250,000 new healthcare enrollments, 41 new facilities, and a reduction of more than 70 percent in the disability claims backlog.

The FRA commends the department for sustaining this funding level and urges Shipmates to know what is available locally. Sea service veterans reach homelessness through the same paths as anyone else, whether a lost job, a marriage that ends, or a discharge that stranded someone far from family, and the SSVF prevention track is designed to intervene before an eviction rather than after it. Branches near a participating provider should carry that contact information at meetings. The Association will track whether the three-year GPD awards translate into beds that stay open, and whether Coast Guard veterans, who are frequently missed in outreach that screens only for DoD service, are reached in proportion to their numbers.

VGLI Premiums Pause Three Months
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced September 16 its first Veterans' Group Life Insurance premium holiday, suspending monthly premiums for November 2026, December 2026, and January 2027. More than 457,000 VGLI policyholders are covered, with total savings approaching $150 million. Average premiums run about $110 a month, putting typical savings at roughly $330 across the three months.

The exemption is automatic for policies that are current and have not lapsed or been cancelled for non-payment. No application, paperwork, or election is required. Veterans who paid premiums in advance through the holiday window may take a three-month credit against their policy or request a refund. VA attributed the suspension to the financial performance of the self-funded VGLI program.

The FRA welcomes this relief. VGLI premiums rise with age, and the policyholders carrying the highest rates are the retired and separated Shipmates most likely to be on a fixed income. That is the same population that lets coverage lapse when a premium collides with a utility bill, and that cannot replace it afterward on the commercial market at any comparable rate. A three-month holiday is meaningful precisely because it removes the pressure to drop a policy. The Association encourages every VGLI policyholder to confirm that their mailing address and contact information are current with VA so credits and refunds process without delay.

TSA Opens Military Lanes
The Transportation Security Administration has established dedicated military screening lanes, designated Honor Lanes, at 34 airports nationwide for active-duty service members, retirees, veterans, and their families. Where a dedicated lane is not available, travelers may present credentials to a lane monitor for front-of-line assistance. The lanes do not require a uniform and are separate from TSA PreCheck.

Several credentials establish eligibility on their own: a Department of Defense Uniformed Services ID card, a Veteran Health Identification Card, or a state-issued veteran driver's license or identification card. Others, including the Veteran ID Card, a VA Proof of Service letter, and county or state veteran ID cards, must be presented alongside another acceptable form of identification. Travelers who need tailored screening support, including wounded warfighters and veterans with service-connected disabilities, can arrange assistance through TSA Cares at least 72 hours before departure.

The FRA welcomes any measure that reduces friction for sea service families in transit. Permanent change of station moves, funeral travel, and medical appointments put military households in airports under conditions no leisure traveler faces, often with young children and a deadline set by orders. Recognition of this kind costs the government little and returns a great deal. The Association encourages Shipmates to check whether their departure airport participates before travel, and to carry qualifying identification even when a dedicated lane is not posted.

NP Represents FRA at Pentagon
FRA National President Richard J. Fetro will represent the Association this morning at the Department of War's National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony, hosted by the Office of the Secretary of War at the River Terrace Parade Field at the Pentagon. The ceremony begins at ten o'clock. Shipmates who cannot attend in person can watch it live, with coverage opening at 9:50 a.m. Eastern, at dvidshub.net/webcast/38454. In the event of inclement weather the ceremony moves indoors.

National POW/MIA Recognition Day falls on the third Friday of September and honors Americans held as prisoners of war and those still missing. The accounting is not finished and is not close to finished. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency lists 71,806 Americans unaccounted for from World War II, 7,386 from the Korean War, and 1,566 from Vietnam. The work continues and it is producing results: DPAA identified 231 missing service members in fiscal year 2025, its highest annual total on record and up from 172 the year before, driven by maturing recovery projects and new DNA sequencing methods that can work with degraded remains once considered untestable.

The FRA's presence at this ceremony is not ceremonial alone. A great many of those still unaccounted for went down with ships and aircraft over open water, where recovery is hardest and sometimes impossible, and their families have waited longer than any others. The Association's commitment to the sea service member does not end at separation, at retirement, or at loss. It holds until every Sailor, Marine, and Coast Guardsman is accounted for. Branches are encouraged to mark the day locally, to fly the POW/MIA flag, and to set the empty table. You Are Not Forgotten is a promise with a bill attached, and FRA intends to keep paying it.