Fleet Reserve Association

VA has Housed more than 43,000 Homeless Veterans The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that between October 2023 and August 2024, it housed 43,116 veterans experiencing homelessness, surpassing its FY 2024 goal of housing 43,000 veterans one month before the end of the fiscal year. VA has also ensured that 96.3% of the veterans housed so far this fiscal year have not returned to homelessness and engaged 38,476 unsheltered veterans to ensure they have access to housing and other necessary services. Preventing and eliminating veteran homelessness is a top priority for VA. Between 2022 and 2023, VA permanently housed nearly 87,000 veterans. As a result of these efforts, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness in the U.S. has fallen by over 4% since early 2020 and by more than 52% since 2010. “No person who has served this country should ever have to experience homelessness,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “And make no mistake: we won’t rest until every veteran has a safe, stable, accessible, and affordable home to call their own.” The House passed (408-10) the FRA-supported “Housing our Military Veterans Effectively Act” (HOME Act-H.R. 3848) to help lift veterans out of homelessness. The HOME Act would increase the per diem rate that VA pays nonprofit organizations that assist veterans with short-term transitional housing, such as the Salvation Army. The per diem rate would also continue to adjust for inflation every year. The HOME Act also creates a stipend that homeless veterans can use to purchase necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, and hygiene items; transportation services; or communications equipment such as smartphones, so veterans can maintain contact with health care providers, prospective landlords, and family members. Members can weigh in on this issue at: https://lnkd.in/dVUmxnhs Read more @ bit.ly/4f9jmwq

Honoring 249 years of the U.S. Navy’s service and sacrifice! As we celebrate, we also look ahead to the Fleet Reserve Association’s 100th anniversary next month—a century of protecting and advocating for the benefits of our Navy shipmates and their families. Here’s to those who serve and those who continue to support them! #USNavy249 #FRACentennial #ProtectingShipmates #ServiceAndSacrifice

COLA Increase for 2025 The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently announced a 2.5 percent increase in the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for the calendar year 2025 for military and federal civilian retirees, survivor benefit annuitants, disabled veterans, and Social Security recipients. The new COLA rate will take effect on December 1, 2024, and the adjustment will appear in the December 30, 2024, payment. By law, the COLA is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), a broad measure of consumer prices calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the third quarter of the previous year to the third quarter of the current year. It measures price changes in categories such as food, housing, clothing, transportation, energy, medical care, recreation, and education. The COLA increase for 2024 was 3.2 percent. Read more @ bit.ly/484QGTl

Annual COLA Increase for Veterans Approved As it does every year, Congress passed legislation (S. 7777) ensuring that veterans will receive a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in their benefits next year to guarantee they keep pace with inflation. Before leaving for an extended election-season break, the Senate approved the bill by voice vote, sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk for his expected signature. The House had previously approved the bill by voice vote a week earlier. The official COLA for 2025 is scheduled to be announced on October 10. Read more @ bit.ly/3TRtKRC

Government Funding to Continue after October 1 The House and Senate have approved a Continuing Resolution (CR-H.R. 9747) for fiscal year 2025, extending government funding at current levels through December 20, 2024. The CR would maintain FY 2024 funding levels for federal agencies and programs that would otherwise shut down at the end of FY 2024 on October 1. Last week, the House rejected a CR (H.R. 9494) that would have funded the government through March 2025 and required voters to show proof of citizenship to register to vote (202-220). The measure provides additional funds for the Secret Service’s protective operations during the presidential campaign and mandates the agency’s cooperation with congressional investigations into the attempted assassinations of former President Donald Trump. Several expiring authorities, including the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and the National Flood Insurance Program, would be extended through December 20. Congress frequently enacts stopgap measures to avoid a government shutdown before the fiscal year begins on October 1, as they often fail to complete work on the 12 spending appropriations bills in time. Lawmakers must pass full appropriations bills by the end of April 2025 to avoid automatic 1% broad spending cuts under the June 2023 debt-limit deal (Public Law 118-5). Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) expressed satisfaction with the bipartisan agreement, noting it is “free of cuts and poison pills.” President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law. Read more @ bit.ly/4eIV5NT

House Passes VA Funding The House passed legislation (H.R. 9468), sponsored by Rep. Mike Garcia (Calif.), which would provide $3 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs to keep it operating for the remainder of the current fiscal year. The measure was approved by voice vote. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (La.) said, “Preventing any potential lapse in our veterans’ benefits remains a top priority for Congress. Our veterans earned these benefits through their unwavering service and sacrifice, and they should never be jeopardized because of this Administration’s negligence.” Rep. Mike Garcia said, “Thankfully, the House came together in a rare moment of bipartisanship to pass my bill that prevents this disaster and demands accountability with real oversight to ensure every dollar is spent properly.” The legislation now heads to the Senate for immediate consideration ahead of Friday, September 20th, to ensure the timely delivery of reliable benefits for veterans and their families. The bill has been agreed upon by key legislators in both the House and Senate and is expected to pass the Senate easily. The FRA thanks its members for contacting their legislators through the FRA Action Center on this critical funding issue. Your efforts helped move this bill forward. Read more @ bit.ly/47AsVST

Congress Must Provide Supplemental Funding to VA On July 15, 2024, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials informed Congress that the department requires an additional $3 billion in funding to support veterans’ pensions and benefits for the remaining months of the current fiscal year. The FRA signed a letter with several other organizations to key legislators urging Congress to immediately provide additional funding to the VA for this fiscal year. Unless Congress approves this necessary funding by September 20, roughly seven million veterans and their beneficiaries may not receive VA disability compensation and other benefits. Although the FRA supports efforts to ensure accountability for the use of VA funds, these shortfalls are not the fault of our veterans and their families, who have given so much to our country. They should not be asked to bear further burdens, such as delayed benefits and inadequate medical care, due to funding challenges. We urge members to use the Action Center to ask Congress to act swiftly to approve the necessary funding so that there is no gap in either benefits or needed health care. Link to Action Center Read more @ bit.ly/4emTxIS

Put Concurrent Receipt in Senate NDAA Congress will be back in session next week, and we need your help now at this critical stage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) process to end an unjust pay offset—one that costs tens of thousands of injured veterans a dollar of DoD retirement pay for every dollar of VA disability compensation. More than three-quarters of lawmakers have co-sponsored the Major Richard Star Act, a concurrent receipt reform bill. However, funding concerns and budgetary rules have so far prevented it from advancing as an amendment to the must-pass NDAA. Please ask your Senators to support a Senate floor amendment to include concurrent receipt reform in this year’s NDAA. With 74 Senators in support of the Major Richard Star Act, it deserves a vote. Please use the FRA Action Center to weigh in on this issue at: https://lnkd.in/eV9cP5Ts Read more @ bit.ly/3XmOnGi

Ask for Concurrent Receipt in Senate NDAA We need your help now at this critical stage of the National Defense Authorization Act (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 (the Major Richard Star Act), but funding concerns and budgetary rules have so far kept it from moving forward as an amendment to the must-pass NDAA. Please ask your Senators to support a Senate floor amendment to include concurrent receipt reform in the NDAA this year. With 74 Senators in support of the Major Richard Star Act, it deserves a vote. Please use the FRA Action Center to weigh in on this issue at: https://lnkd.in/eV9cP5Ts. Read more @ bit.ly/3YVpSSI

FRA is proud to sponsor the MCPON Concert at the Avenue at the Navy Memorial! 🎶 As we gear up for our centennial celebration this November, we’re honored to continue our long-standing tradition of supporting the Navy and its dedicated service members. Here’s to 100 years of commitment, camaraderie, and community! 🇺🇸 #FRACentennial #NavyStrong #MCPONConcert