Five more days until Congress breaks until 2026! Here’s what’s on deck as the clock ticks.

This week’s Nimitz Report tracks a fast-moving veterans’ policy agenda and major national security and public safety developments. House Veterans’ Affairs leaders launched a “Veteran First Initiative” to modernize VA authorities spanning formulary standards, facility timelines, research, and contracting, while the Senate introduced bipartisan legislation to extend VA telehealth, mail-order pharmacy, and travel reimbursement to U.S. veterans living in Palau, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands. The VA also announces systemwide Age-Friendly care teams and eased life-insurance accelerated benefits rules, as Wreaths Across America drew nationwide participation.

This week, the House Veterans Affairs Committee will hold two hearings. The Technology Modernization Subcommittee is set to discuss EHR readiness, and the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee will spotlight Payment Failures in VA’s Education Programs. These will be our final Nimitz News Flashes of the year, so stay tuned.

In this week’s Nimitz Report:

• Veteran First: House Republicans launch a full slate of VA reauthorization bills for 2026 while SVAC targets VA access for veterans in the Freely Associated States.

• Progress & Access: The VA expands “Age-Friendly” care teams and eases life-insurance accelerated benefits

• Devastation in Providence: Brown University shooter is still at-large.

❄️ Happy Holidays from us at the Nimitz Group. We hope you enjoy a break from the hustle and bustle and the opportunity to be with your loved ones this season. We are grateful for all of you!

WHO’S HAVING EVENTS THIS WEEK?

Monday, December 15th

• 🖥️ Subcommittee Hearing: “Ready, Set, Go-Live: Assessing VA’s EHR Modernization Deployment Readiness,” House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC) Technology Modernization Subcommittee at 3:00 pm. Watch here.

Tuesday, December 16th

• 🏫 Subcommittee Hearing: "Detrimental Delays: Reviewing Payment Failures in VA’s Education Programs," House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC) Economic Opportunity Subcommittee at 10:15 am. Watch here.

NEWS DRIVING THE WEEK

Congressional News

House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs leaders closed last week by teeing up a busy 2026 agenda on VA modernization and access. On December 10, House Veterans’ Affairs Chair Mike Bost (R-IL) and Health Subcommittee Chair Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) rolled out a “Veteran First Initiative” package aimed at reauthorizing VA programs that Republicans argue have not been comprehensively updated in decades. The first tranche of bills targeted VA health care delivery and operations, seeking to align the national drug formulary with industry standards, overhaul leasing and construction timelines for new facilities, modernize VA research processes, and update contracting and procurement authorities. In the Senate, Veterans’ Affairs Chair Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced the Caring for Veterans and Strengthening National Security Act on December 12, which would require VA to provide telehealth, mail-order pharmacy, and beneficiary travel reimbursement for U.S. veterans living in the Freely Associated States (Palau, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands).

This week’s Nimitz Report coverage will include today’s House Veterans’ Affairs Technology Modernization Subcommittee hearing on Electronic Health Record readiness, and tomorrow’s Economic Opportunity Subcommittee hearing on VA payment failures for education programs.

Veteran News

On Saturday, December 13, Wreaths Across America marked National Wreaths Across America Day, with ceremonies at 5,598 locations and placement of over 3.1 million sponsored wreaths. At Arlington National Cemetery, more than 30,000 volunteers placed wreaths at 265,000 gravesites.

In VA news, the Veterans Health Administration reported that every VHA health care system now has at least one Age-Friendly Health System-recognized team. Roughly 500 VA teams nationwide achieved this milestone, with care tailored towards older Veterans. The approach is part of the VA’s “4Ms” framework (What Matters, Medication, Mentation, Mobility) for older veterans.

The VA is also updating key flexibilities in its life insurance Accelerated Benefit Option (ABO) for SGLI, FSGLI, and VGLI. Under the amended rule, an alternate applicant will be able to apply on a terminally ill member’s behalf when the member is medically incapacitated. This is a practical fix to a process that previously required the member to apply personally. The VA also clarified that a member may apply for ABO when an insured spouse is terminally ill, and it expanded FSGLI dependent-child coverage to ensure stepchildren and students ages 18–22 are included. ABO can pay up to 50% of the policy’s face value, in $5,000 increments, prior to death.

National News

In Providence, the search for the gunman in the Brown University shooting that killed two and injured nine others remains unresolved. Students Ella Cook and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov were announced as deceased. Police said late Sunday that a man in his 20s who had been held as a “person of interest” would be released after evidence pointed “in a different direction,” leaving the suspect still at large. Investigators had initially tracked him to a nearby hotel using cellphone geolocation. Brown University has canceled exams and remaining academic activities for the year while authorities continue to seek public tips.

Federal authorities announced today that the FBI disrupted an alleged New Year’s Eve bombing plot in Southern California, charging four people with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device. Prosecutors alleged the group planned to plant explosive devices at five locations tied to two logistics-company sites in the Los Angeles area at midnight on New Year’s Eve, and separately discussed targeting ICE agents and vehicles with pipe bombs in early 2026. A court complaint described an “Operation Midnight Sun” document and alleged the defendants tested explosive materials in the desert before their arrest.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

FOR FUN

Every year, the Willard Hotel showcases a replica gingerbread house of its iconic facade. Want to see it for yourself? Check it out!

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