What a week.

Tuesday will be a busy time for our folks on the Hill — the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees, as well as the House Appropriations Committee MilCon Subcommittee, are holding four hearings throughout the day. SVAC also has a business meeting they are hoping to schedule for Wednesday this week. No need to worry; we’ve got you covered and will provide summaries for each.

VA Secretary Doug Collins appeared on “Fox and Friends” this morning to address staffing and contracting concerns at the department. Democratic lawmakers are not letting the issue go, and several veterans organizations remain anxious about what this will mean for veteran care and benefits delivery.

We're also closely monitoring the budget discussions and the potential passage of a continuing resolution, paying special attention to how shifting dynamics might affect the military and veteran community. As a reminder, Congress has until Friday to avert a partial shutdown. We encourage everyone to stay updated as new developments emerge.

In this week’s Nimitz Report:

• “Let’s bump to September”: GOP lawmakers try to buy more time with CR

• Rehire wrongfully fired vets: Democrats urge the admin to protect veteran workers

• Accelerating the EHR rollout: VA announces boosted timeline to medical centers

⚠️ Deadline approaching: Congress has less than one week to pass a stopgap measure and prevent a partial government shutdown.

WHO’S HAVING EVENTS THIS WEEK?

Tuesday, March 11th

• ✔️ Subcommittee Hearing: “Legislative Hearing on: H.R. 913, Streamlining Aviation for Eligible Veterans Act of 2025, H.R. 980, the Modernizing the Veterans On-Campus Experience Act of 2025, H.R.1364, the Automotive Support Services to Improve Safe Transportation Act of 2025, H.R. 1458, the Veterans Education and Technical Skills Opportunity Act of 2025, H.R. 1960, the Simplifying Veterans Assistance Act of 2025, H.R. 1527, the Reforming Education for Veterans Act, H.R. 1793, the Veterans Readiness and Employment Transparency Act of 2025, H.R. 1872, Fairness in Veterans’ Education Act, H.R. 1815, VA Home Loan Program Reform Act, H.R. 1814, Restoring the VA Home Loan Program in Perpetuity Act of 2025, H.R. 1957, the End Veteran Homelessness Act of 2025, H.R. 1423, Guard and Reserve Parity Act of 2025, Discussion Draft, To amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the conditions under which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is required to redevelop the individualized vocational rehabilitation plan for a veteran, and for other purposes, and H.R. 1803, the Fair Access to Co-ops for Veterans Act of 2025,” House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC) Economic Opportunity Subcommittee at 10:15 am. Watch here.

• 👷 Subcommittee Hearing: “Innovative Techniques in Military Construction,” House Appropriations Committee Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee at 10:30 am. Watch here.

• ✔️ Committee Hearing: “Hearing to Consider Pending Legislation,” Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC) at 10:30 am. Watch here.

• ✔️ Subcommittee Hearing: “Legislative Hearing on: Discussion Draft, Standardizing Treatment and Referral Times Act; Discussion Draft, No Wrong Door for Veterans Act; Discussion Draft, Providing Veterans Essential Medications Act; Discussion Draft, Veterans Supporting Prosthetics Opportunities and Recreational Therapy Act; Discussion Draft, To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Comptroller General of the United States to report on certain funding shortfalls in the Department of Veterans Affairs; H.R. 217, CHIP IN for Veterans Act (Rep. Bacon); H.R. 1107, Protecting Veteran Access to Telemedicine Services Act of 2025 (Rep. Womack); H.R. 1336, The Veterans National Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Act (Rep. Murphy); H.R. 658, To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish qualifications for the appointment of a person as a marriage and family therapist, qualified to provide clinical supervision, in the Veterans Health Administration; Discussion Draft, Copay Fairness for Veterans Act; Discussion Draft, Saving Our Veterans Lives Act; and Discussion Draft, Women Veterans Cancer Care Coordination Act,” HVAC Health Subcommittee at 2:15 pm. Watch here.

Wednesday, March 12th

• 📋 Full Committee Business Meeting: SVAC, TBD. More information here.

NEWS DRIVING THE WEEK

Congressional News

House Speaker Mike Johnson is rallying the GOP troops ahead of a vote on the party’s continuing resolution (CR) proposal this week. The bill would extend federal funding to September 30, buying more time for Congress to negotiate the budget for FY 25. If the stopgap measure fails to pass, the government will partially shut down on Friday at midnight. Key Democratic leaders, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have stated their intent to vote no.

House and Senate Democrats have introduced legislation to compel the Trump administration to reinstate veterans impacted by recent mass layoffs in the federal government. Rep. Andy Kim and Sen. Tammy Duckworth are spearheading the effort, citing thousands of veterans who have been wrongfully terminated in the past few weeks. “Veterans who choose to continue their service to our country in the federal workforce deserve our utmost gratitude,” said Sen. Duckworth. “The message of our bill is simple: Give our heroes their jobs back.” The bill would also require the administration to provide a quarterly report to Congress on the number of veterans removed from the federal workforce, along with the justification for their firing.

Veteran News

This morning, VA Secretary Doug Collins appeared on “Fox and Friends” to respond to Democratic backlash against the announcement of 83,000 expected layoffs at the department this year. Secretary Collins pointed to fraud, waste, and abuse at the VA and how these layoffs have been the only real solution proposed by any administration to combat these circumstances. He said that this process would be “deliberative” and intentional, taking time and ensuring external stakeholders are consulted to make these cuts efficiently. Regarding contracts at the VA, Secretary Collins commented that only two percent of VA contracts were reviewed and canceled, resulting in over $980 million saved.

The House is currently reviewing a stopgap proposal that includes $6 billion for Veterans Affairs operations and another $6 billion in new funding for the Department of Defense (DoD). As this legislation would extend the previous year’s funding, the price tag falls short of the Pentagon's expectations for military projects. Additionally, it eliminates the contentious Toxic Exposures Fund (TEF) for the VA next year, providing more wiggle room within the department. Democrats are protesting these efforts, claiming, “This continuing resolution is a blank check for Elon Musk and creates more flexibility for him to steal from the middle class, seniors, veterans, working people, small businesses, and farmers to pay for tax breaks for billionaires.”

The VA has announced its intention to deploy the Oracle Electronic Health Record (EHR) system at nine more medical facilities next year. According to its press release, the department will have implemented the EHR in 13 facilities by the end of 2026 and is aiming to fully complete the rollout to all facilities as early as 2031. VA Secretary Doug Collins said that the agency “can and will move faster on this important priority, but we’re going to listen to our doctors, nurses, and vendor partners along the way in order to ensure patient safety, quality, and customer service.” For more information on the EHR system, click here.

National News

Chinese retaliatory tariffs on American agricultural goods took effect today in response to the U.S. doubling import tariffs on Chinese products last week. As the largest overseas market for American farm exports, China’s move heightens tensions between two of the world's largest economies. While experts remain optimistic that both nations can reach an agreement to prevent a full-scale trade war, China has cautioned, “Whether it is a tariff war or a trade war, both start by harming others and end by harming oneself.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

FOR FUN

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner. For those local to the DC area, the Wharf is hosting an Irish festival this Saturday from noon to 6 pm. 🍀

JOIN THE NIMITZ NETWORK!

Enjoying our updates? Don’t keep it to yourself — forward this email to friends or colleagues who’d love to stay informed. They can subscribe here to become part of our growing community.

If you are interested in receiving updates like this related to technology policy, our team has your back. Please subscribe to our newest publication by clicking below: