Good afternoon, everyone! Happy New Year, and welcome to the 119th Congress.

Last Thursday, President Joe Biden signed the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act into law. We are proud of the many wins for veterans in the 118th Congress and are eagerly looking forward to more meaningful advocacy efforts and legislation over the next few years.

This week promises to be a doozy, starting with a snow day and potentially ending with a sentencing for President-elect Donald Trump. We will be monitoring all developments carefully, so stay tuned.

No hearings are on the docket yet, but we’ve heard rumblings of several significant veterans’ bills gearing up for introduction in the coming weeks. We are thrilled to continue this journey with you and keep you in the know on all things VA-related, both on the Hill and in the administration. Thanks for being with us; we have a good feeling about this year.

In this week’s Nimitz Report:

• An election certified & a Speaker reelected: Getting the players into position for 2025

• Annual veteran suicide report: Numbers from 2022 show no meaningful change in overall veteran suicide rates

• LGTBQ+ veterans get Pentagon settlement: Landmark decision to grant honorable discharges moves to a federal judge for approval

❄️ Snow Day: The Washington, DC area is on track to receive over 4-8 inches of snow today, with more flurries and some ice expected later tonight. Stay safe and warm out there, folks!

WHO’S HAVING EVENTS THIS WEEK?

There are no hearings or markups this week.

NEWS DRIVING THE WEEK

Congressional News

Earlier today, Congress formally certified President-elect Trump’s 2024 election victory. The process was overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris, tying the bow at the end of the tumultuous race for the White House. This occasion also marks the four-year anniversary of the January 6 riots at the Capitol. President Biden wrote that everyone should remember the day in 2021 “as a day when our democracy was put to the test and prevailed. To remember that democracy — even in America — is never guaranteed.”

In case you missed it, House Speaker Mike Johnson had a stressful Friday when his colleagues voted for him to keep his position in the 119th Congress. His narrow 218-215 victory illustrated the (once again) strained support of hardline conservatives for the Speaker, calling into question Johnson’s ability to maintain his hold of the gavel for very long. That said, he’s in the clear for now, and he joined the rest of his House members in being sworn in over the weekend.

Veteran News

Right before the winter break, the VA released its annual report analyzing veteran suicide from 2001 to 2022. In 2022, 6,407 veterans died by suicide, averaging 17.6 veteran suicides per day. Despite increased budgetary and messaging efforts to bring these numbers down, the overall veteran suicide rate for 2022 remained unchanged from the previous year. The Nimitz Group’s CEO Justin Brown commented on the VA’s report, stating, “There is not a government program with weaker data supporting its funding than this. […] The result has been tens of thousands of lives lost, billions spent, and no accountability.” To view the full report, click here.

The Department of Defense (DoD) has settled with over 35,000 LGBTQ+ veterans who were dismissed due to their sexual orientation. Several of these veterans were denied an honorable discharge and, by extension, full VA benefits. The DoD agreement claims that old paperwork will be re-issued, eliminating any reference to servicemembers’ sexuality. If these veterans were denied an honorable discharge, they will also be eligible for an immediate upgrade review. While this historic decision has the potential to change the lives of several thousand veterans, the settlement must now be approved by a federal judge.

Last Friday, the VA announced a revised process for awarding GI Bill benefits, allowing veterans who served multiple periods of military service to receive up to an additional 12 months of education benefits. Veterans who reenlisted, for example, may now claim up to 48 months of GI Bill benefits compared to the previous policy’s 36-month maximum. In another change, the VA has also decided to extend the expiration dates for using GI Bill benefits for eligible veterans. For more information on these administrative updates, click here.

National News

President-elect Donald Trump is set to be sentenced in the New York hush money trial as early as this Friday. Previously, a New York jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a payment made to porn actor Stormy Daniels. Trump’s legal team has urged the judge to postpone his sentencing as their appeals to recent rulings are processed. A response to these appeals is expected this afternoon.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

FOR FUN

The Nimitz team is excitedly anticipating the NFL playoffs. We will have our official picks for the Super Bowl winners after Wild Card Weekend!

ADD TO THE NIMITZ NETWORK

Know someone else who would enjoy our updates? Feel free to forward them this email and have them subscribe here.

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: