MIL News Weekly

Edward: Welcome to MIL News Weekly for
29 June to 5 July 2025, your essential

guide to the latest news impacting
the military and veteran community.

Whether you're currently serving in
uniform, a military retiree, a veteran,

or a family member, this is your source
for the critical updates you need to know.

Each week, we cut through the noise to
bring you the most important developments

from the Pentagon, Capitol Hill, and
the Department of Veterans Affairs.

We’ll cover everything from new
policies and pay raises affecting

active and reserve forces, to changes
in healthcare and benefits for

retirees, and the latest on VA services
and legislation for our veterans.

Let's get you informed.

Here’s what’s happened this past week.

Issues That Affect Active
and Reserve Military

Active-duty and reserve forces have
seen several notable developments.

Most visibly, U.S.

Marines and National Guard troops have
been deployed to assist domestic missions.

In one instance, the Marine Corps sent
200 Marines from North Carolina to support

an Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) facility in Florida, with another

500 to deploy to Texas and Louisiana.

These troops are performing
administrative and logistical duties

for ICE under Department of Defense
authority, explicitly prohibited

from direct law-enforcement contact.

Similarly, thousands of Guardsmen
and reservists remain on standby

or deployed for border support in
Texas and along the U.S.–Mexico

border (the so-called
“Texas Zone” and Louisiana).

These deployments highlight an expanded
domestic role for the military under

existing war-powers authorities.

The Department of Defense has also
reported budgetary and quality-of-life

changes for active troops and families.

The recently passed budget
“reconciliation” package (sometimes

called the “big, beautiful bill”)
includes roughly $150–157 billion

in supplemental defense spending.

Much of this boost goes to pay,
housing, and quality-of-life

programs: it funds an extra $1
billion in barracks construction, $2.9

billion to shore up Basic Allowance for
Housing (BAH) rates, $100 million for

expanded tuition assistance, and $50
million for new bonuses and special pays

(including a proposed “Distributed Loan
Repayment Plan” for junior officers).

The bill also fully funds the annual
military pay raise for January

2025 (a multi-year pay reform
now in effect) and provides extra

unaccompanied housing allowances.

These changes are aimed at improving
retention and living conditions

for active and reserve personnel.

At the same time, certain cold-weather
and overseas contingency accounts

are increased to cover COVID-related
costs and border missions, as Congress

accepted DOD’s requests to fund 8,500
border troops already on assignment.

A related House-passed
appropriations bill (H.R.

3944) would fully fund FY2026 military
construction and family-housing projects

for all branches, including all Air
Guard and Reserve infrastructure.

(H.R.

3944, approved by the House on June 25,
guarantees full funding for veterans’

health and benefit programs as well.)

Other news includes personnel
and recruitment trends.

The Air Force and newly independent
Space Force announced on July 1

that they have exceeded their 2025
recruiting goals months early.

Top brass credited this to record
enlistment incentives and new

public relations campaigns: e.g.,

the Air Force raised its enlistment
bonus to up to $50,000 for technical

jobs and promoted career fields
from cyber to space operations.

The success comes even as the
Army and Navy lag behind; all

services are grappling with
post-pandemic readiness gaps.

Finally, Congress has again debated U.S.

war powers and overseas missions.

During the week, the Senate considered
(but did not pass) amendments to restrict

the President’s authority to strike
Iran without congressional approval.

Meanwhile, Pentagon leaders
continue planning for a wide array

of overseas missions, from Pacific
exercises to NATO commitments.

(No major force reductions or
new combat deployments were

announced in this period.)

Beyond budget bills, Congress
is considering several military

personnel and benefits measures.

For example, the FY2026 NDAA (not yet
passed) is expected to contain a 3.4%

pay raise (already signed into law for
January 2025) and expanded bonuses.

The current “reconciliation” package
itself was not a single bill with a

number but Senate and House appropriations
bills and the omnibus “Build Back

Better” reconciliation bill all contain
military pay and housing increases.

Other pending proposals include
changes to military leave accrual (the

FY2025 NDAA raised leave for E-1 to
E-4 members) and revisions to Tricare

contracts (a new All-Service healthcare
contract went live January 2025).

Issues That Affect Retired Military

Retired service members saw relatively
limited new developments in this week.

The biggest administrative change is
the forthcoming update to Survivor

Benefit Plan (SBP) premiums.

Beginning August 2025, retirees
who currently pay SBP premiums

“by direct remittance” (i.e.

sending checks to the Treasury)
will instead be billed and

processed by DFAS (the Defense
Finance and Accounting Service).

Retirees will receive new premium
statements from DFAS mid-year,

although the premium rates
themselves remain unchanged.

This move centralizes billing
under DFAS and is part of ongoing

retiree pay modernization; no
retroactive effect is expected.

Retirees will need to update
their payment accounts to DFAS

by this summer to avoid lapses.

On benefits, the Department of
Defense and VA continue normal

operations (announcing new ID cards
for retirees, outreach programs, etc.)

but no major changes were announced
in the first week of July.

However, several bills in Congress
could directly affect retired military:

H.R.

333 (Disabled Veterans Tax Termination
Act): This bill would allow veterans with

service-connected disabilities under 50%
to receive both their retired pay and

VA disability compensation concurrently.

It would also extend concurrent-payment
rights to disability retirees with

fewer than 20 years of service
(who currently lose most or all

retired pay under VA offset rules).

In practice, passage of H.R.

333 would increase monthly paychecks
for many disabled retirees, effectively

ending the so-called “Disabled
Veterans Tax” for lower-rated retirees.

(This change affects retired pay directly;
it does not alter the total compensation

cap but redistributes existing funds.).

H.R.

3944 (MilCon/VA Appropriations Act,
2026): As noted above, this appropriations

bill (passed by the House on June
25) fully funds military construction

and family housing projects for all
service branches, including the Reserves

and Guard, as well as all VA medical
care and veterans’ benefits programs.

If enacted, it would guarantee 2026
funding for thousands of ongoing

base realignment projects and
medical facility maintenance programs

(which indirectly benefit military
retirees in those communities).

S.

1068 (Putting Veterans First Act of
2025): Although primarily focused

on veterans and VA employees, S.1068

would also impact federal personnel.

It includes provisions to reinstate any
VA (and certain other) employees who

were fired during the recent proposed
reorganization of the VA and related

agencies, and prohibits further VA
office closures or service reductions

without congressional approval.

In effect, S.1068

would protect current federal
(VA) employees’ jobs and ensure

continuity of benefits programs.

For retirees, it would guarantee that
promised VA services are maintained.

Other pending bills: Several House
veterans’ bills passed out of committee

may indirectly affect retiree services.

For example, H.R.

1815 (VA Home Loan Program Reform
Act) would help veterans avoid

foreclosure on VA-guaranteed home loans.

H.R.

217 (CHIP IN Act) would expand a pilot
allowing states and private entities to

donate property or facilities to the VA.

These change veteran access to benefits
(which can help financially-stressed

retirees) but do not change federal pay.

Another bill, H.R.

1041 (Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection
Act), prevents VA from sending certain

veteran data to the gun background-check
system; its main effect is to protect gun

rights for veterans (including retirees)
rather than pay or retirement benefits.

Issues That Affect Veteran’s Affairs

News in the veterans’ community
has focused on both policy debates

and legislation affecting veterans’
health and benefits (especially

disabled veterans and their families).

A major headline was the proposed
Elimination of Veteran SNAP

Exemptions in federal welfare reform.

As part of the same budget reconciliation
debate, Congress is considering

rescinding an existing exemption that
allows disabled veterans and certain

active-duty families to receive
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

Program (SNAP) benefits above a cutoff.

If implemented, this change would cut
or end SNAP for many low-income disabled

veterans and active-duty families, as
noted by veterans’ advocacy groups.

Public and political backlash has been
strong: on June 30, Stars & Stripes

reported disabled-veteran advocates
warning “we won’t be able to make ends

meet” if the exemption is removed.

Pentagon leaders also emphasize that
troop pay raises and housing allowances

will mitigate hardship (see above).

As of July 5, this SNAP change is still
under negotiation in the Senate; advocacy

groups urge Congress to preserve the
exemption for combat-disabled vets.

Beyond SNAP, several legislative
efforts aim to improve

veterans’ services and rights:

S.

1068 – Putting Veterans First Act:
(Already noted) if enacted, would reverse

much of the Trump-appointed VA overhaul.

In addition to reinstating fired VA
employees, it explicitly requires the

VA to prioritize veterans’ health and
benefits over any cost-cutting measures.

This bipartisan bill would bolster
funding and oversight for veterans’

programs and ensure fired VA doctors
or claims processors are rehired.

It has not yet received a vote, but it is
a flagship Senate VA-democratic proposal.

H.R.

740 – Veterans’ ACCESS Act (2025):
Passed in House Veterans’ Affairs

Committee on June 18, this bill would
reinforce veterans’ choice of care.

It codifies the principle that
community (non-VA) health care

is a right for veterans when
VA facilities are overloaded.

In practice, the ACCESS Act would
require the VA to treat community-based

providers “as VA care,” ensuring
veterans can receive timely

appointments with private doctors.

Its supporters say it fixes problems
in the MISSION Act implementation.

(Congress.gov

has not published the
official summary yet.)

H.R.

472 – Restore VA Accountability
Act of 2025: Also under House

consideration, this bill would ease
the process of firing underperforming

VA employees (for instance, shortening
appeals and grievance timelines).

The goal is to improve VA
accountability and service quality.

If passed, it would affect current VA
staff by making it simpler to demote or

remove them for misconduct, potentially
improving veterans’ care indirectly.

Currently, many veterans with fiduciaries
(often those with severe injuries

or illnesses) are automatically
flagged as potentially “dangerous,”

restricting their gun rights.

If H.R.

1041 becomes law, those veterans
(including retirees) would not be

reported to NICS unless a court
specifically finds they are a danger.

This bill passed the House
Veterans Committee and awaits full

House action; it chiefly affects
veterans’ rights, not their pay.

H.R.

1969 – No Wrong Door for Veterans
Act: Passed by the House on June 24,

this bill reauthorizes and expands a
VA suicide prevention grants program

(the “Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox
Suicide Prevention Grant Program”).

It increases funding limits for
community suicide-prevention

grants, improves mental-health
screening protocols, and requires

annual VA briefings on the program.

By bolstering suicide prevention services,
this law (if enacted) would improve

care for veterans and their families,
especially those not enrolled in VA.

H.R.

1815 – VA Home Loan Program Reform Act:
This House-passed bill allows the VA

to intervene earlier in cases of loan
default on VA-guaranteed home mortgages.

It authorizes the VA to pay lenders
enough to prevent foreclosure (in

exchange for a secured interest)
and establishes a new partial-claim

program to rescue loans at risk.

The effect for veterans is
more protections against losing

their homes under VA loans.

This benefits many retired and
disabled veterans who depend

on the VA home loan guarantee.

H.R.

217 – CHIP IN for Veterans Act: Passed
by the House on May 15, this act

makes permanent a pilot program in
which state or private entities donate

property or facilities to the VA.

By allowing unlimited donations
(removing previous caps), it

could expand VA resources (e.g.

new clinics or housing)
at no cost to taxpayers.

Veterans’ services – including retirees’
benefits clinics – could potentially

gain additional locations or amenities.

H.R.

2201 – Improving VA Training for Military
Sexual Trauma: Reportedly reported

out by committee on May 6, this bill
would expand VA training requirements

to improve how VA staff handle claims
of military sexual trauma (MST).

It aims to reduce MST-related claims
denials through better adjudication.

(A CBO cost estimate was
released, but the bill has not

reached a full House vote yet.)

Other bills: Notable measures
advanced in committee include:

H.R.

1364 (SHIP Act) to improve
VA mental health; H.R.

1147 (I-VETS Act) to appoint an
Accessibility Advisory Committee; H.R.

1286 to simplify VA forms; H.R.

1823 to require reporting on
VA budget shortfalls; and H.R.

1578 to create a VA
claims education academy.

These have not yet been
enacted but reflect Congress’s

priorities on veteran services.

In addition to legislation, executive
agency news included reminders

about benefit administration: e.g.,

the VA urged veterans still receiving
paper checks to switch to direct deposit

(though this reminder came in late
June), and DFAS highlighted upcoming

changes to ID cards (New Real ID “USID”
for retirees) and payment processes.

And that's your Weekly Briefing.

Staying on top of these changes
is key to navigating your career,

your retirement, and your benefits.

Thank you for tuning in.

Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your
podcasts, so you never miss an update.

We’ll be back next week with another
roundup of the news that matters most

to the military and veteran community.