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.
Weâll 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.
Hereâs whatâs 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.âMexico
border (the so-called âTexas Zoneâ 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 âreconciliationâ package (sometimes
called the âbig, beautiful billâ) includes roughly $150â157 billion
in supplemental defense spending.
Much of this boost goes to pay, housing, and quality-of-life
programs: it funds an extraâ¯$1 billion in barracks construction, $2.9
billion to shore up Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rates, $100â¯million for
expanded tuition assistance, and $50 million for new bonuses and special pays
(including a proposed âDistributed Loan Repayment Planâ 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 DODâs 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 veteransâ
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 Presidentâs 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 âreconciliationâ package itself was not a single bill with a
number but Senate and House appropriations bills and the omnibus âBuild Back
Betterâ 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
âby direct remittanceâ (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 âDisabled Veterans Taxâ 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 veteransâ 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) employeesâ jobs and ensure
continuity of benefits programs.
For retirees, it would guarantee that promised VA services are maintained.
Other pending bills: Several House veteransâ 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 Veteranâs Affairs
News in the veteransâ community has focused on both policy debates
and legislation affecting veteransâ 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 veteransâ advocacy groups.
Public and political backlash has been strong: on June 30, Stars & Stripes
reported disabled-veteran advocates warning âwe wonât be able to make ends
meetâ 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
veteransâ services and rights:
S.
1068 â 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 veteransâ health and benefits over any cost-cutting measures.
This bipartisan bill would bolster funding and oversight for veteransâ
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 â Veteransâ ACCESS Act (2025): Passed in House Veteransâ Affairs
Committee on June 18, this bill would reinforce veteransâ 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 âas VA care,â 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 â 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 veteransâ care indirectly.
Currently, many veterans with fiduciaries (often those with severe injuries
or illnesses) are automatically flagged as potentially âdangerous,â
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 veteransâ rights, not their pay.
H.R.
1969 â 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 âStaff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Programâ).
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 â 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 â 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.
Veteransâ services â including retireesâ benefits clinics â could potentially
gain additional locations or amenities.
H.R.
2201 â 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 Congressâs
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 âUSIDâ 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.
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Weâll be back next week with another roundup of the news that matters most
to the military and veteran community.