Fleet Reserve Association

Support the Major Richard Star Concurrent Receipt Legislation The Senate is expected to debate and approve the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) during the first week of December. Earlier this year, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved the Senate version of the NDAA and sent the bill to the Senate floor for further consideration and passage. Amendments have been filed to add the “Major Richard Star Act” (concurrent receipt reform) to the Senate NDAA. The House has already approved its version without considering an FRA-supported concurrent receipt amendment. Once the Senate passes its version of the NDAA, a conference committee will be appointed to resolve the differences between the House and Senate NDAAs and draft a final bill to be voted on by both chambers of Congress. If concurrent receipt is not included in either bill, it cannot be part of the final legislation. Over two-thirds of the House and Senate are co-sponsoring the “Major Richard Star Act.” Reducing a retiree’s pay because they are disabled is an injustice! Please use the FRA Action Center to ask your legislators to include this legislation in the FY 2025 NDAA! Click here to take action. Read more @ bit.ly/4fYHORF

New FRA Leadership Elected at National Convention The 96th annual FRA National Convention this week recognized and celebrated the 100th birthday of the Fleet Reserve Association. During the 96th annual FRA National Convention held in Annapolis Maryland, the delegates elected National Vice President PRPSE Maria Behm (Branch 32) to the position of National President. Further, PRPWC Rick Fetro was elected National Vice President. The new Regional Presidents and Vice Presidents include: REGIONAL PRESIDENT NORTHEAST/NEW ENGLAND- Raymond S Rizzo REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT NORTHEAST/NEW ENG.- Kimberly Yoder-Notaro REGIONAL PRESIDENT EAST COAST- Robert Oliveira REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT EAST COAST- Valorie R Toulette REGIONAL PRESIDENT SOUTHEAST- Jerry Anger REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT SOUTHEAST- Ryan S. Adkins, Sr. REGIONAL PRESIDENT NORTH CENTRAL- Brian J. Jones REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT NORTH CENTRAL-David E. Herndon REGIONAL PRESIDENT SOUTH CENTRAL- Bruce R Talbot Jr. REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT SOUTH CENTRAL- Emmett H Smith REGIONAL PRESIDENT SOUTHWEST- Edgardo M. Labao REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT SOUTHWEST- Bryan D. Ginter REGIONAL PRESIDENT WEST COAST- Joseph R. Huffman, II REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT WEST COAST- Robert L. Porter REGIONAL PRESIDENT NORTHWEST-Robert S. Bean REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT NORTHWEST- Daniel L. Brossard Shipmate Marty Posekany (Branch 14) was appointed National Parliamentarian and Shipmate Gabriel Falu (Branch 99) was appointed National Chaplain. Following the election, the delegates installed new officers. The above-mentioned Shipmates will serve until the next National Convention. Read more @ bit.ly/3AvCnLe

Today marks a century since the founding of the Fleet Reserve Association on November 11, 1924. FRA kicked off its centennial celebrations at Arlington National Cemetery, hosting Veterans Day. National President John Handzuk welcomed the audience, honoring 100 years of dedicated service to Sea Service members and their families. Here’s to a proud legacy and a future of continued Loyalty, Protection and Service. Happy birthday FRA! #FRA100 #VeteransDay #SeaService

Celebrating 249 years of fearless Marines—past, present, and future! As we honor the courage of those who came before, the strength of those who serve today, and the legacy yet to come, let’s also toast to the Fleet Reserve Association’s 100 years tomorrow. Here’s to the battles won, the bonds made, and the journey ahead, GLORY TO THE CORPS! #SemperFi #MarineCorps249 #FRA100

Support the Major Richard Star Concurrent Receipt Legislation Earlier this year, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and sent the bill to the Senate floor for further consideration and passage. Amendments have been filed to add the “Major Richard Star Act” (concurrent receipt reform) to the Senate NDAA. The Senate could consider the NDAA as early as next week. Over two-thirds of the House and Senate are co-sponsoring the “Major Richard Star Act.” Reducing a retiree’s pay because they are disabled is an injustice! Please ask your legislators to include this legislation in the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)! https://lnkd.in/ee-jcKE7 Read more @ bit.ly/3UHSDPS

Allow Retirees to Take Civilian DoD Jobs Without Delay The House-passed version of the FY 2025 Defense Authorization Bill (NDAA-HR 8070) includes a provision to repeal the requirement that retirees from military service wait 180 days before entering Department of Defense (DoD) civil service General Schedule (GS) positions for GS-13 and below. The 180-day waiting period has created a talent management problem for hiring officials, who are struggling with an outdated hiring process that takes too long to bring on a qualified candidate with a current security clearance. Please use the Action Center to ask your legislators to support this NDAA provision at https://lnkd.in/eJFR7bqq. Read more @ bit.ly/4eeqtDc

URGENT! Pass Concurrent Receipt Now The FRA and numerous other organizations have signed a joint letter and sent it to House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), requesting their support in passing the Major Richard Star Act (H.R.1282/S.344) before the end of the 118th Congress to ensure that thousands of wounded veterans receive the benefits they are due. This legislation has overwhelming bipartisan support, with 326 cosponsors in the House and 73 co-sponsors in the Senate. Ask your legislators to support including this bill in the must-pass FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). https://lnkd.in/ee-jcKE7 Read more @ bit.ly/40pP0lc

VA has Housed more than 43,000 Homeless Veterans The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that between October 2023 and August 2024, it housed 43,116 veterans experiencing homelessness, surpassing its FY 2024 goal of housing 43,000 veterans one month before the end of the fiscal year. VA has also ensured that 96.3% of the veterans housed so far this fiscal year have not returned to homelessness and engaged 38,476 unsheltered veterans to ensure they have access to housing and other necessary services. Preventing and eliminating veteran homelessness is a top priority for VA. Between 2022 and 2023, VA permanently housed nearly 87,000 veterans. As a result of these efforts, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness in the U.S. has fallen by over 4% since early 2020 and by more than 52% since 2010. “No person who has served this country should ever have to experience homelessness,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “And make no mistake: we won’t rest until every veteran has a safe, stable, accessible, and affordable home to call their own.” The House passed (408-10) the FRA-supported “Housing our Military Veterans Effectively Act” (HOME Act-H.R. 3848) to help lift veterans out of homelessness. The HOME Act would increase the per diem rate that VA pays nonprofit organizations that assist veterans with short-term transitional housing, such as the Salvation Army. The per diem rate would also continue to adjust for inflation every year. The HOME Act also creates a stipend that homeless veterans can use to purchase necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, and hygiene items; transportation services; or communications equipment such as smartphones, so veterans can maintain contact with health care providers, prospective landlords, and family members. Members can weigh in on this issue at: https://lnkd.in/dVUmxnhs Read more @ bit.ly/4f9jmwq

Honoring 249 years of the U.S. Navy’s service and sacrifice! As we celebrate, we also look ahead to the Fleet Reserve Association’s 100th anniversary next month—a century of protecting and advocating for the benefits of our Navy shipmates and their families. Here’s to those who serve and those who continue to support them! #USNavy249 #FRACentennial #ProtectingShipmates #ServiceAndSacrifice

COLA Increase for 2025 The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently announced a 2.5 percent increase in the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for the calendar year 2025 for military and federal civilian retirees, survivor benefit annuitants, disabled veterans, and Social Security recipients. The new COLA rate will take effect on December 1, 2024, and the adjustment will appear in the December 30, 2024, payment. By law, the COLA is based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), a broad measure of consumer prices calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the third quarter of the previous year to the third quarter of the current year. It measures price changes in categories such as food, housing, clothing, transportation, energy, medical care, recreation, and education. The COLA increase for 2024 was 3.2 percent. Read more @ bit.ly/484QGTl