Greetings NOVA Members –

We are nearing the end of the 116^th Congress with less than a few weeks left of what may be a lame duck session. Unable to get funding cleared for FY 2021 (which began October 1) Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through December 11. 

The bill will extend current funding levels (FY 2020) for all federal agencies, but another stopgap measure could become necessary if the lame duck Congress decides to punt on line-by-line funding measures in the weeks immediately following the election. As a reminder, the House has passed 10 of the 12 annual spending bills, and the Senate has yet to approve any of its bills, even at the committee level.

In other news, the House passed several Veterans bills which had cleared the VA Committee in late September. Three of the bills contain provisions to enhance mental health and combat suicide among Veterans – a top priority for both House and Senate VA Committees. NOVA commented on several of the bills and provided our thoughts on provisions we believed should be part of any package. Unfortunately, none of the provisions were included in final language, but we intend to continue advocating for these critical issues in the 117^th.

NOVA’s thoughts on legislation can be found on our website at: https://www.vanurse.org/page/congressionalstatements

A list of the bills and all VA Committee legislative activity can be found on the HVAC website: https://veterans.house.gov/

As we inch closer to the 2020 Election, NOVA continues its Get Out the Vote campaign. I hope all of you have had a chance to look at your State information on the websites we provided as part of the informational campaign. Stay tuned to our social media for more in the coming weeks leading up to November.

I would also like to take this opportunity to ask any NOVA member who is interested in advocacy and policy and helping us move our agenda and priorities forward to consider joining the NOVA Legislative Committee. As we enter into a new Congress (117^th) in January, we will need individuals to help us develop our annual legislative agenda and priority goals and help to educate other members on the best way to advocate for the VA Nursing community.

A call for new members will be going out soon with more information and details about the committee.

Stay Tuned!