Welcome to 2024 and buckle up for the final session of the 118th Congress.

NOVA will be posting its 2024 Legislative Priority Goals in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to the NOVA website.

Before we begin 2024, I would like to look back at NOVA’s advocacy successes and other issues we are still hoping to get over the finish line this year.

In May, NOVA testified before a joint hearing of the House VA Subcommittees on Health and Oversight and Investigations on recruitment, staffing and retention issues. Kelley Saindon, DNP, RN, NE-BC, CHPN and Chair of the Legislative Committee represented NOVA – testimony can be found here.

In July, NOVA, alongside our partners at American Psychological Association, Association of VA Psychologist Leaders, Association of VA Nurse Anesthetists, National Association of VA Physicians and Dentists, Veterans Affairs Physician Assistant Association, National Association of Veterans Affairs Optometrists and the Veterans Healthcare Policy Institute submitted a statement for the record opposing several of the provisions of  S.1315 - Veterans' Health Empowerment, Access, Leadership, and Transparency for our Heroes (HEALTH) Act; and S.2649, Making Community Care Work for Veterans Act.  We also testified in support of several other bills on the agenda.

We continued to work with our partners in the Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) which sent over 25 letters to the Hill, held meet and greets with key leaders in Congress who affect healthcare and nursing issues and weighed in, via testimony, on funding for Title VIII – nursing workforce development programs and the current continuing resolutions / appropriations.

We also stood with our partners in the Veterans Service Organization community in supporting the Independent Budget, 118 Congress – The Independent Budget Veterans Agenda, as well as legislation that reinforces our legislative priority goals.

NOVA believes and strongly advocates for a VA that provides the highest level of coordinated care in a setting that understands Veterans’ medical needs. We continue to work with VA House and Senate Committees to push for provisions from several bills we believe are critical to what healthcare will look like in the future. This includes efforts to bolster recruitment, retention, hiring and salaries for VHA and others that would harm VA by reducing internal funding by increasing care which equals dollars being sent into the community.

Below are several critical bills that are of interest to NOVA which remain on our radar - it is likely that some of the language /provisions from these bills will end up in an Omnibus Veterans Package which is being negotiated between House and Senate VA Committees.

S. 10, VA Careers Act -  In addition to modification of pay limitations for specialty clinical positions and increasing pay caps for certain leadership positions in VHA, the bill would allow VA to pay for licensure costs for recipients of VA scholarship programs; require additional staff training on care models for managing older veterans’ health care needs; expand leave options for clinicians during national emergencies; provide reimbursement for continuing education costs for all levels of nurses; and modernize VA’s human resources program. NOVA strongly supports this bill.

H.R. 3347/S. 2070, the "Protect Lifesaving Anesthesia Care for Veterans Act of 2023,"  would prohibit VA from modifying its policy relating to anesthesia care  - this goes to full-practice authority for CRNA's and any finalizing, implementing, or enforcing  provisions relating to anesthesia care of  in the proposed rule - Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (81 Fed. Reg. 33155).

NOVA strongly opposes this bill and has sent a letter to both House and Senate sponsors of the bill. and are working with our partners in the NCC to advocate against its passage.

H.R. 1315, The HEALTH Act and S. 2649, Making Community Care Work for Veterans Act -

Both bills contain provisions that would harm Veterans by allowing substantial amounts of funds to be diverted from VA facilities to the private sector. This will force more reductions of VA staff, curtail in-house programs, and closures of inpatient units, emergency rooms, and even entire facilities. The bills could rapidly turn the VA healthcare system from its current primary role as a provider of health care into a payer for private sector care.

Speaking up and advocating for what you need to take care of Veterans is key to VA and its sacred mission. With that in mind, I urge all of you to join us in Washington D.C. on March 7 as we host our NOVA on the Hill Day. It is the best way to advocate for what you need to take care of Veterans every day. Congress listens to their constituents and nurses are the most highly respected of professions – it is time to let your voices be heard!

Registration and information can be found here. Stay Tuned!