The U.S. Supreme Court has decided it won’t block the Air Force from disciplining a Reserve officer who refused to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The Strengthening Oversight for Veterans Act would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Inspector General to compel witnesses to participate in its investigations.

House lawmakers began a debate Wednesday about a White House proposal to separate funding for veterans’ medical care from the rest of the federal budget — an action that would treat it the same as defense spending and could allow it to grow beyond current limits.

President Joe Biden unveiled a new task force that will work with national veterans organizations to develop an action plan to attract veterans and service members into the commercial trucking industry, as well as figure out how to retain them in trucking jobs.

Senators considered for the first time Tuesday a sweeping measure that aims to expand eligibility for health care and benefits to millions of veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxins.

In addition to more money for medical care, the proposal increases funding for veteran caregivers by $433 million, and it includes $410 million more for veteran homelessness programs. 

After touring the Department of Veterans Affairs campus in West Los Angeles last October and meeting veterans living in tents right outside its gates, VA Secretary Denis McDonough decided to focus the agency’s resources on tackling veteran homelessness in the greater Los Angeles area, where the issue is at its worst.

While some veterans in Los Angeles have already been helped by the increased attention toward the crisis there, others are still waiting their turn for a permanent home. Four veterans at various stages in the path out of homelessness shared their accounts.

VA Secretary Denis McDonough on Feb. 25 announced his goals for veteran homelessness in 2022, one of which is to get at least 1,500 homeless veterans in Los Angeles into permanent housing. Nationally, he wants the VA to house 38,000 veterans this year. If the department achieves those goals, it will have housed 10% more veterans in Los Angeles and nationwide than in 2021.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, , an Iraq War veteran, led an effort to urge the Department of Veterans Affairs to reach out to veterans and offer mental health resources to them in the wake of the invasion.