Antigua, Guatemala—On June 24, 2025, the Committee on House Administration held a hearing titled, “Serving and Voting: Oversight of the Federal Voting Assistance Program” (FVAP). Notably, the Republican majority did not allow certain witnesses to appear before the committee to provide important testimony to lawmakers, such as the perspectives of military spouses living abroad. The only witnesses invited were two representatives from FVAP, which is housed within the U.S. Department of Defense.
Michael Ramos and Kee Evans, the Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, of the Democrats Abroad Global Veterans and Military Families (VMF) Caucus, provided the following remarks upon the close of the hearing:
“Ranking Member Morelle’s opening statement was on point. He and his Democratic colleagues called out the Republicans’ repeated false claims of ‘voter fraud’ and made a point of telling it like it is. Meaning, FVAP does a tremendous job with its nonpartisan assistance, given its limited resources. Knowing that this little-known sub-part of DoD known as FVAP, started 2025 with ten employees and now only has seven due to the reckless federal hiring freeze that nobody asked for, we will have to keep a close eye on any issues encountered by UOCAVA voters in the lead-up to the 2026 midterms. This hearing clearly demonstrated that Republicans were desperate to find faults with FVAP but ended up with a nothing sandwich. I now look forward to seeing their forthcoming report on the 2024 elections,” said Chair Ramos.
“I’m so glad Democrats brought up the topic of the number one voter suppression bill in American history called the ‘S.A.V.E. Act.’ If that bill becomes law, it’s unclear whether FVAP will even exist anymore, leaving military-connected voters totally stranded when seeking help on how to register to vote or request a ballot. Unfortunately, the M.A.G.A.-majority committee members did not offer any assistance whatsoever to improve the program for military and overseas voters, but rather very carefully chose their words in attempting to find reasons to cut its funding. Disgraceful, but not surprising,” stated Vice Chair Evans.
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U.S. citizens living abroad, both civilian and military, are highly encouraged to check your voter registration status and request your ballot for any upcoming elections in your home voting state that you are eligible to vote in.
The VMF Caucus, proudly consisting of veterans, military family members, DoD civilians, and strong allies of veterans and military family causes, has a membership of approximately 1,300 members located in dozens of countries.
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