JANUARY 2025 NEWSLETTER
Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su and President Joe Biden—DoL Photo
Department of Labor welcomes President Biden as newest Hall of Honor inductee
“In more than 50 years of public service, President Biden has remained devoted to improving the lives of America’s workers, retirees and their families by championing pro-union policies…Under his leadership, more than 16 million jobs have been created in America, threatened pensions have been secured for more than 1.2 million workers and retirees and the number of workers seeking to join a union has doubled.”
A presidency for all Americans, a country for all Americans, a future for all Americans.
Greetings. As we start the New Year, we mourn the loss of our 39th President Jimmy Carter who, among his many accomplishments, championed fair elections around the world. We must continue to spread the word that U.S. citizens abroad have the right to vote. Continue to organize activities to register voters reminding everyone that U.S. citizens overseas must request their absentee ballots every year starting January 1. Be sure you are ready to vote in all 2025 elections. The first one is in Virginia on January 7.
Alas, our quest to add ERA to the Constitution as the 28th Amendment has stalled. Carolyn Maloney shared that the joint resolutions before Congress that recognized the Equal Rights Amendment as ratified and eliminated the arbitrary timeline were not adopted this session BUT the end of this session just means we must continue to take action. The 214 House Democrats in the 118th Congress who signed the ERA discharge petition only needed 4 Republicans to bring this to the floor for a vote but this was not to be. On Dec. 17, the National Archives issued a statement on the Equal Rights Amendment Ratification Process that updates an earlier statement and points out: “The OLC concluded that extending or removing the deadline requires new action by Congress or the courts.” Carolyn Maloney stated that “After careful study and consultation with leading constitutional experts, I am certain that Congress must pass joint resolutions to recognize the ERA and remove the arbitrary time limit. The evidence is unyielding: Biden has no role in this amending process…Over the next two years, we must organize and then elect enough representatives and senators to Congress to ensure the ERA is recognized, published and shielded from judicial challenge.”
Join the effort to make this happen. Contact [email protected]. Continue to take action and request that your Members of Congress support ERA.
President Joe Biden on the Equal Rights Amendment | The White House
Happy to report that the Hello Girls Congressional Gold Medal Act has been signed into law as Section 5703 of H.R.5009, the "Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025," by President Joe Biden on December 23, 2024. Very special thanks to Representative Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri and Senator John Tester of Montana for their perseverance! Although they weren't successful in the 116th and the 117th Congresses, they were in the 118th!
You can still view our spellbinding Ghost Army webinar at DAG Veterans and Military Families Caucus Speaks with Rick Beyer, The Ghost Army
Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and Democratic 2025!
Robert Scott and Terese Sarno
DAG VMF Caucus Co-Chairs DA Germany
“A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It's a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity.” –Jimmy Carter, 39th U.S. President
Proclamation Announcing the Death of James Earl Carter, Jr.
DA Germany Veterans and Military Families Year in Review 2024
ACTION PROJECTS
ERA-Affirm The Equal Rights Amendment
Hello Girls Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2023 H.R.1572 (became law as Section 5703 of H.R.5009)
Publication of Monthly Newsletter
January 15 – International Voter Registration Day
February 11– Super Bowl GOTV-FVAP broadcasted PSAs on AFN-TV during the Super Bowl to encourage people to register to vote. Voter Registration at Super Bowl parties encouraged!
March 5-12 – 2024 Global Presidential Primary in Germany
April 18 – 3rd Annual Germany Retiree Survivor Workshop in-person event at the LRMC (Landstuhl).
May 25 – Memorial Day Luxembourg American Cemetery
June 1 – KMC Pride Picnic/Summerfest (Kaiserslautern/Vogelweh) Register to Vote!
June 6 – D-Day 80th Anniversary at Omaha Beach in Normandy
June 8 – Expat Fair Berlin – Get Out The Vote
June 16 – D-Day squadron at the Wiesbaden Army Airfield to commemorate the Berlin Airlift
June 16 – Navy Virtual Retiree Appreciation Day Facebook
June 28-July 4 – Armed Forces Voters Week/Overseas Citizens/Voters Week
August 1-8 – Military Spouse Voters Week
August 31 – Global Voter Registration Day
August 31– September 21 – DA REGISTER TOGETHER Campaign
September 5 – Virtual Voter Outreach with the Frankfurt Consulate
September 5-7 – Kaiserslautern SWINGING LAUTERN Get Out The Vote
September 16 – National Voter Registration Day
October 1-8 – Absentee Voters Week
November 11 – Ring The Bells of Peace on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour
November 11 – AFJROTC Veterans Awareness March Kaiserslautern HS
November 11 – Ramstein HS AF JROTC Color Guard at St. Mihiel American Cemetery, France
November 12 – DAG Veterans and Military Families Caucus Speaks with Rick Beyer, The Ghost Army
December – Get Out The Vote– early voting in Virginia Special Elections
NEWS YOU CAN USE
Jimmy Carter, former president and peace activist, dies at 100 – December 29, 2024.
VA expands access to GI Bill benefits for Veterans ...
Congress approves changes to Social Security for some public sector workers
WEP/GPO affects nearly 3 million Americans including police officers and public-school teachers.
What you need to know about domestic and international travel in 2025
Army emergency fund to expand travel grants for soldiers next year
2025 VA Disability Pay Rates & Charts | 2.5% COLA Confirmed
Women Veterans Research | U.S. Department of Labor
Data on Women Veterans in the Labor Force
Fact Sheet: Paid Leave For Military Families By State
New Developments in Occupational Licensing Portability for Military Spouses
Nancy Pelosi has hip replacement surgery at Landstuhl U.S. military hospital
December 14, 2024, Landstuhl, Germany
Nancy Pelosi back home after hip surgery following high-heel fall in Europe
First Lady Jill Biden at a Joining Forces Event with Military Families at NAS Sigonella
December 4, 2024, Sigonella, Italy
Excerpt
“...The Bidens are a military family…my father was a Navy Signalman in World War II. And our son, Major Beau Biden, served for a year in Iraq as part of the Delaware Army National Guard. So, 15 years ago, when I took my first overseas trip as Second Lady, I wanted to visit the people who make our freedom possible.I traveled to meet military families stationed at Bamberg and Schweinfurt over 4th of July weekend. In the years since, through Joining Forces—my White House initiative to support military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors—I’ve sat with hundreds more servicemembers and their families—to keep listening.Today, I’m humbled to be with military families here at Sigonella…But I know this life isn’t always easy: deployments that seem too long and phone calls that end too soon, PCSing every few years—leaving behind careers, schools, and communities.That’s why Joe’s Administration is making sure we do everything we can to support military families. Lowering the cost of child care and bringing universal pre-k to bases—including this one! Making sure military kids with disabilities can transfer their individualized education programs to their new school. Signing an historic Executive Order to help military spouses keep their careers, and collaborating with the Italian government to let spouses work remotely here—because we have to do everything we can to make sure spouses have employment opportunities no matter where they’re stationed. You are the brave and the bold. You are the spouses who hug twice as hard and cheer twice as loud at football games to fill that empty space beside you, so that other families can celebrate their milestones together.The military kids who don’t have a hometown, so that other kids can stay in theirs.You’re the 1% who serves, so the 99% can know freedom.You stand on the front lines, protecting Americans around the world and ensuring those at home can feel the peace and light of the holidays year after year.And we have a duty to make sure you can build good lives.This is my last overseas trip as First Lady. Just like all those years ago, I knew I wanted to visit military families—to let you know how much all of you mean to me and to your Commander-in- Chief. It’s been the honor of this military mom and grandmom’s life to serve as your First Lady—and work to fulfill our sacred obligation to you. With all my heart, thank you for your service. May God bless you and your families.”
Fact-Checking Trump on ‘Meet the Press’: Tariffs, Immigration and More
The president-elect repeated several false and inaccurate claims on a range of topics that were staples of his 2024 campaign. December 4, 2024
House Democrat: ‘Unelected oligarch’ Musk ‘governing by tweet’
What’s different about billionaire donor Elon Musk’s relationship with Trump
Will Elon Musk Fund His Tax Cut With Our Social Security and Medicare?
CALENDAR & EVENTS
JANUARY is
National Stalking Awareness Month
National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month
WSJ Op-ed 2016: U.S. Must Stand for Human Rights by Jimmy Carter
January 1 – Request your absentee ballots for 2025. All overseas U.S. citizens must do this each calendar year. Why should you use VFA instead of your home voting office? Using VoteFromAbroad informs your Local Election Officer (LEO) that you are a US resident living abroad. When you use VoteFromAbroad, you can sign your Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) electronically by capturing a photo of your signature. Some states do not allow this. If your state allows electronic signature, your ballot will be automatically sent to your LEO. VoteFromAbroad protects you under the Uniformed And Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). You have certain rights that regular absentee voters do not have. Your LEO will email your ballot to you no later than 45 calendar days before election day. When you return your ballot, most LEOs will notify you of its receipt by email. Many states allow you to return your ballot electronically. If you find there is no record of receipt of your ballot, you can then file a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB). If your original ballot arrives, the FWAB will not counted. You won’t vote twice. VoteFromAbroad has many volunteers to answer questions and provide any help needed. Request your ballot today.
January 7 – Virginia State Special elections - early voting through January 4th
January 8 – Register for Military Spouse Virtual Hiring Fair
January 8 – 90th anniversary of the birth of Elvis Presley, U.S. Army Veteran
January 9 – National Day of Mourning for former President Jimmy Carter
January 11 – National Human Trafficking Awareness Day
January 15 – International Voter Registration Day
To ensure that U.S. citizens residing overseas can easily participate in the electoral process throughout the year, the online platform VoteFromAbroad.org provides comprehensive information and assistance for seamless voter registration. The initiative aims to empower citizens worldwide to have their voices heard in the U.S. elections.
January 15, 1870 - The first appearance of Democratic Party donkey to symbolize the Democratic Party in America appeared in a cartoon in Harper's Weekly.
January 20 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day,Martin Luther King, Jr., National Day of Service
January 22, 1973 - Abortion became legal in the U.S. when the Supreme Court announced its decision in the case of Roe vs. Wade striking down local state laws restricting abortions in the first six months of pregnancy.
June 28, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade decision (6-3 vote).
January 27 – International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Upcoming DA Activities
What would you like to organize this year? Contact us at [email protected]
Ready to join our caucus? Be part of the conversation and make your voice heard!
SUPPORT DA GERMANY’s GOTV EFFORTS
Please consider making a donation today! Your monetary donations to Democrats Abroad Germany stay right here and are used exclusively to organiz and get out the vote among Americans in Germany. Request your absentee ballot for 2025. All overseas U.S. citizens must do this each calendar year.