The move comes on the three-year anniversary of President Joe Biden's repeal of the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military. Some Republican lawmakers had called for harsher action against the employee after she mocked Israeli hostages in a video she posted. The rise comes after years of progress in reducing the number of veterans facing stable housing issues. The backlog of overdue disability claims is expected to keep rising over the next year. Department outreach efforts have helped nearly 80,000 veterans since the start of 2022. New rules were set to go into effect next February but will now be delayed until 2025. VA officials announced plans to provide gender conforming surgeries more than two years ago, but have not moved ahead on the promise. More than 70,000 veterans died by suicide from 2011 to 2001. The Government Accountability Office is also expected to launch an investigation into the suicide prevention hotline. Thousands of veterans work with for-profit firms to apply for disability benefits. Veterans advocates call the practice predatory and possibly illegal. Load More