Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) called on Congress to forgo its annual August recess in order to work on new legislation that would prevent budget sequestration. “For the sake of our country, can we not come together, give up our respective orthodoxies, and get something done for the American people?” asked Connolly during the July 30 “Stop Sequestration Rally” in Arlington, Va. Mirroring Connolly’s sentiments at the event were senior politicians from the commonwealth, including Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), Rep. Jim Moran (D), Rep. Bobby Scott (D), and Rep. Frank Wolf (R) as well as senior defense industry leaders, like Northrop Grumman’s CEO Wes Bush, and Aerospace Industries Association President Marion Blakey. These speakers noted the steep defense-related job losses that Virginia faces under sequestration—some 122,800 jobs, second only to California’s projected 125,800, according to a new study by George Mason University economist Stephen Fuller. (See also Georgetown Patch report.)
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.