Whacking People – Because It's Easier Dear MOAA Member, The conventional wisdom is that the Pentagon pushes force reductions and benefit cuts during every budget crunch because that's the way to generate quick savings. In his October As I See It column, MOAA Government Relations Director Col. Steve Strobridge says defense leaders could save billions by cleaning up their own mismanagement problems, but they never seem to get around to that.

In This Issue

Committee Leaders Offer Contrasting Benefit Inputs

One Armed Services Committee leader wrote Super Committee members to oppose changes in military retirement and health care. Another expressed willingness to support some changes in TRICARE For Life, TRICARE Prime, pharmacy, and future military retirement.

MOAA Named "Top Lobbyist" – Fifth Straight Year

The Hill, the largest-circulation newspaper on Capitol Hill, has published its 2011 list of Washington's "Top Lobbyists" and, once again, MOAA is the only military or veterans group on the list.

Panetta, Dempsey on Budget/Benefit Cuts

At an Armed Services Committee hearing yesterday, the two top Pentagon leaders didn't give much detail on how they plan to generate $350 billion in defense budget cuts. But they did offer some revealing comments.

House Clears Veterans' Legislation

Bills to spur veteran jobs and recognize career Reservists as veterans cleared the House of Representatives Wednesday.

Committee Leaders Offer Contrasting Benefit Inputs

Today is the day Hill committee leaders owe inputs to the Super Committee tasked with cutting the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. MOAA has obtained copies of two Armed Services Committee leaders' letters that offer markedly different inputs on military retirement and health care benefits.

More than two pages of House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon's (R-CA) letter were devoted to defense of military retirement and health care programs. He highlighted a long list of the unique demands and sacrifices required of the military that aren't demanded of civilians, and said military retirement and health care systems "should reflect that reality."

On retirement, McKeon said bluntly, "We strongly oppose the recommendations of [recent] proposals that the military retirement system should be more like civilian retirement plans...These proposals do not assess the impact of such changes on either the retention of the current or future all-volunteer military."

"Changes to TRICARE For Life must also be examined with caution. Some have suggested a combinations of changes to both TRICARE For Life enrollment fees and pharmacy co-pays, which would constitute a substantial double hit on the TRICARE For Life population...Likewise, if Medicare Part B enrollment fees are also increased, the TRICARE For Life beneficiaries will absorb a third increase in their health care costs."

His letter also noted with irony that, "The President and some in Congress have proposed exempting any reforms to veterans' health care benefits. As a result, those who served less than 20 years in the military would not be asked to contribute to deficit reductions, but those who served in the military for 20 or more years would."

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Ranking Minority Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed similar concerns about further cuts to the defense budget in general, but expressed willingness to consider some changes recommended by the President and others in recent months.

He said the President's proposal to establish an annual enrollment fee for TRICARE for Life "is a reasonable step and should be considered." On proposed pharmacy copay increases, McCain's letter said, "While generating savings from the TRICARE pharmacy benefit is feasible, I recommend you consult with DoD."

Citing another proposal to force working-age retirees out of TRICARE Prime and into TRICARE Standard, his letter said, "I recommend the [Super Committee] give this proposal, and the other CBO options involving TRICARE reform, consideration in coordination with DoD."

On military retirement, McCain said he would vigorously oppose any recommendation to change the retirement system for currently serving or currently retired members. But he said, "I...support the President's proposal to establish a commission to review military retirement benefits, and I believe such a commission, and a BRAC-like approach to its recommendations, should also consider changes to the current, largely-outdated military compensation system."

MOAA is surprised and disappointed by these recommendations, especially since Sen. McCain was one of the champions of repealing REDUX when that 1986 retirement cutback ended up hurting retention and readiness in the late 1990s.

We strongly disagree with establishing a TFL enrollment fee, curtailing retirees' eligibility for TRICARE Prime, and subjecting military retirement and compensation programs, even for future entrants, to a BRAC-like legislative plan that can force dramatic and ill-advised changes with little opportunity for debate or amendment. The REDUX experience showed that grandfathering the current force to whack future service entrants' retirement only delays the inevitable adverse retention and readiness effects.

MOAA Named "Top Lobbyist" – Fifth Straight Year

The Hill, the largest-circulation newspaper on Capitol Hill, has published its annual list of "Top Lobbyists" and, once again, President Vice Admiral Norb Ryan's (USN-Ret.) MOAA Government Relations team is the only military or veterans group on the 2011 list.

We thank all of our members who participate in our grassroots efforts. Your support and the more than 700,000 grassroots inputs you’ve generated to Congress so far this year are responsible for MOAA's influence on Capitol Hill.

Panetta, Dempsey on Budget/Benefit Cuts

On Thursday Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and JCS Chairman General Martin Dempsey, USA, were star witnesses before the House Armed Services Committee.

The hearing, billed as a first look at Defense leaders' plans to cut $350 billion from the DOD budget over ten years per the Budget Control Act, proved pretty short on details, but did give the witnesses an opportunity to make a few important points.

Panetta said military forces will undoubtedly get smaller but must remain capable of meeting national threats. He said his priorities are to:

• Maintain the best military in the world

• Avoid creating a "hollow force"

• Examine the entire spectrum of the DoD budget for reductions; and

• Avoid breaking faith with those who are currently serving

DOD is in the process of identifying possible reductions but "no final decisions" have been made. He noted that if the Super Committee can't agree on further cuts, and end up defaulting to a sequestration process that forces DoD into "mindless" arbitrary budget reductions, we risk "hollowing out the force".

The idea of military retirement reform was discussed at length, and both Panetta and Dempsey assured Committee members that they would seek to "grandfather" currently serving personnel if reform took place. They further emphasized that the Department is not supporting any specific plans at this point.

General Dempsey took exception with recent press descriptions of military retirement, stating, "I reject the characterization of our military retirement as …gilt-edged." He asserted emphatically that military retirement can’t be compared to any civilian plan because of the radical differences between military service and a civilian career.

House Clears Veterans' Legislation

The House voted 418-6 on Wednesday to approve the "Veterans Opportunity to Work Act of 2011", H.R. 2433, sponsored by House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-FL).

The "VOW Act" would re-open GI Bill vocational training benefits to 100,000 unemployed older (34 - 64) veterans to help them qualify for jobs in growth areas like health care and technology; upgrade the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) and mandate participation by all service members prior to separation; and strengthen reemployment rights for National Guard and Reserve members returning from deployments.

The House also voted to approve:

• H.R. 1025 (Rep. Walz, D-MN), which would authorize veteran status for career Guard/Reservists who were never activated under Federal orders (but may have served on other orders for airport security after 9/11, border security, disaster relief, and many other purposes during their careers). The bill forbids the award of any veteran's benefit under the legislation but provides an honorific in recognition of a full Guard or Reserve career that qualifies for a reserve retirement.

• H.R. 1263 (Rep. Filner, D-CA), would strengthen the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by protecting surviving spouses of servicemembers who die on active duty, or whose death is service-connected, from mortgage foreclosure for a period of 12 months (instead of the current 9 months). It would require large lending institutions to designate an SCRA compliance office and maintain a toll-free number on its website for SCRA issues for servicemembers, veterans, and their families.

• H.R. 2349, the Veterans' Benefits Act of 2011 (Rep. Runyan, R-NJ), would authorize the VA to notify veterans electronically regarding their claims to speed up the process and protect veterans' (and dependents') pension benefits from reduction after casualty losses, among other improvements.

• H.R. 2074, the Veterans Sexual Assault Prevention and Health Care Enhancement Act (Rep. Buerkle, R-NY) requires the VA to establish a comprehensive policy on reporting and tracking sexual assault and other safety incidents at VA medical facilities, and for other purposes.

MOAA strongly supports these bills and urges final Senate action by Veterans' Day.