Each month, a MOAA lobbyist will take an hour to answer live and previously e-mailed questions from members about our legislative issues. Please keep in mind that we may not be able to answer all the emails, but we will attempt to get through as many as possible. Our intent is to provide an additional avenue for a member to talk directly with MOAA's Government Relations lobbyists.
Below is a chat from December 18th with our newest lobbyist Joy Dunlap. Joy has just recently joined our group and is energetic and excited to get a chance to discuss military family issues with you. We hope this chat was helpful, as always feel free to pass along your suggestions to legischat@moaa.org.
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Joy Dunlap, MOAA's deputy director of Government Relations for military family Issues, is a former vice president of the National Association of Broadcasters. She has had a varied 25-year career as a writer, speaker, marketing consultant, and book editor. A former newspaper reporter and award-winning radio news director, she has worked for eight radio stations, two newspapers, and an advertising agency. Her articles have appeared in various newspapers and regional and national magazines, including HomeLife and Country Lifestyle.
She is the creator and coordinator of the JA Spouse Connection, which includes an annual gathering for military spouses and a monthly e-letter with hundreds of military spouse subscribers.
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Disclaimer: MOAA moderators retain editorial control over live online discussions and choose the most relevant questions to answer for members.
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Joy Dunap: Hi! Thanks for joining me. I'm excited to hear your thoughts about military family issues. Ask away!
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(10:00) Janet H.: I am covered by CHAMPVA. Do you think they will be adding dental care beginning next year?
Joy D.: Janet, MOAA would certainly support that. In fact, the CHAMPVA folks even favor extending a dental benefit to survivors. That bodes well, but changes of that magnitude usually don't happen quickly. Based on our experience with the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program, any CHAMPVA program probably wouldn't be cheap, since beneficiary premiums would likely be set high enough to cover full program costs.
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(10:04) Mary M.: My question is - when will eligible widows receive $50.00 increase for the months beginning October l, 2007?
Joy D.: I assume you're referring to the new legislation that authorizes a special payment of $50 per month to survivors of members entitled to retired pay (or of Guard/Reserve retirees who died before age 60) whose SBP annuities are currently reduced by VA survivor benefits. That provision is actually effective on October 1, 2008. Payments will begin at that time.
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(10:08) Clarence S.: Will the military consider educational benefits for spouses, where they can continue (for example) and get their Masters degree?
Joy D.: The Services have authority now to let servicemembers in shortage skills shift part of their GI Bill benefits to a family member but it impacts their reenlistment bonus. Right now only the Army is using it. It's also only for enlisted personnel, and participation in that program has been pretty limited. MOAA thinks it would be reasonable to let any servicemember transfer half of his or her GI Bill education benefit to a spouse or child in return for an agreement to serve a full military career (for example, for those who have 10 or 12 years of service and agree to continue their commitment).
On another note -while not funded by the military, there are several scholarships that exist for military spouses, and many spouses' clubs are now even offering them. You might want to check out MOAA's Scholarship Finder online @ www.moaa.org/scholarshipfinder for options.
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(10:12) Fredna P.:
I would like a clarification of the special payment of $50 to SBP recipients starting October 2008. Is that $50 per month starting that date or is it $50 per month for each month I have received SBP? I think this is really showing no compassion for the wives of these men as we gave a lot also.
Joy D.: It's $50 a month starting in October 2008, Fredna. We agree completely that this isn't close to our goal of eliminating the deduction of VA benefits from SBP. But we've fought so hard and come away empty-handed for so many years on this issue that we're actually grateful even for this very tiny first step. For the first time ever, Congress has at least acknowledged the inequity and agreed that something has to be done about it. Congressional leaders agreed that this is only the start, and that we're going to expect them to find the money to do much more on this in the coming years.
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(10:16) Judy R.: Ms. Dunlap, my husband is 100% service connected. Is there any legislation proposed or in process that would allow a part of his disability payment to be paid to me as his widow should he pass away? I know of DIC payments, but that is not a lot. What does MOAA think of this type of legislation?
Joy D.: Judy, one thing we're supporting is to adjust DIC to equal 55% of the amount paid to a 100% disabled veteran - the same proportion that most other federal survivor programs have with federal retired pay. For 2008, that would mean raising DIC from $1091 to $1389 per month. That would be a costly change for the VA, so we're not expecting the road to be an easy one, but that's the goal.
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(10:20) Doug W.:
What is MOAA's position on privatized housing for military members?
Joy D.: It's a sad reality that housing on many military bases was allowed to deteriorate for decades, often to the point of becoming uninhabitable. The military and Congress viewed privatization as a faster, cheaper way to have new homes constructed when they established the initiative in 1996. While privatization has brought new, larger homes to some bases, other efforts have faltered, and private companies have the ultimate option to move in non-military occupants when they can't fill homes with individuals with military connections. One other concern MOAA has is about charging some military families for utilities when they go above the "average baseline" cost for those homes. We're watching closely to see the impact privatization has on our military families in both the cost and morale areas and listening to hear what they have to say about the issue.
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(10:24) Ben L.: Lots of people have been hearing that the wounded warrior legislation in the defense bill addresses family support issues. That sounds generic - what's MOAA's take on what was passed?
Joy D.: We think there are lots of good things in the bill in this area. It would allow family members to take up to 26 weeks of leave from a civilian job to care for a wounded servicemember, provide training and respite care for family caregivers, and establish requirements to provide better information to families on military benefits and disability rules.
It also establishes a council of service members, spouses, and representatives of military organizations to make recommendations to DoD on family readiness. One thing we still need to work on is extending some sort of compensation to family members who must quit their jobs to care for a wounded member.
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(10:28) Ruth V.: Spouse employment is a big issue for us. It seems that we're in a similar situation to Guard and Reserve personnel. No one wants to hire reservists because they're called up too often and spouses move too often. Reservists have USERRA protections but what do spouses get?
Joy D.: MOAA has supported a bill (HR 2682) in multiple Congresses that would provide tax breaks to employers who hire military spouses. If military spouses unite and share their concerns about these issues, we can make a bigger impact on the Hill - will you consider contacting your Congressman to urge him or her to cosponsor the bill? We're also working through our chapters to change state laws to authorize unemployment compensation for spouses affected by PCS moves. DoD recently announced a new program that offers some military spouses in some states up to $3,000 a year for up to two years for career training in portable careers. We like that, but it isn't in all states or on all installations yet, and only impacts spouses of relatively junior ranks. You can get more details at http://caa.milspouse.org/.
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(10:32) Paula D.: Guard and Reserve families are being forgotten. We need support just like active duty families. Perhaps we need even more because we're not located near a base. What, if anything, is the military doing for Guard and Reserve family support?
Joy D.: MOAA has fought hard to get more funding for family support programs for Guard and Reserve families who don't have access to base facilities, with decent success. There are multiple provisions in the new FY2008 Defense Authorization Act that require DoD and other government agencies to extend more assistance to Guard and Reserve families in preparing for deployment, while the servicemember is deployed, and to help "reintegrate" the family when the servicemember comes home.
Various states are also providing a variety of benefits for Guard and Reserve folks. You can check out what your state is doing by going to http://www.usa4militaryfamilies.dod.mil/portal/page/mhf/USA4/USA4_HOME_1?current_id=22.60.30.0.0.0.0.0.0&content_id=242175
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(10:36) John A.: Base services are abysmal. I can't eat at the chow hall anymore...libraries have shorter hours....what's going on?
Joy D.: Bases are feeling the wartime budget crunch as the services are scrimping on support facilities to meet operational needs. In some cases, they are researching options to make changes based on usage rates. But, there's no question that this is just more proof that the defense budget isn't big enough. We've had a sympathetic ear from the Armed Services Committee staffs on the base services issue, and have provided them case after case where installations closed libraries, cut back on services at base gyms, etc. The committees have expressed concern about that to the Secretary of Defense. We think robbing these important quality-of-life programs is sure to have a negative impact.
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(10:40) John K.: What is left to do before the defense bill becomes law?
Joy D.: Both the House and Senate have passed the final version so we only have to wait for the president to sign the bill. He's expected to do so before the end of the year.
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(10:44) Barbara W.: I can't use Space-A to go home because my home of record is in Alaska. But if I lived anywhere in the lower 48 states I'd be able to use it. If there's a flight going to Alaska, and there's room on board, why can't I use Space-A?
Joy D.: Due to a recent policy change (as of this month!), families whose homes of record are outside the lower 48 states whose sponsors are deployed for at least 120 days can now use Space-A travel.
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(10:48) Brian W.:
MOAA ought to support privatizing the commissary. It would allow continued access to a benefit that is constantly under scrutiny by the government.
Joy D.: The government spends $1B annually on the commissary and exchange system. By privatizing it, companies will expect to make a profit on the benefit. One of the less heralded benefits is the money they divert to MWR to help military members and their families. Private companies looking to turn a profit would dramatically impact that. Private companies won't see those as profitable whereas the government has an obligation to fund them.
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(10:52) Michelle S.: Joy one of my friends who is a member of MOAA sent me the info the chat, really great stuff but how do I keep more informed? On my own?
Joy D.: Michelle, we send out a weekly legislative update that we can sign you up for that keeps people involved and up to date. If anyone else wants me to sign them up just email us at legis@moaa.org.
In addition, I'm going to be launching a Military Family Action Network (MFAN) in the New Year that's specifically designed to give you more information about military family issues. Ask to be signed up now for MFAN!
And, we've got a family Legislative Action Guide coming out soon that you'll want to get a copy of - stay tuned to hear how!
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(10:56) Jackie D: I don't see anywhere that has a top 3 family issues, what are MOAA's?
Joy D.: Virtually every issue that impacts the military member impacts his or her family so it's difficult to narrow it down to just three, but on the unique family realm - we're concerned about education benefits - that includes in-state tuition, Impact Aid, making sure that all schools and childcare centers are fully serviceable - especially with all the BRAC changes.
We'd like to see currently serving families able to use pre-tax health/dependent care programs.
Plus, we'd like Congress to nudge employers/government contractors to hire military spouses by providing tax incentives.
And, we want to see more help for family members turned caregivers of severely wounded. That's just a short holiday gift list!
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(11:00) Joy D: Thank you all for joining me. It's great to hear the issues that are on your minds. Do you like the chats? Stay tuned Friday to our Legislative Update where we'll ask for your feedback about them. And, don't wait until the next chat to share your thoughts on military family issues - e-mail us any time! We want to hear from you! Thanks again. Cheers to you this holiday season!
