Military Officer - April 2006 - (Page 30)

washingtonscene While they agreed that rising costs are a concern, several made it clear that many on the Hill don’t share the Pentagon’s view that the answer is to stick retirees with bigger bills. Senate staffers questioned the Pentagon analysis and expressed doubt whether private-sector solutions (such as higher cost shares) are the answer for the military situation. They also said the Pentagon hasn’t won any points by failing to brief the committee about the plan and the rationale behind it and that Congress already is receiving thousands of letters from upset retirees. The general agreement among all the staffers on the panel was that military retirees are different from civilians because they earn their beneﬁts through a career of arduous sacriﬁce, including wartime service. House and Senate staffers also agreed more must be done to ensure enough providers participate in TRICARE, both Standard and Prime, to meet beneﬁciary needs. cruiting and retaining an all-volunteer military in time of war.” Since 1999, after almost two decades of pay-raise caps had generated a cumulative 13.5 percent “pay gap” with private-sector pay, the law has required military pay raises larger than private-sector pay growth every year. But that special authority expired this year, with a 4.5 percent gap still remaining. Starting in 2007, the law says the normal military raise will be the same as the percentage growth in private-sector pay, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Cost Index. For 2007, that number is 2.2 percent, which would be the lowest military raise since 1994. However, defense ofﬁcials also are developing a set of mid-year “targeted” pay raises for selected members — likely mid-career and senior enlisted members and warrant ofﬁcers. The mid-year targeted raises would shave another .5 percentage point off the current 4.5 percent pay gap. DoD says the targeted raises will be enough to establish a new and better pay comparability standard — the 75th percentile of earnings of civilians of comparable age and education. Military Pay Gap Military pay-raise caps in the 1980s and ’90s caused retention problems. Recent raises reduced, but haven’t eliminated, the accumulated gap with civilian pay growth. -9.4% -11.5% -13.5% ■ 1987 ■ 1992 ■ 1997 ■ 2002 ■ 2006 Targeted Pay Raise Planned For some, increases would be limited to the average American’s for the ﬁrst time. T -7.6% -4.5% he administration’s FY 2007 Defense budget includes a proposed 2.2 percent, across-theboard pay raise for military personnel. Prominent Senate Democrats expressed dissatisfaction with the administration’s proposal by urging the Budget Committee leadership to “include a pay increase that meets the needs and reﬂects the sacriﬁce of America’s military personnel and their families.” The senators also added, “Such a paltry increase neglects the value of their service and the very real challenges of re- MOAA Testifies For VA Fixes Goals include full funding, seamless transition, no fees. M OAA and several other military and veterans’ organizations testiﬁed before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee in mid-February. MOAA Deputy Director for Government Relations Col. Bob Norton, USA-Ret., recommended: ■ fully funding the VA health care system for all enrolled veterans to meet the rising demand among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, including more than a half mil- 30 MILITARY OFFICER APRIL 2006

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - April 2006

Military Officer - April 2006 Contents From the Editor President’s Page Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Lap of Luxury Magic Carpet of the Rails Blue Ridge Wonderland Salud, Santé, Cin Cin! Cover Story: Wounded Warriors On Duty MOAA Scholarship Donors MOAA Member Services Pages of History Information Exchange Member Books MOAA Calendar Advertising Index Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - April 2006

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