Military Officer - April 2006 - (Page 32)

washingtonscene Back the BackTax Bill ■ Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) has introduced H.R. 4727, which would amend the statute of limitations to let disabled retirees recover more than three years of back taxes even if the VA takes many years to approve their disability claims. Please urge your U.S. representative to cosponsor this important bill. “This is the major item on MOAA’s legislative agenda this year,” said Ryan. “With recruiting in trouble and retention at risk, the last thing we should be doing is cutting military retirement beneﬁts by as much as $1,000 a year. Why give already overstressed mid-career servicemembers and families another reason to reconsider their military career decisions?” The brieﬁng outlined the speciﬁcs of the Pentagon plan to increase retiree health fees by 50 percent to 270 percent, depending on grade, and explained why MOAA believes this is the wrong approach. Class discussed: ■ why MOAA objects to the FY 2007 Defense budget plan to greatly increase health fees for military retirees under age 65, ■ problems with TRICARE that need to be addressed before any fees are increased, and ■ alternative ways the government can reduce military health care spending without penalizing beneﬁciaries. While active duty, National Guard, and Reserve forces are operationally integrated under the Total Force policy, their educational beneﬁts are not integrated, and those beneﬁts are no longer proportional to members’ service. Tens of thousands of activated Guard and Reserve members haven’t been able to use the education beneﬁts they earned for their contingency service. Further, Guard and Reserve members can’t use the beneﬁt after fulﬁlling their commitment and leaving service. Partnership members are seeking House and Senate sponsors for legislation to consolidate all active duty, Guard, and Reserve MGIB programs under VA jurisdiction and align beneﬁts with the length and type of service performed. Force Cuts Are Off-Base Senior Defense leaders get chilly reaction to Pentagon’s force-cutting proposal. Wanted: GI Bill for the 21st Century Associations seek beneﬁts proportionate to service and cost of education. D T he Partnership for Veterans Education, a consortium of military, higher education, and veterans’ associations (including MOAA), is pushing Congress to modernize Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) education beneﬁts. MGIB advocates have been frustrated for years that MGIB beneﬁts haven’t kept up with the rising cost of education. Partnership participants say the program isn’t living up to its purposes as a recruiting and retention tool and veterans’ readjustment program. oD is proposing big cuts in Army manpower in the FY 2007 budget, especially in the National Guard. But Hill leaders are ﬁghting the proposal. Civilian and military Defense leaders keep warning about a long and difﬁcult war on terrorism. But that hasn’t kept them from urging Congress to cut the Army by one combat brigade and the National Guard force by six brigades, about 17,000 Guard billets. Last year, after a top-to-bottom force review, Army leaders said 77 combat brigades were needed to meet mission requirements. At that level, they said, active duty combat soldiers would spend one year out of three away from their families, and Guard and Reserve troops would spend 18 months away every ﬁve or six years. [CONTINUES ON PAGE 34] 32 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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