Military Officer - May 2007 - (Page 33)

washingtonscene ■ There should be no enrollment fee for TRICARE Standard, because Standard does not provide assured access to a TRICARE-participating provider. ■ There should be one fee schedule for all TRICARE beneﬁciaries, just as all legislators, defense leaders, and federal civilians have a single fee structure, and it should be signiﬁcantly lower than the lowest schedule envisioned in the DoD proposal. The Reserve Ofﬁcers Association, though a member of TMC, did not concur with TMC and presented independent testimony. MOAA Lays Out FY 2008 Priorities Health care, concurrent receipt, SBP, pay raise, and manpower top the list. M New SBP Bills Nelson and Brown would end offset, implement paid-up plan. O n March 20, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Rep. Henry Brown (R-S.C.) reintroduced their bills, S. 935 and H.R. 1589, respectively, to end two major survivor beneﬁt plan (SBP) inequities. Both bills would end the unfair deduction of VA-paid dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) from SBP. In addition, Nelson’s bill would accelerate the effective date of paid-up status for retirees who have paid SBP premiums for 30 years and attained the age of 70. It would make paid-up coverage effective Oct. 1, 2007 (versus Oct. 1, 2008, under current law). Rep. Jim Saxton’s (R-N.J.) H.R. 784 addresses the paid-up SBP issue in the House. Survivors of servicemembers who die on active duty and those of retired servicemembers who die of service-connected causes now have DIC ($1,067 a month) deducted from SBP. There are about 61,000 survivors affected by the DIC offset. The paid-up SBP initiative would affect 172,000 “greatest generation” retirees. PHOTO: SEAN SHANAHAN OAA Government Relations Director Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret., and several other TMC representatives testiﬁed for two hours before the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee March 15, answering the subcommittee’s questions about priority issues for active duty, Guard, Reserve, and retired servicemembers as well as their families and survivors. Chairman Vic Snyder (D-Ark.) asked each representative what his or her priorities would be for inclusion in the FY 2008 Defense Authorization Act, which the committee drafted in April. TMC representatives cited the following: Help Build Hill Support for SBP Fixes ■ Use MOAA’s Web site (http://capwiz.com/ moaa/issues/bills) to urge your legislators to cosponsor MOAA’s key bills. Click on H.R. 1589, S. 935, and H.R. 784 under Survivor Issues. MOAA President Vice Adm. Norb Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., (left) talked budget resolution options and enactment strategy at a meeting on Capitol Hill March 13 with SBP champion Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). M AY 2 0 0 7 MILITARY OFFICER 33 http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/bills http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/bills

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - May 2007

Military Officer - May 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: Back Home Capt. David Porter, Pirate Hunter Where Valor Rests Emblems of Courage MOAA Member Services Pages of History Information Exchange Advertising Index Member Books MOAA Calendar MOAA Scholarship Donors Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - May 2007

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