Military Officer - June 2006 - (Page 34)

washingtonscene Republican leadership chose to oppose it, so the vote was 15 Democrats for it and 22 Republicans against it.” MOAA was perplexed by the vote, because Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and Ranking Minority Member Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) had written a joint letter to budget committee members earlier in April asking them to restore the funds. When MOAA inquired why the majority on the committee had opposed it, the informal response was that they thought that the Defense budget could make up the shortfall and absorb the $735 million more easily than the VA budget could. MOAA is troubled by this response, which fails to acknowledge Hunter’s strongly held view that the Defense budget already is too small to meet current needs. strains on active duty, Guard, and Reserve members and families; ■ continued progress to reduce the gap between military and private-sector pay, especially for senior and mid-career warrant ofﬁcers and enlisted members; ■ ensuring the availability of family support programs at gaining U.S. installations for the thousands of military families being relocated from Europe and elsewhere; ■ GI Bill improvements, particularly for Guard and Reserve personnel who currently ﬁnd those beneﬁts unusable; ■ ﬁxes for Survivor Beneﬁt Plan inequities that affect “greatest generation” retirees and survivors of members who die of service-connected causes; ■ elimination of the disability offset to retired pay, particularly for “unemployables” and members forced into retirement by combat wounds before they can attain 20 years of service; and ■ implementation of the same ﬂexible spending accounts for military personnel that the government already offers all other federal employees, so they can deduct out-of-pocket health and child-care expenses from their federal income taxes. Subcommittee Chairman John McHugh (R-N.Y.) asked Strobridge’s opin- People Should Be Top Priority Subcommittee chair praises MOAA’s contributions. I nvited to testify at an April 6 hearing of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, MOAA presented recommendations on behalf of the 36 associations of The Military Coalition. Because a March 29 hearing had addressed health care issues (see page 28), this one was held to cover other personnel and compensation issues. MOAA Director of Government Relations Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret., thanked the subcommittee for its efforts in recent years to upgrade an extensive range of manpower and beneﬁts programs for every segment of the uniformed services community, but he stressed that much still remains to be done. Among other priorities, he highlighted the need for: ■ increased manpower levels to ease Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret., MOAA’s Government Relations Department director, speaks to the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee. PHOTO: SEAN SHANAHAN 34 MILITARY OFFICER JUNE 2006

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

Military Officer - June 2006 Contents From the Editor President’s Page Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities MOAA Member Services Living Well 5 Foods for Life The Kindest Cut Winning the Battle Cover Story: Choppers Pages of History Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Scholarship Donors Member Books MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - June 2006

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