Military Officer - June 2007 - (Page 44)

washingtonscene H.R. 1927, S. 935 Combine Key Issues ■ Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas) introduced a new bill, H.R. 1927, which would end the deduction of VA survivor benefits from SBP and accelerate implementation of 30year, paid-up SBP coverage. H.R. 1927 is identical to Sen. Bill Nelson’s (DFla.) S. 935 in the Senate. Visit http://capwiz.com/ moaa/issues/bills to urge your legislators’ support. By policy, DoD’s disability rating system limits the number of conditions rated and consistently rates lower than the VA. To ﬁx the inequity, Scott said DoD should determine ﬁtness for duty and the VA should then conduct a comprehensive physical and assign a disability rating. When questioned by Committee Chair Carl Levin (D-Mich.), England said the recommendation was “in line” with his thinking. Levin asked for a formal response from DoD on the matter within two weeks. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) took the opportunity to express deep concern about the announcement that tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan are being extended to 15 months. He said the extended deployments pose a threat to the all-volunteer force. Several other senators from both parties joined in expressing similar concerns. vicemembers forced into medical retirement before attaining 20 years of service. Chair Lt. Gen. James Terry Scott, USARet., deferred a ﬁnal decision until the commission has had an opportunity to review additional contractor analysis and the ﬁndings of the Omar Bradley Commission, which established guiding principles for the VA disability system in the mid-1950s. New SBP Bill H.R. 1927 combines key issues. O Panel Engages MOAA Decisions on concurrent receipt and SBP are delayed. T he Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission (VDBC) engaged MOAA in discussing options to address concurrent receipt and Survivor Beneﬁt Plan (SBP) ﬁxes but again delayed a decision on recommendations. During its April 19 hearing, VDBC members continued to review issues associated with VA offsets to military retired pay and SBP. MOAA Deputy Director of Government Relations Col. Mike Hayden, USAF-Ret., was asked to join the commission staff in a panel discussion after he provided several detailed examples about the effects of alternative options for servicemembers with various grades and disability ratings. Hayden continued to emphasize the devastating impact of the VA offset on ser- n April 17, Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas) introduced H.R. 1927, which would end deduction of VA survivor beneﬁts from SBP and accelerate implementation of 30-year paid-up SBP coverage. In the Senate, Sen. Bill Nelson’s (D-Fla.) S. 935 is identical to H.R. 1927. Survivors of active duty and retired servicemembers who die of service-connected causes now have Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) of $1,067 a month deducted from SBP. MOAA strongly believes that if military service caused a retired servicemember’s death, DIC should be added to the SBP beneﬁt the retiree paid for — not substituted for it. About 61,000 survivors are affected by the DIC offset. The paid-up SBP initiative would affect 172,000 “greatest generation” retirees. MOAA strongly supports this bill, along with other House bills that would address one issue or the other, including Rep. Henry Brown’s (R-S.C.) H.R. 1589 (addressing SBP-DIC inequities) and Rep. Jim Saxton’s (R-N.J.) H.R. 784 (addressing paid-up SBP). MO — Contributors are Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret., director; Col. Mike Hayden, USAFRet.; Col. Bob Norton, USA-Ret.; Cmdr. René Campos, USN-Ret.; Cmdr. John Class, USN-Ret.; Col. Ana Smythe, USMC-Ret.; Col. Phil Odom, USAFRet.; Cass Vreeland; and Bret Shea, MOAA’s Government Relations Department. 44 MILITARY OFFICER JUNE 2007 http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/bills http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/bills

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

Military Officer - June 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Getting the Best Care Stand By Me Promise for PTSD Cover Story: Heavy Duty Unified Medical Command Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Member Services MOAA Calendar MOAA Scholarship Donors Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - June 2007

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