Military Officer - July 2007 - (Page 32)

washingtonscene tinue surveying TRICARE participation among civilian doctors (including mental health providers) to identify locations where there are problems with doctors’ willingness to accept TRICARE patients. Military force levels — Both bills would increase Army and Marine Corps force levels for FY 2008 and reduce Navy and Air Force strength. But levels for all services would be larger than the defense budget request. Guard/Reserve retirement — The Senate bill would reduce the reserve retirement age by three months for each 90 days spent on active duty, but that would apply only to active duty time served after the law is changed. Family issues — The House bill would require increased family support and mental health services for National Guard and Reserve personnel. The Senate version would mandate a DoD Family Readiness Council to improve support for family readiness programs. Both bills would ease naturalization problems encountered by foreign-born spouses and children of military members assigned overseas. Wounded warrior care — The House adopted multiple provisions to improve medical and disability transition services. It also would require reports about the feasibility of a single joint-service disability evaluation process to ensure fairness in military disability retirement ratings. The Senate committee will address wounded warrior issues in separate legislation. See pages 34-35 for a side-by-side comparison of additional House and Senate bill provisions, along with MOAA’s positions on the issues. As this column went to press, MOAA was working with a number of senators to prepare additional amendments for consideration in late June, when S. 1547 is expected to come to the Senate ﬂoor for action. Proposed amendment topics include accelerated 30-year, paid-up SBP coverage; additional TRICARE protecJ U LY 2 0 0 7 tion initiatives; wounded warrior protections; repeal of the SBP/Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) offset; and more. COLA Watch ■ The April consumer price index (CPI), which drives the annual retired pay COLA, recorded its fifth straight monthly increase — 0.8 percent above March’s value. Seven months into the fiscal year, the CPI stands 1.5 percent above its starting point at the beginning of October 2006. Visit www .moaa.org/colawatch for more information. Veterans’ Benefits Bills Hearing MOAA urges upgrades to the Montgomery GI Bill. M OAA Deputy Director Col. Bob Norton, USA-Ret., testiﬁed May 9 before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on legislation to improve the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB). The proposals considered by the committee ranged from adding greater ﬂexibility in paying accelerated beneﬁts to a sweeping “World War II-style” MGIB proposed by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.). Norton urged the committee to make MGIB improvements this year. The most egregious inequity, he pointed out, is the lack of any post-service beneﬁt eligibility for Guard and Reserve warriors, as addressed in Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s (D-Ark.) S. 644. Norton also expressed support for Webb’s plans for a World War II-style MGIB, which would allow operational reservists to acquire MGIB beneﬁts over multiple call-ups. Sen. Larry Craig’s (R-Idaho) S. 1293 would loosen restrictions on accelerated beneﬁts for concentrated coursework and also allow reservists to “buy up” additional reserve MGIB beneﬁts. But Norton noted that the latter bill would not help honorably discharged or retired reservists, because no readjustment beneﬁts are authorized under the MGIB. Other measures considered included making COLAs automatic for veterans’ disability and survivor payments, as they 32 MILITARY OFFICER http://www.moaa.org/colawatch http://www.moaa.org/colawatch

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

Military Officer - July 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: In Focus After the Kim Dynasty Animal House Paying Tribute MOAA Member Services Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Scholarship Donors MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - July 2007

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