Military Officer - August 2006 - (Page 34)

washingtonscene for disabled servicemembers who have attained some arbitrary age threshold. Thousands of aging military retirees and civilians alike do, in fact, ﬁnd themselves having to stay in or rejoin the workforce out of ﬁnancial necessity. MOAA continues to emphasize the importance of ﬁxing and validating the process rather than simply assuming that all IU ratings are suspect and that all who are rated as too disabled to work are somehow “beating the system.” It’s just plain wrong to cite a ﬂawed process as a reason to deny the existence of a clear inequity — and then fail to ﬁx either one. when the servicemember’s death was caused by military service; and ■ increasing minimum manpower levels for the Army and Marine Corps. On the positive side, from MOAA’s standpoint, the letter also expressed concern that the Armed Services Committee neglected to adopt a Pentagon recommendation to amend the Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act to prohibit courts from forcing divorced servicemembers to pay their former spouses a share of their theoretical “retired pay” while still on active duty. MOAA shares the administration’s disappointment on the last issue and thinks Congress should clarify the law to protect such servicemembers, many of whom are, in effect, blocked by the courts from serving beyond the 20-year point. MOAA is doing its best to ﬁnd a Senate sponsor who will introduce legislation to correct this omission. Three Wrongs, One Right Administration ﬁghts needed upgrades, urges former spouse ﬁx. s the Senate began ﬂoor debate on the Defense Authorization Bill in June, the White House sent Senate leaders a statement of administration policy peppered with objections to beneﬁt ﬁxes put in the bill by the Armed Services Committee. The June 14 statement supported the committee-recommended 2.2-percent, across-the-board pay raise (one-half percentage point less than the House-passed 2.7 percent) but expressed disappointment and opposition to several MOAAsupported initiatives endorsed by the committee, including: ■ barring most of the DoD-proposed TRICARE fee increases for retirees under age 65; ■ capping premium increases for Selected Reserve health coverage at the same percentage as the military pay raise; ■ repealing the requirement to deduct VA survivor beneﬁts from SBP annuities 34 MILITARY OFFICER AUGUST 2006 A MOAA Meets House Leaders New majority leader says Defense budget “big enough.” M OAA’s Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret., and Col. Bob Norton, USA-Ret., joined representatives of several other associations at a June 8 meeting with House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.). This was Boehner’s ﬁrst meeting with military and veterans’ association leaders since his recent election as majority leader. Boehner promised to be up-front and honest with the military and veterans’ community. “What you see with me is what you get,” he said. “I believe in working together with all parties to get things done. I support improving ben-

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

Military Officer - August 2006 Contents From the Editor President’s Page Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Chapter Activities Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Changing of the Guard Four-Star Rating Long Term Care Kryptogram Pages of History Information Exchange MOAA Scholarship Donors Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps MOAA Member Services Encore

Military Officer - August 2006

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