Military Officer - September 2007 - (Page 37)

washingtonscene Delayed Defense Disagreement over Iraq amendments kicks Senate consideration of the FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill — including military “people issue” amendments — into September. L E G I S L AT I V E N E W S T H AT A F F E C T S Y O U A fter an all-night session failed to produce any significant changes in Republican and Democratic differences on amendments proposing Iraq redeployment timelines, Senate leaders suspended any further action on the FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill until after the monthlong August recess. With a report on the results of the troop surge in Iraq due from military leadership in mid-September, the second half of the month looks like the time in which the Senate might be ready to take up the defense bill again. MOAA is disappointed the Senate didn’t at least move on in the meantime to consider any of the nearly 200 other amendments to the defense bill — many of which address much-needed personnel and compensation improvements. Among those topics are retiree TRICARE fee protections, concurrent receipt upgrades, Survivor Beneﬁt Plan improvements, Montgomery GI Bill ﬁxes for the Guard and Reserve, and reserve retirement improvements. Frustrated by stalled attempts to clear contentious amendments over Iraq in the Defense Authorization Bill, Senate leaders agreed to separately pass the chamber’s “Digniﬁed Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act” (S. 1606), which previously was part of the defense bill. S. 1606 is a comprehensive package that would address reports concerning mis- treatment of outpatients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., and other military and VA facilities. The Senate also cleared a 3.5-percent military pay raise. This MOAA goal would continue the eight-year trend of reducing the military pay gap, currently estimated to be 3.9 percent below private-sector wages. The pay raise would reduce that gap by 0.5 percentage points. As this column was being written, MOAA was urging state council and local chapter leaders to visit senators in their home state ofﬁces during the August recess to urge their support for these key amendments. LEGISLATIVE ACTION ALERT ■ In September, the Senate is scheduled to restart floor debate on hundreds of amendments to the FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill. Go to http://cap wiz.com/moaa/home to send your senators an MOAA-suggested message urging their support to oppose TRICARE fee hikes, improve concurrent receipt and SBP, and more. Category 8 or Wait? Don’t say it if we won’t pay it. T he Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), approved a broad array of legislation in late June, including an initiative to reopen VA health care to so-called category 8 veterans. Category 8s are those who have no service-connected disabilities and have incomes that exceed the VA’s locality-based low-income ceilings. “According to the VA’s own estimates,” said Akaka, “as many as 1.5 million veterans SEPTEMBER 2007 MILITARY OFFICER 37 http://capwiz.com/moaa/home http://capwiz.com/moaa/home

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

Military Officer - September 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Plan for Your Future At Home in a High-Rise Lone Star Living Common Ground Insert: Community Source Cover Story: Waging War on Disease More Than Beaches MOAA Scholarship Donors Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps MOAA Member Services Encore

Military Officer - September 2007

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