Military Officer - October 2008 - (Page 32) washingtonscene COLA WATCH I The July CPI rose another 0.5 percent, putting cumulative inflation at 6.2 percent for the year, with two months to go. The 2009 COLA will be determined in mid-October. A significant drop in energy prices still could reverse the trend, but the 2009 COLA seems on track to be the highest since the 8.7-percent hike in 1982. First and foremost, the retirement proposal is so complicated that people evaluating career decisions at the four- to 10-year point would have no way to project their future military retirement benefits. Second, the retirement plan would take money from people who serve a career (by deferring receipt of full retired pay until age 57-60) to fund vesting of retirement benefits for people who separate early. Third, MOAA doesn’t think it’s proper to tie premiums for retirees under age 65 to the cost of providing care to elderly and disabled beneficiaries whose health costs obviously will be higher. Fourth, MOAA doesn’t think it’s right to means test military health fees based on total family income. That may apply to Medicare — a social insurance program funded by taxpayers for every American — but it’s not appropriate for military benefits earned by career service. So what happens next? Pentagon sources say they expect it will take six to nine months for DoD to complete a review of the proposals. As a practical matter, that means it will be left to the next administration to decide whether to recommend congressional action on any of the QRMC proposals. MOAA will have more to say about these proposals in the future. I VA Bills Clear the House Bills address disability, financial, tax, and health concerns. J 32 MILITARY OFFICER ust before Congress’ August recess, the House rushed to pass a number of measures strongly endorsed by MOAA that address disability, financial, tax, reemployment, and health care protections for veterans and military families. disability system reform: H.R. 5892 would implement a number of recommendations of the Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission. The bill would require the VA to provide immediate payment for unquestioned disabilities such as amputations rather than holding up claims until all conditions are evaluated. It also would require a plan to modernize the VA disability rating schedule and address quality-of-life issues and require the VA to establish special offices to assist survivors and dependents. In addition, it would allow a survivor or dependent to proceed with a VA claim if a veteran dies before it is adjudicated. I mortgage foreclosure protections: H.R. 3221 would prohibit foreclosure on property owned by a servicemember for nine months (versus 90 days) following deployment. It also would increase, through the end of 2008, the maximum guarantee amount for mortgages backed by the VA. I VA health care and counseling: H.R. 6445 would exempt veterans who have catastrophic, non-service-connected disabilities from paying copayments for hospital or nursing home care and loosen restrictions on counseling for those veterans’ family members. I reemployment rights: H.R. 6225 would strengthen protections for reservists denied reemployment benefits by state or private employers. I armed forces student rights: H.R. 6225 would limit interest on loan debts to 6 percent for servicemembers on active duty. It also would require colleges to refund tuition and fees for students forced to leave school because of military orders and reinstate those students on return with the same academic status held prior to service. I cell phone contracts: H.R. 6225 would let servicemembers terminate or suspend personal services contracts (e.g., for cell phone or cable TV service) entered into before being notified of permanent change OCTOBER 2008
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.