Military Officer - November 2006 - (Page 42)

washingtonscene cutting medical funding for troops who suffer devastating brain injuries in Iraq. Each year during the war, Congress has increased funding for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center — including $14 million for FY 2006. For the FY 2007 Defense Appropriations Bill, the administration proposed cutting that amount to $7 million. The administration-proposed funding cut was passed by the House of Representatives and recommended for approval by the Senate Appropriations Committee. A Senate Appropriations Committee staffer was quoted by USA Today as saying the committee proposed the cut because it had “other competing priorities in a tight budget year.” In September, after learning that center ofﬁcials actually had requested $19 million for its budget, MOAA sent a letter to House and Senate leaders, urging them to reconsider and adopt a higher funding level. Subsequently, the Senate amended the appropriations bill to include $19 million. But the ﬁnal decision was still uncertain at press time. Senate leaders still had to convince the House — which had approved only $7 million in the FY 2007 VA/Quality of Life Appropriations Bill, the ﬁnal legislative vehicle for this issue. And action on that bill had been deferred until November. What conceivable higher priority could prompt the appropriations committees to cut funding for traumatically wounded war heroes? By deﬁnition, that has to include everything else Congress has recommended for funding. Other appropriations bills have funded such things as grants for therapeutic horseback riding, the Grammy Foundation, and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. It’s enough to make a person afraid to ask the question: How ungrateful can we get? 42 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2006 Meet MOAA’s New Lobbyist MOAA welcomes Col. Ana Smythe, USMC-Ret. M OAA is pleased to welcome Col. Ana Smythe, USMC-Ret., as the newest member of MOAA’s government relations team. Smythe will be working military and veterans’ health care issues in partnership with Cmdr. John Class, USN-Ret. Smythe was raised in a Navy family and has just completed a distinguished Marine Corps career encompassing more than 30 years of active service. An Army War College graduate, she has commanded a Marine Security Guard unit responsible for the security of American embassies and consulates in Europe, Canada, and North Africa and a Marine Corps Recruit Depot battalion in San Diego. She served three years in the ofﬁce of the assistant secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs and most recently served with the Department of the Navy’s physical evaluation board at the Washington Navy Yard. She’s also no stranger to MOAA, having served as a member of the Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve Advisory Committee to MOAA’s board of directors. MOAA is thrilled to be able to take advantage of Smythe’s leadership, experience, and enthusiasm as the newest addition to the MOAA team. 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.; Cass Vreeland; and Bret Shea, MOAA’s Government Relations Department.

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

From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: Financial Guidebook Got (the right) Insurance? A Penny Saved, a Degree Earned The “Y” MOAA Scholarship Recipients Pages of History Information Exchange Member Books MOAA Scholarship Donors MOAA Member Services Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - November 2006

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