Military Officer - November 2007 - (Page 31)

washingtonscene Half the Battle Senate passes Defense Bill, including amendments to bar TRICARE fee increases and ﬁx concurrent receipt, Survivor Beneﬁt Plan, reserve retirement, and GI Bill inequities. 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 O n Oct. 1, after weeks of (Chambliss, R-Ga.); authorize up to 130 debate on hundreds of (versus 90) creditable points toward reserve amendments, the Senate ﬁretirement for 2007 and subsequent years nally approved the FY 2008 (McCain, R-Ariz.). Defense Authorization Bill Mental health care: Authorize increased (H.R. 1585). In the process, the Senate payments for mental health care if required rejected speciﬁc timelines for return of to meet needs (Coleman, R-Minn.). troops from Iraq or statutory standards for Reserve GI Bill: Authorize Guard and troop “dwell time” between Reserve servicemembers deployments. But the ﬁnal the same 10 years of postbill included a number of service GI Bill eligibility as Military amendments supporting active-component veterans longstanding MOAA legisla(Lincoln, D-Ark.). people alU.S. ﬂag honors: Authotive priorities, including: ready pay Concurrent receipt: rize veterans the option to substanAuthorize full, immedihonor the U.S. ﬂag by rential, in-kind dering a salute versus putate concurrent receipt to premiums disabled retirees deemed ting the hand over the heart “unemployable” by the VA, (Inhofe, R-Okla.). through retroactive to Jan. 1, 2005 Reserve drill costs: Reimextended (Reid, D-Nev.). burse up to $300 in drill-reservice and lated travel costs for drilling Survivor Benefit Plan sacrifice. (SBP): Accelerate 30-year Guard and Reserve servicepaid-up SBP coverage to Oct. members, effective Oct. 1 1, 2007 and bar deduction of (Sessions, R-Ala.). VA survivor beneﬁts from Reserve TRICARE coverage: Continue coverage for certain reserve SBP annuities (Nelson, D-Fla.). TRICARE fees: Bar any TRICARE fee families whose coverage would expire increases for FY 2008 and express the sense Oct. 1, and authorize temporary continuaof Congress that military people already tion of coverage on a self-paid basis for any pay substantial, in-kind premiums through TRICARE beneﬁciary whose eligibility exextended service and sacriﬁce (Lautenberg, pires in the future (Nelson, D-Neb.). D-N.J., and Hagel, R-Neb.). House and Senate leaders must reReserve retirement: Reduce reserve resolve the differences between their tirement age by three months for each 90 separate bills, which likely will not be days on active duty since Sept. 11, 2001, achieved until November or later. NOVEMBER 2007 YOUR ACTION IS NEEDED NOW! ■ House and Senate leaders are working now to resolve their Defense Authorization Bill differences on SBP, concurrent receipt, reserve retirement, TRICARE fees, and more. Act now to make a difference. Visit http://capwiz .com/moaa/home to send an MOAA-suggested message to your legislators. MILITARY OFFICER 31 http://capwiz.com/moaa/home http://capwiz.com/moaa/home

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

Military Officer - November 2007 Contents From the Editor President’s Page Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Chapters in Action Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Cover Story: Commanding the Corps With Love, From Home Financial Guidebook Financial Tuneups Banking on Your Time Pages of History MOAA Scholarship Recipients Faces of MOAA MOAA Scholarship Donors Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps MOAA Member Services Encore

Military Officer - November 2007

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