AUSA Director of Government Affairs, Bill Loper, represented AUSA at a press conference last week to rally support for the Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act (S.22/ HR 5740).  Conference attendees called for immediate legislative action to pass this act which would offer the brave men and women who have served honorably since September 11, 2001, a level of educational benefits on par with those provided to veterans of the World War II era.  The legislation would give returning troops the tools to succeed after military service, strengthen our economy in the face of increasing global competition and make military service more attractive. 

Among the speakers were the chief sponsors of the bill, Sens  James Webb , R-Va., Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and John Warner, R-Va., in the Senate and Reps. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., Bobby Scott, D-Va., and Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla., in the House.  Both Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., spoke as well, along with several young veterans who described their difficulties in trying to get a college education after leaving the service.  AUSA, along with 25 other military related associations, is in full support of the bills.  Currently the Senate bill has 58 cosponsors and the House bill has 249.

 

Senate Committee Passes FY09 Authorization Bill

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved their version of the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill last week.  The bill sets the policies and authorizes defense spending for the Pentagon. 

The Senate’s version would authorize $612.5 billion, including $70 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and would: 

• Authorize a 3.9 percent pay raise for military personnel, vs. the 3.4 percent requested by the Administration;
• Increase the Army by 7000 soldiers to 532,400;
• Reject the Administration’s proposed TRICARE fee increases and add an additional $1.2 billion for TRICARE;
• Require the Pentagon to base health care premiums for drilling Guard and Reserve members and families on actual TRICARE costs, which is expected to reduce premiums;
• Authorize an extra 500-lb. weight allowance for a spouse’s professional books and equipment for government-directed moves;
• Require a Pentagon report to Congress by July 1 with a plan to implement flexible spending accounts (FSA) for military members or explain the reasons for failing to do so (FSAs allow payment of out-of-pocket health and child care expenses with pre-tax dollars);
• Allow up to 21 days of paternity leave for active duty personnel;
• Authorize health care demonstration programs to test: incentives for preventive health care, subsidized continuation of an employer’s family health coverage for activated reservists, and initiatives to improve reserve medical and dental readiness, among other things;
• Require the Services to establish a comprehensive suicide prevention policy;
• Authorize training and education for military spouses to pursue careers that are portable upon reassignment;
• Add an additional $390 million for the Army's "unfunded priorities";
• Provide additional protections in determining disability and retirement benefits for wounded/disabled personnel; and,
• Authorize the full $3.3 billion requested for the Army’s Future Combat System.

 AUSA was disappointed that continuing inequities for disabled retirees and survivors were not addressed in the bill.  We, along with our partners in The Military Coalition will work with Congress in the next few weeks to address these important issues.

Please remember that this is the first step in the authorization process.  The bill will reach the full Senate floor sometime this month.  The House will start its markup of their bill this week.  Once both bills have passed, a conference will be necessary to reconcile the differences.

 

No Agreement reached on Supplemental Spending Bill

Bickering over the fiscal 2008 war supplemental spending bill continued unabated as appropriators from the House and Senate, Republicans and Democrats alike, strongly objected to the leadership’s plan to bypass the normal appropriations process by skipping the committee markup and a House-Senate conference.  The leadership hopes to produce a measure that they will send straight to the House and Senate floor and then to the President for signature. 

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., a stickler for following established procedures, said that individual lawmakers should have a say in developing the package and that “regular order" should be followed.  Accordingly, Sen. Byrd announced last week that he intends to hold a markup of the bill.

Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee agree with Sen. Byrd.  Citing Byrd’s decision, all 29 House Republican appropriators wrote to Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., with their  concerns.  “Sen. Byrd, who recognizes the slippery slope involved in circumventing the well-established rules and precedents of the Appropriations Committee, has scheduled a full Senate Appropriations Committee markup,” they wrote.  “We urge you in the strongest possible terms to follow Sen. Byrd’s example and schedule a full committee markup in the House at the earliest possible date.”  Bypassing a markup, they said, “would be an historical and unprecedented abdication of responsibility for the House Appropriations Committee and would be viewed by many in both parties as a shameful power grab by House and Senate leaders.”

Even House Democratic appropriators are uncomfortable with bypassing a markup.  Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, said she was put off by such talk.  “I am a regular order person.  I think anytime you fail to engage the membership you under-represent the American people, so I would be very concerned about that,” she said.

In the meantime, the clock continues to tick towards the Memorial Day recess. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said last week, “We will do our best to finish this by the Memorial Day break.  But if we don’t, it’s no big deal.  There is money there.”

No big deal?  AUSA strongly disagrees. 

Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, USA Ret., and President of AUSA said in his monthly message, “I am concerned that the Army may run out of operational funds before the current session of Congress goes on its Memorial Day recess.  The game of "playing chicken” with funds for the troops by the two political parties and the White House appears to have begun again in this very political season of nomination politics, party politics and different approaches to support for the ongoing war on terror.  While it has become common practice to posture, rewrite and revote budgetary legislation after a White House veto, such brinksmanship does not exhibit common sense when applied to the Army’s capability to operate smoothly as it prosecutes the ongoing war on terror.  Further, the old saw of ‘just shift some money around’ is not the answer either in that reprogramming opportunities within the Army budget are extremely limited.”

“While the impact of an interrupted funding stream on troops in combat is pretty obvious, there are many other ‘not so obvious’ areas where “stop and start” funding just does not work, for example:

• Military pay for the troops both base pay and bonuses.
• Civilian pay, which if not funded, triggers furlough procedures and/or the freezing of civilian hiring.
• Expenditure of operational funds are slowed down and threatened with stoppage on certain dates in each budget funding crisis.
• Parts production and repair contracts both at home and in theater can be slowed, deferred or even halted in the event of funding shortfalls.
• Ordering of “non-critical” supplies and spare parts grinds to a halt when the funding stream is not timely.
• Ongoing critical research and development programs can be slowed or stopped.  Restart requires additional and unbudgeted funds.
• Funding slow downs or halts can seriously impact domestic base restructuring plans within the overall Base Realignment and Closure mandates related to building contracts and unit rebasing.
• If advertising dollars slow or are stopped there is a negative impact on recruiting and if recruiting operations support funds (travel, training, recruit and influencer activities) dry up, recruiters can't look for recruits and recruits that are ready for training can't get to their duty stations.
• Retention program funds including bonuses are slowed or stopped during a hiatus of budget support. Reenlistment may be deferred and promotions frozen.
• Family programs for deployed or deploying troops are no longer available to support Family Readiness Groups across the Army: Active, Army Guard, and Army Reserve.
• The transportation of family household goods is delayed along with payments for family travel on change of station.
• Youth activities funded by appropriated funds are shelved or cut.
• The start of new and mandated programs is stalled.
• Critical flight safety programs and procedures are jeopardized from training to execution.
• Facility and family housing repairs, emergency and routine, are suspended.
• Training at unit, individual, and training centers is slowed, postponed or just stopped.
• Procurement of new equipment or replacement equipment is stopped with contract suspensions.”