VFW WI Legislative Updates

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE BY MOAA

Posted at 9:05 AM on Monday, April 7, 2008 by Legislative

The Department of Defense announced this week that it plans to remove Social Security Account Numbers (SSAN) from military identification cards by the end of 2010. Instead, the cards will display only the last four digits of the SSAN.


MOAA Storms Hill for Troops, Survivors, Retirees
MOAA leaders and staff members teamed up to visit almost every U.S. representative's and senator's office this week, urging them to oppose disproportional TRICARE fee increases, fix Survivor Benefit Plan and concurrent receipt inequities, and push for a bigger military pay raise.

MOAA and AMA Join Forces
MOAA's Director of Government Relations spoke at an AMA Capitol Hill press conference on April 2, opposing the 10.6% cut in Medicare and TRICARE payments to doctors scheduled to take effect on July 1.

Veterans' Groups: Fix VA Problems this Year
When asked at a joint Senate and House Committees' on Veterans Affairs hearing this week, MOAA and other veterans’ organizations told legislators they intend to hold Congress' feet to the fire to get the VA spending bill done before October 1.

MOAA Honors Hill Champions
On April 1, MOAA honored several legislators, congressional staff members, and private citizens for their efforts in supporting the military community.



MOAA Storms Hill for Troops, Survivors, Retirees
MOAA Council and Chapter Presidents from the 50 states and Puerto Rico, accompanied by members of the national Board of Directors and headquarters staff, swarmed Capitol Hill on April 2 to visit representatives' and senators' offices on key MOAA legislative initiatives.

This year, the "Hill-stormers" focused on three main issues, supporting efforts to:

Oppose disproportional TRICARE fee increases proposed by Defense leaders
Eliminate unfair compensation penalties imposed on thousands of disabled retirees and military survivors
Increase the 2009 military pay raise above the 3.4% proposed in the President's budget.

MOAA representatives carried a wealth of information supporting those goals, including two information brochures on why it's unfair to double or triple military retiree health care fees and illustrating the fixes needed to eliminate survivor benefits and concurrent receipt inequities.

MOAA Hill-stormers received very positive feedback from most legislators, and we've already seen a jump in the number of cosponsors for MOAA-supported bills on these topics. Check your representatives' and senators' cosponsorship status for the bills listed below:

H.R. 579 and S. 604 - Protect against disproportionate health fee increases
H.R. 1589, H.R. 1927, and S. 935 - Repeal the SBP-DIC offset
H.R. 333, H.R. 303, and S. 439 - Eliminate remaining offsets of retired pay

You can enhance MOAA's Hill-storming results by entering your ZIP code in the applicable box for each bill to send your legislator a MOAA-suggested "please cosponsor" or "thank you for cosponsoring" letter, as applicable.

MOAA and AMA Join Forces
MOAA joined with the American Medical Association (AMA) on Wednesday in the AMA's own "storming the Hill" event to convince Congress to change the law that is now scheduled to cut Medicare and TRICARE payments to doctors by 10.6% on July 1.

Col. Steve Strobridge (USAF-Ret), MOAA's Director of Government Relations, joined national and state AMA leaders at a Capitol Hill press conference highlighting the need for urgent action to protect health care access for America's seniors and military beneficiaries.

Speaking to a crowd that included 300 white-coated physicians, AMA president-elect Dr. Nancy Nielsen emphasized the urgency for action, noting that Congress had just 90 days to avert a health-care disaster, and that the nation's doctors just can't keep doing business with Medicare and TRICARE programs that keep cutting their payments below their cost of delivering care.

Nielsen said Congress must move quickly to pass Sen. Debbie Stabenow's (D-MI) bipartisan S. 2785, which would reverse the cut for 2008 and implement a small increase for 2009. "That will allow Congress two years," said Dr. Nielsen, "to find a permanent fix to the statutory payment formula that is driving these misguided cuts."

Strobridge told the group that reversing the cuts is particularly important to military beneficiaries. "The military community's number one problem is finding doctors who will accept Medicare and TRICARE," he said. "That's particularly true for Guard, Reserve and retired members and their families and survivors who live in areas that aren't near a military installation. When we send our troops in harm's way, the last thing they should have to worry about is whether their family doctor will stop seeing them."

Following the press conference, the attendees joined roughly 1,000 doctors and 135 MOAA representatives who visited every senator's and representative's office on Capitol Hill.

Veterans' Groups: Fix VA Problems this Year
MOAA and six other veterans' organizations testified at an April 3 hearing before both Senate and House Committees on Veterans Affairs.

Witnesses included CDR Rene Campos USN (Ret), MOAA's Deputy Director for Government Relations, and representatives from AMVETS, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Gold Star Wives of America, Fleet Reserve Association, The Retired Enlisted Association and the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs.

Campos told the committees that the current war has produced a number of challenges the nation was not fully prepared to meet, and that it's imperative to fund long-term improvements, starting with completing the FY2009 VA appropriations bill by Oct. 1.

House committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) was impressed with the remarkable unanimity among the veterans' organizations on health care funding, GI bill upgrades, disability claims processing, and care and support for veterans and their families. "Veterans should not have to beg for benefits," said Filner, and told the organizations that cost should not be the issue.

MOAA was pleased that the committees also signaled interest in the needs of family members as well as those of the veterans themselves. Campos stressed the need for further improvements in mental health care and assistance to families of wounded warriors in need of VA care.

Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN), a 24-year Army National Guard veteran, said he expects veterans' organizations to hold Congress accountable. "We possess the ability to pay for these programs and deliver on our promises," said Walz. "To do anything less is a slap in the face to veterans."

MOAA Honors Hill Champions
On April 1, MOAA presented its top annual awards to nine individuals for their support of the military and veterans community.

The following legislators received MOAA’s Colonel Arthur T. Marix Congressional Leadership Award for their efforts in championing improvements in pay and benefits for the military community. The award is named for MOAA's founder.

.Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Rep. Ike Skelton, respective Chairmen of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, were recognized for their leadership in securing much-needed initiatives to assist wounded warriors and their families, increase the 2008 military pay raise, expand eligibility for combat-related special compensation, and take the first step to ease the deduction of VA survivor benefits from military SBP annuities.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) was honored for winning legislation to authorize a reduction in the reserve retirement age based on the member's active duty service.

Rep. Vic Snyder (D-AR) was recognized for his leadership in winning the most significant Guard and Reserve GI Bill improvements in more than a decade.

MOAA's Distinguished Service Award is presented to individuals and groups other than members of Congress who distinguished themselves in support of the military community. This year's recipients include:

The General Electric Corp., which continues pay and benefits for mobilized employees and provides significant financial support for military family programs

Mr. Merrill Worcester, who for the past 15 years has donated and transported thousands of wreaths to Arlington national cemetery to decorate the graves of America's heroes during the holidays

LTG James Terry Scott USA (Ret), chairman of the Veterans Disability Benefits Commission, which recommended repeal of long-standing concurrent receipt and survivor benefits inequities

MOAA also provided its annual Colonel Paul W. Arcari Meritorious Service Award for congressional staff members. The award is named for MOAA's former director of government relations, who retired in 2001.

The award was given to Mr. Joel Rubin and Mrs. Stacie Oliver for their tireless work on behalf of military retirees, veterans, survivors and their families. Their efforts were instrumental in winning legislation in the areas of health care and survivor benefits.